Did anyone here go to MIT or teach there?

[Zeteg]

Well, I'm wondering if anyone has been there... Right now I'm in Canada, and going into Grade 11 in a couple of days. I'm wondering if anyone can give me an estimate of how hard it is to get it. Maybe an approximation of SAT and actual marks in certain classes? Thanks =)

 

[deltabourne]

Bump. I'd like to know how hard it is to transfer there mid-year (probably damn hard :()

 

[Tom McCurdy]

MIT
i just got back visiting there
they said scores dont' matter as long as you get above 650 on each section of course higher is better but they don't need you keep retaking it to get another 20 points here and there.

Then you need good GPA I would say above 3.5 weighted

then you better be a superstar out of school

Anyway no matter what you have
getting in is nearly impossible

although i hope to get in as I am filling out the apps right now

 

[Dagenais]

Well, I'm wondering if anyone has been there... Right now I'm in Canada, and going into Grade 11 in a couple of days. I'm wondering if anyone can give me an estimate of how hard it is to get it. Maybe an approximation of SAT and actual marks in certain classes? Thanks =)

Well, it's different for international students. Why you would give up a good education from Canada to go to Massachusetts, I don't get...

It may help to check MIT's website. Universities usually have admission information at their websites.

Getting into M.I.T. is extremely difficult. It takes more than just a good GPA and SAT scores. You're competing against some of the most academically-able people around the world.

 

[DarkEternal]

read my responses in this thread https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=35702

 

[Zeteg]

That's quite interesting...
I don't know... I don't believe I'll have too much trouble with my SAT scores. Schooling here is quite easy, and it's really just a matter of doing the work.

My question for you, Dark Eternal, is what would you suggest that would make me stand out, amongst the rest of the people? I play guitar 'cause I love metal, and it's great. I don't believe in helping my community, so I guess that's out of the question. However, I'm willing to do anything that'll get me into the University. Would you suggest I get at least a bit of community service in? Maybe I can find something I like.

Also, I'm aware that we need to write an essay concerning our childhood, and where we grew up. On the essay, would you suggest I submit information such as what I did academically, or what I did on my spare time? Are they looking for the ability to communicate academic skills, or are they looking for someone that can resolve their own life? Thanks =)

 

[DarkEternal]

eh, as long as you are an interesting individual it will show. if you're not, sorry, but there's no way you can "make" yourself be interesting, and you had better make it up a GREAT deal with your academics, i.e., fantastic published research etc etc. AP courses, all As, high SAT scores, whatever, big deal. people with those qualifications are a dime a hundred at MIT, so you'd better have something interesting and outstanding in your personality. there are also quite a few people at MIT who had low SAT scores and average grades, after all.

i play guitar too, so that's cool but not something especially unique. i too only had a bit of community service. for your essay, i would suggest not stressing on one thing too much, and try to hint at everything that won't be already included in the raw facts of your transcript or your grades. make it interesting, funny if you're a funny guy, deep if you want to do that, but definitely don't make it boring.

 

[Zeteg]

I'm not trying to make myself interesting. I'm plainly wondering what I should write. I don't want to emphasize on the wrong thing, after all. Thanks for the help, I think I have a pretty good idea of what I'll do. I guess I better go do a bit of community service...

A few more questions though: Do you believe athletics helps in applying? I mean, I'd make provincial badminton, table tennis, and I do quite a bit of other sports too. Ah, and lastly, what kind of extra-circular activities would help more? Thanks.

 

[Chi Meson]

Excuse me if I jump in here, I have an anecdote:

One of my AP physics students a couple of years ago was the class valedictorian. THe only grade that was NOT an A or A+ in his entire high school transcript was one semester as a freshman (an A-). His SATs were perfect. He got 5s on all of the AP tests he took (six of them, I think). He was a varsity athlete. He wanted to go into engineering since he started high school.

Did not get into MIT.

I'm told that past a certain threshold, it's a crapshoot. Go for it, good luck. By the way, I read in the MIT newspaper that there is a general feeling among students that they hate the place once they are in. Consider.

 

[DarkEternal]

athletics should help in applying. not just school athletics, but what you do in your spare time. for the last 3 years of high school my friends and i were pretty crazy about weightlifting, and we'd usually head straight after school to my friend's house and lift weights in his muddy backyard and then shoot some hoops or play football or tennis for a few hours afterwards. so i mentioned this in my interview and when i looked at my admissions record later it seems that the interviewer thought this was a pretty cool point. so it can't hurt, and if you're a varsity athlete or individually ranked pretty high i'd say it helps too. extracurricular involvement in anything is good as long as they can tell you were actually committed to it, i assume. i find resume padders to be pretty annoying and i would think the admissions staff would have learned to spot them by now.

as for your anecdote, chi meson, i know plenty of people through friends like that. for example, I'm pretty sure the valedictorian or some other bigshot at philips exeter last year did not get in. so i guess it is kind of a crapshoot, but only to some extent. i don't know what was lacking in his case, but I'm sure there was something. like i said, high scores and high grades are a dime a hundred.

as for the general feeling of hating this place, i think you might be talking about the acronym "IHTFP." there are times when you do feel like it's you against the institute, or you wish you had gone somewhere else, etc etc. but it's usually the night before you have 4 psets and 2 tests the next day and it's 5 in the morning. but i find very few people who aren't happy with being there and i know nobody who is transferring out after one year. if you speak to mostly anyone who goes here, you'll find a lot of people who will joke about how they hate it, but of course they're proud to be coming here. see if they hate it so much they don't put it on their resume, eh? in short, such feelings usually stem from the stress of voluntarily choosing such a harsh workload, when you could be breezing by at some other college, and not from the social environment or things like that.

 

[deltabourne]

Excuse me if I jump in here, I have an anecdote:

One of my AP physics students a couple of years ago was the class valedictorian. THe only grade that was NOT an A or A+ in his entire high school transcript was one semester as a freshman (an A-). His SATs were perfect. He got 5s on all of the AP tests he took (six of them, I think). He was a varsity athlete. He wanted to go into engineering since he started high school.

Did not get into MIT.

I'm told that past a certain threshold, it's a crapshoot. Go for it, good luck. By the way, I read in the MIT newspaper that there is a general feeling among students that they hate the place once they are in. Consider.

I also know a guy he was named Jesus and he was the son of God and he was perfect in every way and was the smartest person in the world and he applied and he STILL got rejected!

Most people make it seem like MIT is a ghost school and that no one gets accepted. People do. You can too - just meet and exceed the requirements. Have a personality. A perfect SAT score doesn't mean anything if you have no essay and no extracurriculars.

 

[Tom McCurdy]

Actually sometimes I think a perfect SAT score is a bad thing

Many top schools like to wear it as a badge
see look:
here is a list of 1600 valadictorians we have rejected

it helps boast the image of the school

 

[DarkEternal]

I also know a guy he was named Jesus and he was the son of God and he was perfect in every way and was the smartest person in the world and he applied and he STILL got rejected!

Most people make it seem like MIT is a ghost school and that no one gets accepted. People do. You can too - just meet and exceed the requirements. Have a personality. A perfect SAT score doesn't mean anything if you have no essay and no extracurriculars.

you knew Jesus? dude...SWEET

 

[cronxeh]

Apply to Columbia.. at least you'll have more chances of getting laid.. As for undergrad education? its all the same in any *University. But once you finish university with GPA of 3.0+ or 3.5+ or better - apply to big shot schools for Ph.D.

It doesn't matter if you went to Harvard and got your pathetic BA. You are still a nobody! Get broad interdisciplinary education from an affordable university, perhaps double major or whatever - and apply to top schools for Ph.D.

My $0.02

 

[Gza]

Why you would give up a good education from Canada to go to Massachusetts, I don't get...

You're a bit of an America hater Dagenais, so it's hard to take you seriously when you say things like that.

 

[Zantra]

Everyone's always hellbent on getting into one of the top 10 schools. What no one tells you is that once you're out in the real world doing job interviews, saying you went to Harvard over a lower university doesn't hold that much weight. It may open some doors if you want to do research, do grad school, or maybe 1 time out of 10 for jobs, but depending on your degree, no one's going to bow down and say "oh he's an ivy leaguer, so we must have him". If anything, they may expect more from you than the average college grad.

 

[Dagenais]

It doesn't matter if you went to Harvard and got your pathetic BA

So true! But, to the less informed, they figure that anyone who has studied at Harvard has to be smarter than someone who studied elsewhere.

You're a bit of an America hater Dagenais, so it's hard to take you seriously when you say things like that.

Me, an American hater? Where would you get that idea!

Unless you're going to university for pure bragging rights, so you can say to people, "I went to MIT", you could get just as good of schooling in Canada without the international school fees. University of Toronto and McGill University are great schools. Halifax itself, where the original poster lives has five main post-secondary institutions!

 

[DarkEternal]

well if you're talking about education in terms of just classes and such, i'll agree that as long as you go to a good school with a good selection of classes, the physics you learn at one school will most likely be similar to the physics you learn at another. however, places like MIT have great resources and opportunities that other colleges may not; for example, the UROP program makes it insanely easy for undergrads to do research under professors or in a research group. also, there are many tech and science companies in the surrounding areas near campus which originated from MIT, providing internships and networking opportunities. also, at name-brand places like MIT, you get to work with and be taught by a lot of famous and noteworthy academicians. for example, my recitation instructor this semester will be Wolfgang Ketterle, recent winner of the Nobel Prize in physics. last semester as a freshman i worked on a project with Paul Schechter, who is one of the leaders in his field, gravitational lensing. heck, he's got a function named after him, which is always a bonus.

anyways, my point is although the education received might be roughly equal (although this is definitely arguable), there are other reasons for going to MIT than just its name-brand benefits. you get a lot of opportunities for jobs and research and get recommendations from noteworthy people, and THESE are the things that impress grad school interviewers. is that worth international school fees? i would say yes. after all, if all you want is an education, why not just crack a few books open. like you really need college to learn this stuff? and then try to look for a job, see where that gets you.

 

[Chi Meson]

as for the general feeling of hating this place, i think you might be talking about the acronym "IHTFP." there are times when you do feel like it's you against the institute, or you wish you had gone somewhere else, etc etc. but it's usually the night before you have 4 psets and 2 tests the next day and it's 5 in the morning. but i find very few people who aren't happy with being there and i know nobody who is transferring out after one year. if you speak to mostly anyone who goes here, you'll find a lot of people who will joke about how they hate it, but of course they're proud to be coming here. see if they hate it so much they don't put it on their resume, eh? in short, such feelings usually stem from the stress of voluntarily choosing such a harsh workload, when you could be breezing by at some other college, and not from the social environment or things like that.

Actually, I am relieved to hear that. It was, indeed, an article about "IHTFP." They never spelled it out in the article but I figured it out pretty quickly.

 

[poolwin2001]

Financial aid

The website says that they give 100% financial aid to about 75% of students is this 150% true?
regards
poolwin2001

 

[Zeteg]

Well, let's see... the sports I play are... Badminton, Soccer, Table Tennis, Tennis, Squash, Swimming, Fencing, and some smallers sports which don't really have much value. I don't weight lift, but that's 'cause the sports I play don't require much muscle mass, and I prefer to have the dexterity.

I guess I'll start searching for a reason on why I'm special, as opposed to other people. One of the reasons that I want to go to MIT, is more or less, that I need a challenge. It seems that the harder the work, the more I actually do it, and put effort into it. Also, I usually need some competition to drive me to do stuff. I'm also there for the educational benefits that MIT provides, and being there for a tour last summer, they seem quite good.

Financial aid would be something I'd probably need, seeing as how the fees are extremely expensive. Thanks for the info.

 

[quantumdude]

Unless you're going to university for pure bragging rights, so you can say to people, "I went to MIT", you could get just as good of schooling in Canada without the international school fees.

I'd be very surprised to learn that one could get as good a scientific education from any school in Canada, as one could get at MIT. Let's not forget that in science, part of the educational opportunity, is research opportunity.

Also, while there's no doubting that one could get a terrific education about[/color] the work of todays top experimentalists and theorists at the schools you mention, it's at least an order of magnitude more beneficial to get an education from[/color] today's top experimentalists and theorists.

 

[Dagenais]

Also, while there's no doubting that one could get a terrific education about the work of todays top experimentalists and theorists at the schools you mention, it's at least an order of magnitude more beneficial to get an education from today's top experimentalists and theorists.

McGill and University of Toronto feature some of Canada's best researchers. Don't worry about it, there are tons of qualified and dedicated teachers here.

 

[Simfish]

MIT is a safety for you if you get into RSI. ;) And RSI isn't as hard as you think (I'm sure that the majority of the top students in science will never even hear of RSI because their schools don't even know what the hell RSI is. There are some RSI acceptees who have heard of RSI only a week before applying). THough you still have to have an EXEMPLARY record. BTW, at collegeconfidential there were two people with 1310's on their SAT who still got into RSI.

There's a MIT info session very soon (MIT reps are visiting places all over the country).

http://artofproblemsolving.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=15839

Details up there.

I have Asperger's Syndrome and really only have interests in academic fields. I play no musical instruments nor do I play sports nor do I hold any leadership positions nor do I care about any of them. They're just too boring and are not practical. Do you think I have a chance at MIT if I have a stellar academic record? (and ECs in math and science; I've heard that for Ivy admissions at the very least; they care about how you pursue your interest with passion, rather than about a well-rounded student). And I presume MIT admissions are very similar to Ivy League admissions (and would be even easier for a nerd 'cuz MIT doesn't really have a sports team). I am after all, the stereotypical nerd. ANd I want to pursue my interests, not go into something that I don't like for the sake of getting into college.

Also, would achievement in the Humanities benefit admission to MIT? I'm thinking about getting into the National History Day and participating in various essay contests b/c essays are fine with me.

Or would I have a better chance at Caltech?

I even know someone who had to write a letter to Caltech showing that he would be committed to science because he was too well-rounded.

 

[quantumdude]

McGill and University of Toronto feature some of Canada's best researchers.

Yeah, but my point is that MIT features some of the World's[/color] best researchers. I mean, let's be realistic. Have you ever heard of "The McGill Bag Model of Hadrons"? Of course not. But every student of physics has heard of the MIT Bag Model.

Don't worry about it, there are tons of qualified and dedicated teachers here.

Hey, I don't doubt it, and I'm not worried. Hell, I didn't even go to MIT, I'm just an admirer from afar. But your remarks reflect a disappreciation for something that is truly awesome. IMHO, if anyone is lucky enought to get accepted at MIT and can swing the funding, it would be a crying shame if he didn't go.

 

[Dagenais]

Yeah, but my point is that MIT features some of the World's best researchers. I mean, let's be realistic. Have you ever heard of "The McGill Bag Model of Hadrons"? Of course not. But every student of physics has heard of the MIT Bag Model.

Funny that you mention "the world", since McGill is world renown. Turn to CBC, every time medical research is going on or a break-out in diseases (SARS), you'll always see McGill on the case.

Even read Canadian newspapers. It's just as successful in Canada as MIT in the United States. The only difference is that McGill is popular for art, law school and medical school.

Waterloo would be the Canadian equivalent to MIT (though I admit that MIT is better than Waterloo, but I have my doubts about it being better than McGill).

Edit: I must also add that McGill was once easily one of the best schools in North America. However, it has received less funding this past decade. Why? It is an english school in a french province.

 

[i_wish_i_was_smart]

Well, it's different for international students. Why you would give up a good education from Canada to go to Massachusetts, I don't get...

It may help to check MIT's website. Universities usually have admission information at their websites.

Getting into M.I.T. is extremely difficult. It takes more than just a good GPA and SAT scores. You're competing against some of the most academically-able people around the world.

i don't know if someone said this already because i didnt read the whole thread but SAT are non-existent in Canada, and the kid asking is from Canada, and i know cause I am Canadian, now Zeteg, pm me with what you want to do and i could help you find a respectable Canadian University with an exellent program in case you want a back up or something, but if you REALLY want to be in MIT follow your heart, but remember this, tuition her is way cheaper up here

EDIT **** Dagenais i didnt read where you were from, but taking your from Quebec you probably don't know much about Canada being across the border and all hehe j/k, but how do you expect a Canadian getting an SAT score, would we have to pass an SAT test before applying for an american school

 

[PRodQuanta]

DarkEternal said:well if you're talking about education in terms of just classes and such, i'll agree that as long as you go to a good school with a good selection of classes, the physics you learn at one school will most likely be similar to the physics you learn at another.

On the contrary, I just had a visit with a physicist who works for intel in Seatle. I was talking to him on various issues... la-di-da... and I heard him mention that when he graduated undergad. at ISU and went on to Arizona University Grad School, he felt that he was a little behind the other students.

I would like to make a bet that you wouldn't feel that way if you went to MIT. If I was a betting man, that is.

Paden Roder

 

[selfAdjoint]

That is partly due to the selection of students. MIT gets the best from all over the East.

 

[Simfish]

My notes on the MIT Info session I went to:

It was last week, but it's about time that I finally transmit my notes here:

So... Sunday, September 26th, 2004. Admissions session at Renton, Washington. Speaker was a MIT admissions officer. I came in and received my nametag (I registered for it). Proof that we came was deposited in a box: the admissions officers probably record student interest in the institution. I sat next to the other person in my school who also attended the session: he took notes too, although they were not as detailed as mine. Here are my notes:

------

Founded in 1861

Mission (of which all schools need): Educating students in science and technology for the betterment of society

MIT is a center for scientific research (self-evident, obviously). Artificial tissue, human genome. Tim Berners-Lee. Interesting, it's not just physics. Biology and computer science too.

Latin motto: Mens et Manus. Hands-on important too.

--------------

Classes:

Problem-solving/analytical based education, not just mass memorization.

Not F=ma and 40 exercises: three problems with a week.

Collaboration extremely important; MIT students don't just study 24/7 in their dorms.

Core classes:2 physics, 2 math, 1 chem, 1 bio, 8 humanities. MIT is said to require more Humanities than others.

There are s lecture hall classes that often have Nobel laureates like Wolfgang Ketterle as lecturers, and concourse-streamlined classes that are seminar based and taught by graduate students.

UROP - Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program - NOT professor's assistant, walking the professor's dog. UROP is meritocratic.

SPeaker shows picture of sophomore running nuclear reactor.

Students can get paid for their research - 75% of those in research choose to get paid. For some reason, I didn't take note of what the rest did: this statistic was enough for me because I don't want to be the college janitor.

-------

Boston - more than 50 colleges. Half of population under 35.

MIT lays along the Charles River, seperating Cambridge from Boston. Most dorms (forgot percentage) get spectacular views of the Charles River as they lie along it.

Subway serves all: thus, a car is not necessary.

Uniform police force.

4000 undergraduates: 57% male, 43% female. However, among the individual disciplines, you will probably see a large discrepancy (especially amongst those majoring in male-dominated fields).

Only a plurarity of races. 35% white, 30% Asian, 15% Latino, 10% black (these figures may be incorrect since they were recited from memory).

10% International, 30% of MIT students speak language other than English.

20% were first in family to college, the speaker was the first as well, whose parents did not go to college (as if you wanted to know, his father was a postal officer).

90% of students have financial aid of some sort.

#1 state is Califoirnia, followed closely by New York and Texas.

--------

Majors:

#1 major: Engineering: 50% of students do engineering. Mechanical Engineering, Electricial Engineering, etc...

#2: Science. Neuroscience is growing tremendously and MIT has strong department there. I did not take note of anything else because I thought it self-evident.

#3: Management Science; entrepeneurship, people who mostly want to take initiative.

And then there are the Humanities too.

Architecture and city-planning also popular.

Regardless of major, everyone has to take the same core classes. So there is kind of a shared language at MIT.

------

Little bureacracy (yes, it's biased but a Cornell admissions official wouldn't have said that. SO it can't be notorious)

1st year: Pass/fail, precluding competition. WHo cares about the D?

No class rank, valedictorian, summa cum laude.

------------

Student Life:

Housing guaranteed for all 4 years, 90% of students live in dorms. CHoose from 11 dorms, each with its own feels.

No freshman dorms, so dorms are shared amongst all classes. You know how it is if you've read Feynman's autobio.

Strong spirit of mentoring/role modeling.

Brand new athletic center.

41 sports which do not take over student's lives; completely participatory. MIT is best at running and weaponry although its sports teams are all Divison III.

Numerous clubs, over 300 in all. All sorts of odd clubs, like underwater hockey club.

All can participate.

Laundry and bathrooms are connected to Internet: find out what laundry and bathrooms are available without wasting your time. laundry.mit.edu, bathroom.mit.edu.

DOme is decorated in respect to events.

The speaker even mentioned pranks or hacks.

---------

Application:

People now apply online: you can check your application status online.

Form A and Form B.

Educational Counsolers are the interviewers: they interview and every high school is assigned an educational counsoler. You learn about MIT from them; they learn about who you are. You can ask all the questions you want. Contact them, don't get too nervous.

They are thus introduced. They also talk about what they majored them; each major is assigned a number. FOr example, Physics is assigned course #8. SO you would say I have a B.S. in Field 8, which is physics.

-------

Admissions: Ah, this:

30% apply early.

10,000 applications, 1,600 accepted.

Once you're in the 25-75% score range or higher, you're considered competitive for MIT and SAT scores are no longer factored (or so, according to the speaker). Then admissions is based on the type of person you are. They look for mostly A's and scores in the 700s but not for perfection. Class rigor especially important.

Speaker talks about the story of a student who scored a 780 on the Math and said that he wanted to retake the SAT. He was warned not to because it was perfectly acceptable.

Class of 2006: No preference for new/old SAT. One math, one science, one Humanities.

You need three letters of recommendation: Guidance counsoler and from two teachers who know you WELL, both as a student and as a person.

Essay: Don't put too many multisyllabic words to answer questions. What inspires and motivates you. How you spend your time outside of schoool.

MIT wants people who are willing to collaborate, who have initiative, who want to make the world a better place. Role model and mentoring spirit is especially important.

There are no quotas, except for International students.

Context is considered too: how you make the best of what is offered. Utilizing all available resources.

-----------

Financial Aid:

Fee waivers accepted.

Need-blind, need-based.

MIT determined to let every accepted student attend and wants to meet full need of anyone who comes.

Scholarships and student loans are also accounted.

60-70% of MIT students receive financial aid of some kind. Average grant is $20,000.

--------

/End of lecture.

---------

I then ask some questions. I first ask the educational counsoler assigned for my school a couple: although I really wanted him to remember me two years from now. ;) He told me to have fun and to enjoy life as much as I can for now since I already gave him the impression that I knew everything that I needed to know about getting into MIT. Well, I did say that I liked to have the MIT style of fun: some fun just doing science and math; and some fun in pulling pranks too. I don't have fun in social events.

Next questions were to the speaker/admissions officer: I ask him about admissions. I asked him if I could just specialize in math and sicence, without being well-rounded: essentially, nerds. He said that there were many of that type at MIT. He also told me that even if I didn't get into MIT, at least I should relish in the fact that I didn't do what I didn't want to do in high school, rather than engaging in what I didn't consider fun just for the purpose of getting in.

Next question to speaker: How does MIT compare to Caltech and MIT to the Ivies:

MIT/Caltech: Mostly the college atmosphere: MIT is large, Caltech small; MIT urban, Caltech suburban; MIT in Boston area and Caltech in LA area.

MIT/Ivies: COmpletely different atmosphere and focus. I also asked him about how the admissions differed: he said that they both looked for different people in general.

My parents then drove me out.