<p>Yea, I hope people can list their hooks at this thread, lets share them"!!!!</p>
<p>Well, I personally got a 9 on aime....would that help my app to a certain degree? (a hook?)</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a hook at MIT. Nobody should ever, ever, ever, expect to have MIT in the bag.</p>
<p>we will all find out in 51 min</p>
<p>in retro specto:</p>
<p>"There is no hook at MIT" - truer words were never spoken... </p>
<p>O_O</p>
<p>Plenty of kids who you think would have gotten easy acceptance to MIT got waitlisted and rejected and a lot of "unlikely" candidates got in... one wonders what exactly they were looking for, and what sort of feedback loop there is in the admissions process... </p>
<p>So confusing :)</p>
<p>RSI is a HUGE hook for MIT</p>
1 Like
<p>That's not really a fair assertion; the exact same students that get into RSI tend to have the same qualities that the undergrad insitute programs look for anyway. Just because you did RSI doesn't mean that you're getting into MIT; its what you <em>did</em> to get you into RSI that has a good chance of getting you into MIT :)</p>
<p>One question.</p>
<p>What is RSI and how do i get involved in it?
Thanks</p>
<p>Judging from Ben's blog, there is a student who is a valedictorian with 800/700+ SATs and whose father is a tenured professor at MIT who got rejected. There really is no such thing as a hook. The biggest factor, so far as I have been able to figure out, is personal character... what drives you? What makes you? All that sort of stuff..</p>
<p>Reading through the blogs and through the decisions thread, a lot of people seemed shocked they didn't make it, when honestly, there are just so many great applicants, no one should ever expect to be in.</p>
<p>
[quote]
RSI is a HUGE hook for MIT
[/quote]
Matt has said he can't remember a single year where every RSI alum was admitted.</p>
<p>I think my interviewer put it best:</p>
<p>"MIT is looking for smart students of course; kids with potential. However, they aren't looking for the perfect students. They want the ones with some rough edges because the best thing a student can have is some weaknesses--it builds character. Nobody is perfect, and there is nothing worse that a student who has yet to experience failure."</p>
<p>He was a really great guy and I agree a lot with what he said. There enough "perfect" students to fill MIT thrice over, yet they get rejected. Most, I expect, have yet to experience failure. Failure is a part of learning, and one needs to learn to overcome it in order to succeed. Persistence and dedication, I feel, outweight everything.</p>
<p>The worst thing someone can do is something like retake the SAT after getting a 2300+, in my opinion. It comes off as extremely grade conscious and superficial.</p>
<p>There is only one true hook: Be the son/daughter of the president of MIT.</p>
<p>well said sephiroth. I think it's a matter of motivation, whether the applicant is driven intrinsically to some extent. :]</p>
<p>Therefore, I think the biggest hook is having a real passion and your high school life really showing it - maybe a few awards/programs/good stats along the way won't hurt. :P Though I hate seeing those who view that every moment in high school is solely meant to impress colleges... jus wrong. :P</p>
<p>Guys what is a RSI? I need to know... how can i get involved</p>
<p>@Shadman: It's a summer program in science research held at MIT and now in Shanghai, China as well. Check out <a href="http://www.cee.org/rsi%5B/url%5D">www.cee.org/rsi</a></p>
<p>Get involved IF your interested in it.</p>
<p>NEVER DO ANYTHING JUST TO GET TO COLLEGE. Do something because you enjoy it. I did a chance thread a while back and people said I had weak EC's and that there wasn't enough leadership. The fact is I do stuff because I enjoy it, and I got in so that said something.</p>
<p>ok shadman: RSI stands for Research Science Institute.</p>
<p>I'm not the expert, but I kno it elects about 70 high school juniors all over the nation (and a few internationals) to offer them a free summer program at MIT. It's admittance rate is lower than MIT admissions (I applied junior year and was rejected - i got into MIT this year), but if you can get in the experience i heard is quite amazing. And it's also free during the weeks u live on MIT campus.</p>
<p>The deadline for this year's apps have already passed, so i guess u could only get involved if ur not a junior yet. :] </p>
<p>p.s. anyone correct me if im wrong</p>
<p>Well sheesh, if i'd known they'd want applicants who have some chinks in their armor, i would have submitted my UMich essay (on how i went from underdog on my wrestling team who couldnt do a pushup to a great wrestler who is interested in college wrestling) to MIT... O_o</p>
<p>There's so much you can write about, so many little things in life that can mean so much to you, none more important than the other... i found out that the hardest part of my essays was selecting a topic in the first place!</p>
<p>What should they see? What do they want to see? When every experience in my life is on an equal plane (which it is to me; im the kind of person who takes life day by aday and doesnt try and let anything faze him), what part of that shold i spend my so-precious few hundred words on?</p>
<p>I think part of my frustration is that, <em>if</em> i had chosen to write about something else that affected me greatly, would i have gotten in? </p>
<p>Honestly, in a circumstance like my mine, a lot of it is just luck too- i flipped the coin in choosing between my joint surgery, tutoring orphans in India, or working my butt off on the wrestling team and going from zero to respected. I chose the second option- i just flipped the coin wrong, i guess :).</p>
<p>No worries though :) can't let things affect you, just pack up your bags and move on...</p>
<p>Olo, RSI doesn't need to have a 100% acceptance rate to MIT in order to qualify as a hook. Even if every single Rickoid except one is admitted, wouldn't that still constitute a significant hook? At least it does in my opinion.</p>
<p>wrathofgod: The logic is still backwards. Correlation doesn't equal causality, and I'm sure you know this.</p>
<p>The deal with RSI students is that admission to RSI tends to be even more competitive than freshman admission at MIT. If you have what it takes to get into RSI, more often than not, you'll have what it takes to get into MIT.</p>
<p>yupp i can testify to olo's comment: got in mit, not in rsi. </p>
<p>Of course, that doesn't exactly prove the logic, but u kno what i mean.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I am stll not a junior, so i have time to apply. Is there any test that have to be taken in order to get in to RSI?</p>
<p>Cheers
Shadman</p>
<p>Shadman, for the best info on RSI definitely check out the website or the RSI 2006 thread in the High School Life forum. You do have to take the PSAT, SAT or ACT to apply to RSI as a domestic student, though, from what I remember.</p>