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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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/End of lecture.
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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.
