<p>yes and no. There are 200+ countries and only 100 seats total. There will be some countries getting seats on a regular basis and rest will be pooled to be given seats randomly. Not every country can have a quota.</p>
<p>Although it is old, check out the attached. I think there are newer ones out there.</p>
<p><a href=“Statistics & Reports | MIT Registrar”>Statistics & Reports | MIT Registrar;
<p>@texaspg Why is the total Non US admitted applicants 389…isn’t it supposed to be somewhere between 100-150?</p>
<p>it is the number at the given time in the undergraduate school (4 years). People have tried to interpret the number admitted each year by using the numbers provided at the top for other years. I remember seeing one covering until 2011 but I dont have the patience to look for it.</p>
<p>@texaspg If you don’t mind me asking…How do you have access to all these links? I didn’t find one in the MIT website.</p>
<p>OP,</p>
<p>What was the studen’ts gpa? What was the student’s high school coursework? What was the student’s intended major? How were the student’s essays? Did the student appear to be arrogant in his/her applications? How did the student envision impacting MIT?</p>
<p>Google of course!</p>
<p>I found a much better link. Looks like Korea gets about 7 seats lately.</p>
<p>[MIT</a> | The International Students Office | Statistics](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/iso/about/statistics_1112.shtml]MIT”>http://web.mit.edu/iso/about/statistics_1112.shtml)</p>
<p>Also, how were the letters of recommendation?</p>
<p>Skip the word “quota.” Over time they seek a balance for internationals. If it’s been a while since they took a kid from Uganda, a strong candidate might be interesting. Or might not be.</p>
<p>Admissions is not all about stats. Even at MIT. And, what the general public thinks consitututes “shine” isn’t necessarily what comes across in the full CA. (Those ECs…) Essays also matter, in that they show a kid’s perspective, judgment and, to some extent, fit. Read MITChris’s posts.</p>
<p>I’m sure that statement is not true. There are Indians who made it to MIT without an Olympiad medal. You are over-generalizing Indians. Perhaps you met some Indians with Olympiad medals who got into MIT, but it doesn’t mean that every MIT indians do. Just for a personal experience, I know a very bright Indian student who got into MIT without any Olympiad medals. Sure he was very bright, 2300+ SAT, medals in mathematics competition in a Canadian province, etc.</p>
<p>I’m applying to MIT as a South Korean citizen studying in Canada this year if I don’t make Columbia ED, but my objective stats are not impressive at all. I only got 2240 in SAT. I don’t have any international award, maybe because I have been heavily focusing on economics and political science and there aren’t much international contests for those. I played Trombone in my high school and provincial youth band for 4 years, fundraising with my private band, interned in Korean National Assembly(office of an authority) and Korean media company, and got a positive reference letter from the very high authority etc. It’s not outstanding and I’m aware of my chance for getting rejection is far greater than the infinitesimal admission chance for internationals (3.2% last year). I just want to tell you that not all MIT applicants have such high stats but can have lot of other ECs unrelated to math and science. I know of lot of Koreans who were accepted to HYPS, and clearly their essays had huge influence. A significant number of them got rejected from all top 15 universities except 1 or 2 prestigious school (often either Harvard or Princeton)- clearly a crapshoot. It’s basically mid2200+ SAT (minimum I guess?)+EC+essay+crapshoot. It’s not only about the score and awards.</p>
<p>@riders. Funny you mention it, but we do have people from Nepal, Nigeria, Kenya, etc in my class.</p>
<p>Riders, if you’re this “friend”, then just suck it up and deal with it. Life goes on. If you’re thinking about applying to MIT, then don’t let this discourage you just because he might have better stats. Getting accepted into a college isn’t just about who has the highest SAT or who made IMO or not. MIT wants a diverse community. No, lemme phrase that: MIT needs a diverse community in order to be successful. Simply filling its class with IMO gold medalists obviously does not accomplish this role. And to be honest, I don’t want to be at a college where everyone just does math. I’m sure you understand.</p>
<p>@iceui2 Of Course i will be applying to MIT in the near future. As far as i know, Nepal doesn’t participate in any Olympiad except the IPhO…but students from Nepal hardly win any medals. But i belong to a country loaded with many Olympiad medalists which makes my chances worse.</p>
<p>@HateSMUS I don’t know if people from India get into MIT without Olympiad medals but some of the threads related to MIT admissions suggests that they don’t. Also you may want to look at this post made by an Indian.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/india/1264259-letter-applicant-cornell-student-important.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/india/1264259-letter-applicant-cornell-student-important.html</a></p>
<p>@lookingforward Which post?</p>
<p>@sbjdorlo I’ve heard that student’s intended major doesn’t make any difference at all during the admission process. Correct me if i’m wrong.</p>
<p>@riders If you think you have a low chance of winning Olympiad and wanna attend MIT, you should consider other approaches. High objectives but different ECs. If you are a qualified applicant, it’s often crapshoot just like a student with virtually no award and ECs but only with 2340 got into Princeton whereas another student with 2320 with full of ECs and leadership positions got rejected from Princeton.</p>
<p>@HateSMUS What i don’t understand is MIT says that every student competes as an international… but how are you going to compare someone with an Olympiad medal with someone who comes from a mountainous region or an undeveloped country where there is more than 20 hours of power cuts? Btw… what does that “Other approaches” include?</p>
<p>And is MIT really as need blind as it says it is?? Like we have two students… both with similar grades and SAT scores but one is able to pay while the other is not and the one who’s not able to afford his tuition fees is a perfect match for MIT. In such a situation who makes the cut?</p>
<p>MIT is saying that international applicants are competing for the limited international slots which I think is around 10% of MIT student body. As Ivy plus admission officers always note, they look at how their applicants took advantage of the opportunities that the students are given in their background and situation. If there are two students, one studying in an expensive private school and having done lot of AP courses and, another studying in public school and only did gr 12 courses which are the most rigorous courses offered in the school, MIT admission office doesn’t necessarily prefer the former because they consider students’ backgrounds. So if the student is from a country with very poor infrastructure, MIT would consider that as well. ‘Other approaches’ mean having different ECs to present your brightness, interests and passion rather than just going for Olympiad medals. It can include virtually everything ranging from music, writing(publication), sports to science research(if interested in the field). There are lot of other ways to show how passionate, intelligent, and dedicating you are through different ECs and essays. I suggest not to write about Olympiad in MIT application essay asking about what you do in leading your busy life.</p>
<p>For your MIT financial aid question, the latter will definitely get in- supposing admission officers think he would be a perfect or good match to MIT. I know MIT as one of the few American universities that have need-blind policies even for internationals.</p>