How to get into Harvard, MIT or Princeton from India?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges and strategies for Indian students aspiring to gain admission to prestigious universities such as Harvard, MIT, and Princeton. Participants share their experiences, advice, and insights regarding academic performance, extracurricular activities, and the admissions process.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants emphasize the importance of maintaining high academic performance, such as achieving a 10 CGPA and excelling in standardized tests like the SAT.
  • Extracurricular activities are discussed, with suggestions to pursue music, sports, and competitions to enhance applications. However, there is debate about the relevance of these activities unless they directly relate to scholarship opportunities.
  • One participant mentions that attending a large university with strong research programs may be more beneficial than attending a prestigious undergraduate institution like MIT.
  • There are differing opinions on the significance of family connections and legacy admissions at schools like Harvard and Princeton.
  • Participants highlight the need to research past admissions data to understand acceptance rates and factors influencing admissions decisions.
  • Concerns are raised about the difficulties international students face in gaining admission and securing financial aid, with some noting that acceptance rates for international students are significantly lower.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the best strategies for admission, with no clear consensus on the most effective approach. Disagreements arise regarding the importance of specific extracurricular activities and the impact of family connections on admissions.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that the admissions landscape is complex, with factors such as financial aid needs and the varying acceptance rates for international students influencing outcomes. There is also mention of the need for exceptional achievements to stand out in a competitive applicant pool.

Who May Find This Useful

Students from India considering applications to top universities in the US, educators advising students on college admissions, and individuals interested in the admissions processes of prestigious institutions.

  • #61
From what I have heard/seen the IITs are very rigorous schools with brilliant students that will prepare you to do well in whatever you choose to do. They are incredibly difficult to get into, but the admissions process is transparent unlike it is in the U.S. The vast majority of the grad students I know (in the U.S.) are from one of the IITs. One last thing I have to say is that the IITs are actually much more demanding than some of the Ivy League schools/other top schools in the U.S. many which have a ton of grade inflation.
 
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  • #62
Here is what the IIT entrance process was like, when I went through in the early 80s.

1. Take entrance exam - 4 session, math, physics, chemistry, english, a couple of hours for each over 2 days.
2. Wait for results. You get a discrete rank - one through around 2000. There were 6 IITs when I was there, about 300 for an incoming class at each, so total of about 1500-1800 incoming freshmen.
3. One fine day, show up at your nearest IIT and fill out a card listing your choice of campus and engineering field in order of choice, one through 10 or whatever.
4. And this where things get surreal. Ever seen an NFL draft? That's what it's like. Everyone is in a big auditorium, that is linked by a conference call to the other campuses.
5. They go - Rank 1, what do you have? Computer science in IIT Bombay? OK.. Rank 2 - what's your first choice? Computer Science in IIT Madras? OK.. and so on. Computer science was the most desirable, so by the time they got to rank 100 or so all the computer science seats were gone. Then came electrrical, mecahnical, etc. etc. So, if you were rank 500 or so you probably didn't get your first choice.

There were no recommendation letters, no school grades (you had to graduate, that's it), no AP scores, nothing. It was the entrance exam period.

I'm not saying it was the best system, but it was brutal and agnostic for sure.

And then it got harder when you got in lol...
 
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  • #63
A couple other thoughts:

OP should be very happy if he gets into IIT, and then be prepared to work hard. As a technical point: there is an even better school located, I believe, in Mumbai, that is private and I think graduate level only -- I can't recall the name. One of the guys I know out here in the US (who has a fancy tech job these days) did his CS undergrad at IIT and then did his Phd in Comp Sci at said ultra-elite private school. Another IIT alum I know is in awe of said grad school. (He didn't get in). I can chase down the school name if needed.

As a second point, if for some reason you are unhappy with the course offerings or the way they are taught, you can find outstanding free courses from MIT on edx.org as well as Open Course Ware. It's not the same as being there in person, but with edx in particular most courses have support from an on campus grad student and/or prof -- very helpful for when you get stuck, and very high quality materials.
 
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  • #64
Scrumhalf said:
Here is what the IIT entrance process was like, when I went through in the early 80s.

1. Take entrance exam - 4 session, math, physics, chemistry, english, a couple of hours for each over 2 days.
2. Wait for results. You get a discrete rank - one through around 2000. There were 6 IITs when I was there, about 300 for an incoming class at each, so total of about 1500-1800 incoming freshmen.
3. One fine day, show up at your nearest IIT and fill out a card listing your choice of campus and engineering field in order of choice, one through 10 or whatever.
4. And this where things get surreal. Ever seen an NFL draft? That's what it's like. Everyone is in a big auditorium, that is linked by a conference call to the other campuses.
5. They go - Rank 1, what do you have? Computer science in IIT Bombay? OK.. Rank 2 - what's your first choice? Computer Science in IIT Madras? OK.. and so on. Computer science was the most desirable, so by the time they got to rank 100 or so all the computer science seats were gone. Then came electrrical, mecahnical, etc. etc. So, if you were rank 500 or so you probably didn't get your first choice.

There were no recommendation letters, no school grades (you had to graduate, that's it), no AP scores, nothing. It was the entrance exam period.

I'm not saying it was the best system, but it was brutal and agnostic for sure.

And then it got harder when you got in lol...
Its pretty much the same, with a quite a few major differences now. You have to give 2 tests - JEE Mains and JEE Advance. You have to pass Mains to be able to give Advance, and then pass Advance to get into IIT.
And, only the top 100 get computer science in IITD or IITB, and everyone seems to want that, so pretty much everyone has to compromise.
But on the positive note, if i get a good rank in Advance, I surely will get into IIT, with no importance of extra-curriculars and school grades and I just have to focus on JEE. And I don't know why, but I am pretty confident that I would be able to crack JEE, let's see.
 
  • #65
StoneTemplePython said:
A couple other thoughts:

OP should be very happy if he gets into IIT, and then be prepared to work hard. As a technical point: there is an even better school located, I believe, in Mumbai, that is private and I think graduate level only -- I can't recall the name. One of the guys I know out here in the US (who has a fancy tech job these days) did his CS undergrad at IIT and then did his Phd in Comp Sci at said ultra-elite private school. Another IIT alum I know is in awe of said grad school. (He didn't get in). I can chase down the school name if needed.

As a second point, if for some reason you are unhappy with the course offerings or the way they are taught, you can find outstanding free courses from MIT on edx.org as well as Open Course Ware. It's not the same as being there in person, but with edx in particular most courses have support from an on campus grad student and/or prof -- very helpful for when you get stuck, and very high quality materials.
Are you talking about TIFR?(Tata Institiute of Fundamental Research)
 
  • #66
Vatsal Goyal said:
Are you talking about TIFR?(Tata Institiute of Fundamental Research)

You've got it.
 
  • #67
TIFR and Indian Insititute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore are both top-notch.
 

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