WTP MIT @ 2016

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
101

hey! :slight_smile: i just discovered this thread lol. congrats to @happyalldatime @tonystarkofwinterfell @penguin8910 @artsciencefood and good luck @schoolisfun3 and @lshaynal :slight_smile: i was accepted to the EECS program too! here are my stats:
GPA: idk on a 4.0 scale but 97.8
SAT: 2340 (790 CR, 800 M, 750 W)
PSAT: 1450
APs: AP Calc BC, AP Language and Composition, AP French, AP Biology, APUSH, AP Chem, AP Macro/Micro
ECs: Debate, Model UN, History Day, TEAM+S, MathCounts, volunteered as a tutor in math, science, and reading
Recs: not sure, but I think they were okay
Essays: i tried to write my essays with a humorous tone (one was a lowkey feminist rant)

hope this helps xD iā€™m excited to see you guys in person!

102

Heyy ME track here :'D Iā€™ve been lowkey stalking this thread lmao but hereā€™s like a condensed ver of my app if it helps anyone!
(Also if anyone else is doing ME feel free to hmu - Iā€™m sO ready for the FB group and would love to get to know yall!)

GPA: 4.0/4.0 weighted (I think itā€™s like 3.96 or something unweighted)
PSAT: 1520
ACT: 36 (but like super clutch bc I got 35s on the eng/writing sections lmao)

APs: Last year - AP Calc BC, AP Chem, APUSH
Current - AP Lang, AP Biology, AP Macro, AP Stats, AP Physics
(No engineering or compsi classes)

Experience:
I had experience w engineering at a UM summer camp, but I was on the EECS team there (I applied for only ME), so they might have just disregarded that
Experience Designing and Building - Sci Oly (Bridges woo)
Equipment - Multimeter (part of UM camp)
Experience Programming - Python (through CodeAcademy)

ECs: Sci Oly, Asian/Dance club, XC, Mu Alpha Theta, Drawing
Volunteer: Math Olympiad volunteer, MathCounts coach, Math/science tutor, NHS

Essays: I emphasized that I was interested into ME because I wanted to learn more about CAD and 3D printing. I also wrote about my Sci Oly fam and learning (struggling) how to make original choreography on my own through Youtube. (My second essay was p sketch though - I had to email them to figure out what the prompt was asking but Iā€™m still not sure if I answered it right haha) I tried making some jokes too bc I couldnā€™t resist lolol but idk if they went over well

Recs: My counselor let me read hers and it was so nice I was just :ā€™ā€™ā€™ā€™) no clue about my other teachers though

103

Holy all of you guys seem so intelligent and amazing and Iā€™m incredibly honored that Iā€™m going to work with you this summer!

104

I just made a FB group for WTP this summer. Itā€™s called ā€œWTP @ MIT 2016ā€. Creative, I know. If you guys want to join, please PM me so I can friend you and add you to the group!

105

I applied to the EECS track, and I got rejected. Iā€™m not bitter about it or anything, but I would like opinions as to why.

GPA: 4.0/4.0 unweighted
PSAT: not submitted because the scores didnā€™t come in time
ACT: did not take
SAT: 2400

APs:
Freshman: Biology and US History (both 5ā€™s)
Sophomore: World History, Calculus BC, Physics 1 (all 5ā€™s)
Current: U.S. Government, Chemistry, Statistics, Environmental Science, Physics 2
*No classes with computer science or engineering in general

Experience: None. But that was the point, wasnā€™t it, to foster an interest and GET experience?

Extra curricular activities: Debate (captain, won several invitationals), dance (letā€™s just say for MANY years), varsity tennis, art, service organization at school (about 80 cumulative hours, some awards), fashion design

Volunteer: Feed My Starving Children food packing, service organization hours (related with local community), freshman orientation (2 years), library helper, local church coffee bar helper

Essays: This is where I suspect the problem was. I would consider myself a storyteller, so I wanted to reflect my creative side with the essays. The last 2 were decently standard, I think. For Essay #3, I wrote about a sports injury and how I overcame the difficulties that it presented me with. For Essay #4, I wrote about my passion for fashion design and linked the entire design process with math and science, specifically how both art and STEM redefine beauty. The first 2 essays might have been too out of the box. I wrote Essay #1 (what I hope to accomplish) in the format of an action storyā€¦lots of ā€œspecial-effectsā€ type scenes and exciting pacing. The plot follows the 2016 EECS team many years in the future as they use their skills to save the World Computer from destruction. I emphasized the computer programming, advanced math, and electrical engineering skills that the camp advertised. For Essay #2 (interest in STEM and its effect on your life), I wrote a poem in a series of rhyming couplets that lyrically expressed my passion for STEM and the fascination that its many realms encapsulates me in. I emphasized in this essay how I constantly think about the inspirational scientific advances and relate them to my quotidian experiences. Itā€™s kind of like ā€œAlice in Wonderlandā€ style; I fall into the flowerā€™s STEM and become quickly absorbed by all sorts of new discoveries (like CRISPR, quantum communications, and black holes). Anyway, I thought all of my essays were really good, and I still donā€™t see a problem with them. The whole point of the essays is to showcase your unique perspective on the world, isnā€™t it? Or maybe I should stick to the formula and go traditional style for college apps? I donā€™t know, because all the advice that the colleges give FORMALLY is that you shouldnā€™t worry about anything except EXPRESSING YOURSELF FULLY in the essays, and thatā€™s what I did, but now I donā€™t know because that doesnā€™t seem to be what MIT WTP was looking for.

Teacher Recommendations: Didnā€™t get to read them, but I think both of them were pretty good. My teachers understand me fairly well, I think, and can express my interest in the STEM fields.

Anyway, thanks for reading all this. Congratulations to everyone who got accepted, and PLEASE, if anyone has any ideas about why I got rejected, Iā€™d love to hear it!

106

@LilPenguin89 maybe you didnā€™t talk enough about yourself specifically in your essays? My essays talked a lot about me and my love of STEM and how the world has affected me. I donā€™t know, your stats & ECs seem really good :confused: I hope you still find a good way to spend your summer!

107

@tonystarkofwinterfell SAME (like what is research haha) Iā€™m so hyped to meet everyone

@LilPenguin89 Yeah, I agree with @tonystarkofwinterfell
(Disclaimer - Iā€™m not an admissions officer/familiar with the criteria they judge with so take my comment with a grain of salt)
Yeah I wasnā€™t expecting to be accepted at all because I thought I had too much experience - I think in the case of WTP having less experience for the camp youā€™re going for is better so I agree with you there

But judging from your brief description, maybe for Essay #1 you didnā€™t emphasize enough the personal impact WTP would have on you, and how learning those skills in the camp would change you? I tried to keep my essays p personal and slightly casual sounding, and judging by your comment maybe your essays seemed to them like too try hard or lacking a personal touch? One of the big things that Iā€™ve heard about college essays is that you should be yourself and not try to impress with big words, but then again Iā€™m judging this from your one comment so itā€™s possible thatā€™s just how you normally sound

Your essays sound far (far) more creative than mine, but perhaps itā€™s also possible that while you were trying to approach the topic from that unique perspective, you missed out on revealing to WTP the traits about yourself they were looking for (?)

Itā€™s also possible that they might also like to see math/science ECs (not necessarily engineering or compsci, but maybe like interest in math/sci outside of school) but Iā€™m totally guessing here
(I also asked my math/sci teachers for recs so maybe that was a factor if you didnā€™t but idk??)

But yea your your test scores are def super solid and Iā€™m glad that youā€™re keeping a positive attitude - I hope the rest of your summer plans go well!

108

@LilPenguin89 Have I met my long lost twin? lol
Back to your question, your stats look really good, and WTP has certainly accepted many people who donā€™t have perfect scores. With an acceptance rate this low, thereā€™s also a high degree of luck involved in my opinion. Like, no way is everyone that all those Ivy Leagues and MIT and Stanford rejects unqualified and incapable of completing their curriculum. They only have so many spots. Other than that, I agree with @tonystarkofwinterfell and @notanotherjanet. My essays seemed less formal than yours sound. An essay on how STEM redefines beauty sounds incredibly interesting but idk does it really say anything about why you want to learn more about STEM? Maybe it does, Iā€™m just making assumptions from your one post.

I admire your positive attitude and I wouldnā€™t let this rejection discourage you too much. Your stats are stellar and I hope you find something wonderful to do this summer!

109

just got accepted off the waitlist for EECS! Iā€™m not sure if Iā€™m going thoughā€¦

110

I got accepted to EECS and just wanted to make an account to see if anyone on this blog/thing was going. If so, hit me up!!!

111

I was just looking at stats for everyone else and how the hell did I get in!!!
Me:
PSAT: 1280
SAT: 1300
ACT: 29
GPA: 4.44 or 3.87 (+/- weight)

I wrote my essays (heavy paraphrasing) about being super into video games and how I feel that I didnā€™t sacrifice anything academically to live that teenage persona our society idolizes. I dated around, have a job, sneak out (+ more lmao) and my grades donā€™t define my personality. I also did not use high level vocab in my essays; I thought itā€™d have more character. Maybe they liked my rebelliousness lmao

112

I also got accepted from waitlist. I probably wonā€™t go thought because I already committed to another camp. good luck to those still on the waitlist and have fun to everyone whoā€™s going (:

113

wow Iā€™m like really late to this, but I was accepted into the ME track as well! Iā€™ll post my stats for any interested in knowing, but please donā€™t think that you have to be exactly like any of the girls here:
GPA: 4.0 (unweighted)
SAT: 2220 (710 CR 800 M 710 W) (at that time), SAT Bio (800)
PSAT: 1440
APs: this year- English Lang, Calc BC, US History, Chem, Physics C: Mechanics, Spanish (took all those exams too TT^TT; probs failed all of them xD)
previous years: World History (5), Bio (5), Gov (5)
Extracurriculars: HOSA, speech/debate, science bowl and science olympiad, volunteering at the local food bank and local library, and paid work at Kumon and the Masters Golf Tournament (I also have some experience in robotics from being on the team in elementary school) (some of these activities have changed since then)
Essays: I thought my why I wanted to attend essay was pretty subpar, but in the other essays I mainly talked about how I loved collaborating with others and how as a child I loved taking my toys apart and studying them, i think overall I was able to demonstrate my curiosity (please do not procrastinate; otherwise you will be writing these all night on MLK weekend)
Recs: my physics teacher is pretty well known for his great recs, my calculus teacher wrote mine for math, and Iā€™m a pretty good student but definitely not the best heā€™s ever had, and my counselor was new this year so idk how she wrote it, but sheā€™s very nice ^^
I actually put No Preference for my track request; I didnā€™t think much of it since I liked both equally, but then I was really nervous since I thought it meant the same as putting ā€œundecidedā€ for a major (which I highly recommend not doing) but nevertheless I was extremely surprised that I was accepted and very grateful for the opportunity ^ ^ super excited to meet everybody this summer!!! And good luck to those who may be looking at this thread in the future that are applying!

114

Is the WTP admit rate still around 10%?

115

@Much2learn yeah, it was something under 12% overall this year (although I assume it differs for each track).

116

@happyalldatime Hey! I just saw this feed! I was accepted to WTP 2016 on the EECS track! Could you add me to the fb group?

117

@gf9801 Congrats! Ms. Skier is actually making an FB group for us soon, so deleted ours. Sorry!

118

@nocturnalduck
Hey, I want to apply to WTP, I think itā€™d be a great opportunity for me, but Iā€™m nervousā€¦ What did you do to get in? Thanks