The tale of how one negligent provincial in MIT acted
Hello everyone, my name is Oleg, I am 17 years old, and today I will tell you about the process of admission to MIT.
In order to preserve the integrity of the narrative, it should be noted that the article was written on March 15, 2013, on the day of the announcement of the students enrollment verdicts.
When I enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I was surprised to find that there wasn’t something not just a little edible “success story” related to entering MIT, but in general at least some guidance on how to enter top American universities on my own. . Especially on undergraduate. I thought: "Well, apparently, you will have to write to me." I will try to convey information in the most understandable way.
I wanted to enter MIT about one and a half years ago at the beginning of the tenth grade, but for the time being this intention seemed to be just an unattainable dream, an ideal. Then I knew only exemplary requirements, in the spirit of "it is necessary to pass, there, SAT, TOEFL, uh ... what else?". At one point, I really asked the question - what else?
In September, I visited the site MyMIT - the site accepting applications for admission. I read the information, it was not - I decided to register. The registration process took me about twenty minutes, after which I, terribly joyful from my first step, began to wait for the appointment of an interviewer.
')
I was assigned an EC ten minutes after registration, and, oh God, it turned out to be Russian!
After registration, I began to more carefully re-read the information on the site for admission requirements. They are as follows: in any case, you must pass two SAT Subject Test: one in math and one in a scientific discipline: physics / chemistry / biology. You must also choose one of three exams to choose from: SAT, ACT or TOEFL.
In addition to the exams, you must send two letters of recommendation: one from a teacher of humanities, one from a teacher of mathematics or a scientific cycle. Also, you must give your head teacher or director complete the Secondary School Report - this is your GPA, and the questionnaire evaluating you according to different criteria. Even in your application for admission, you must write two essays (100 words) and three essays (250 words) about yourself on specific topics.
Deadline - January 1, 23:59 EST. In general, there are two deadlines: November 1 and January 1, but take your time, my little applicants: the deadline of November 1 is available only to US citizens. Well, Canada, like.
It should be noted that in most top American universities the deadlines range from December 1 to January 3. Deadline universities are much more democratic.
Now about everything in order.
6 September. Panic. I then thought that the deadline was November 1, and the registration for the latest available SAT date - October 7, seems to be closing on September 7. I was afraid that I would have to pass the exams in a month, but then I read everything and was light from my heart.
I decided not to pull the cat by the tail and immediately wrote to my interviewer. He responded by saying that he was busy with other things while he could sign up for an interview in October. In the meantime, I decided to deal with the exams. I decided to take the TOEFL and SAT Math II / Physics.
Despite the fact that everything was quite good with my English, for the first time in my life I had to go to a TOEFL tutor. Surprisingly, but since then my English has become significantly better. Especially added confidence. I would recommend that you find a specialist anyway.
September and October were pretty fast, I went to the tutor once a week, did a lot of TOEFL assignments, and scored on subject SAT, considering that they were elementary. This is also my mistake, the consequences of which I will discuss below. I decided that I would take the SAT Subject Tests on December 1 in Moscow, and the TOEFL on December 22 in Ufa.
I signed with the interviewer, we agreed on November 11th. The interview was on Skype, it lasted an hour and a half. Interviews are conducted by MIT graduates, so it consists of two parts: the first half of the time you answer questions about yourself, the second half of the time - your questions about MIT. The interview went smoothly, they told me that the report would be good. I was pleased as an elephant.
Meanwhile, December is approaching.
For two months I was preparing for TOEFL, and it was only on November 27 that I paid attention to the SAT. And I fell into despair, because he was not a damn thing easy. Yes, the questions were tolerable, but they were too many. I found a wonderful site that I recommend to you - SparkNotes - on this site you can immediately go through several SAT, GRE, GMAT samplers, see your results and analyze them in depth. I was unlucky then to get sick, and I spent the rest of three days tormenting this site, squeezing everything I could from it.
It must be said that the first attempts of mathematics and physics were not very steep - 670 points for each subject. From the second attempt, I wrote mathematics by 780 points, but I couldn’t raise the physics above 710. I started a special notebook in which I examined each of my mistakes and looked for solutions.
Day test. It was necessary to take a printed Admission Ticket, a passport and, just in case, be overseas and come up at 7:45 am at MUM (sharaga for majors on Leningradsky Avenue, where Luzhkov is the dean of the Faculty of Management of major cities, lol). The problem is that I had to get there from Minsk highway, and besides, I didn’t know where it was at all. When I arrived at the station Belorussky Station, I realized how terrible a heap of buildings is Moscow, I "stopped loving" it that day.
We came, there were about thirty or forty people, probably. All of them were pretty flustered, that waking up plunged me into depression, but then it turned out that almost all the people there were Muscovites who donated the SAT not for the first time, because they had already started. And it was a pretty cool feeling, but it came to me only after the test, and during the exam I was not myself.
I went out, and I was shaking all over, although I was usually calm. I thought I was a master of physics and was hoping for math. The results were to come on December 20, and it was a very nervous three weeks. In the end, the results came.
I was the happiest man on earth.
Some statistics : most MIT students have results from 760 to 800 in math and from 740 to 800 in scientific discipline. I more than perfectly fit into these indicators. The case is left for the TOEFL.
TOEFL I passed on December 22 in Ufa. Because of the hour of waiting in a cold audience, I again became terribly nervous. I was very worried about Speaking, since I do not know how to answer these questions quickly - this is a problem for me. I will not spread, I will say only that I also thought that I had filled up the TOEFL and wrote its points at 60.
To enter MIT, you must write a TOEFL of at least 90 points, the recommended result: more than a hundred. On January 4th, my results came, and I was again stunned:
My chances of admission are growing rapidly.
The New Year was inexorably approaching, which meant the deadline, and my essay and recommendations were not ready. I got a very awkward situation with recommendations: I asked them in early December, I agreed to give them, then they abruptly refused at the behest of my left heel, and then, in the twentieth numbers, they took their words back. In general, by the end of December, I had no recommendations. What a sin to conceal, I had to write myself. However, the problem was that they had to be sent on the official letterhead of the educational institution, and I did not have time to make them before the building of my lyceum was sealed. Thus, I was left without a recommendation, but, fortunately, the deadline for the documents was extended until February first! I immediately ran to the lyceum when it opened, and did everything. One recommendation was nevertheless written to me, and the second was approved by its “author”.
At the same time, it was necessary to fill out an application for admission. I will tell you a little about the essay that was required to write; the best way to write an essay for MIT is described in the article by Chris S. Show, Don't Tell!
I started writing an essay on the thirtieth of December and finished at five in the morning on the second of January, so the most important advice:
At this point, I only needed to send my estimates for the half year. I did this and, thus, my application for admission was completed:
The list of requirements I have preserved only in this form, do not be angry.
Probably, those who have not fallen asleep at this moment are concerned about the issue of payment for tuition.
The cost of tuition for living on campus in the current school year is 57010 USD, 42,000 of which go to study, and the remaining fifteen go to campus, textbooks and meals. I must say that I am from an ordinary family, so I don’t have that kind of money. In truth, for me, MIT was an urgent issue only with 100% financial assistance that could be received - it is difficult, but possible.
To count on financial assistance at MIT, you need to do a few things:
I filled out the CSS Profile, but with the rest I did not have time in time. I decided that if I did, they would allow the rest to be sent.
And came the month of waiting ...
On the night of March 8, a rather interesting letter came to my mail:
Hi 12sd
I immediately followed the link and made sure that the system was working. But I lost the screen.
And then day X came - everything was supposed to be known on March 15 at 3:28 Ufa time, everyone wished me luck, but I was in a slightly apathetic state, saying that I did everything I could, come what may.
Today, March 15, I accidentally woke up at 4:50, immediately went to the site and ...
That's all the payoff for my efforts. I think I had a good chance, but it did not work out. However, to my own surprise, I am not very upset. After all, this is a great experience, and besides, I now have the opportunity to tell you about enrollment and, perhaps, encourage you to new achievements.
Finally, I want to leave a small list of tips for entering the top American universities:
Behind this all. If someone wants to talk with me and learn more, you are welcome.
In order to preserve the integrity of the narrative, it should be noted that the article was written on March 15, 2013, on the day of the announcement of the students enrollment verdicts.
Picture to attract attention
When I enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I was surprised to find that there wasn’t something not just a little edible “success story” related to entering MIT, but in general at least some guidance on how to enter top American universities on my own. . Especially on undergraduate. I thought: "Well, apparently, you will have to write to me." I will try to convey information in the most understandable way.
Start
I wanted to enter MIT about one and a half years ago at the beginning of the tenth grade, but for the time being this intention seemed to be just an unattainable dream, an ideal. Then I knew only exemplary requirements, in the spirit of "it is necessary to pass, there, SAT, TOEFL, uh ... what else?". At one point, I really asked the question - what else?
In September, I visited the site MyMIT - the site accepting applications for admission. I read the information, it was not - I decided to register. The registration process took me about twenty minutes, after which I, terribly joyful from my first step, began to wait for the appointment of an interviewer.
After registering at MyMIT, you should be assigned a person who will conduct an interview with you - Educational Counselor. If you have not been assigned an EC, you must email the admissions office.
')
I was assigned an EC ten minutes after registration, and, oh God, it turned out to be Russian!
Cyril, if you read this, I give you my regards!
After registration, I began to more carefully re-read the information on the site for admission requirements. They are as follows: in any case, you must pass two SAT Subject Test: one in math and one in a scientific discipline: physics / chemistry / biology. You must also choose one of three exams to choose from: SAT, ACT or TOEFL.
Little about exams
SAT or Scholastic Assessment Test is a standardized test that is accepted by almost all American universities. It consists of three parts: Math, Critical Reading and Writing. For each, you can get up to 800 points, usually take the sum of all three parts. Rent it in Russia costs about 90-100 USD.
SAT Subject Tests - tests in specific subjects, about twenty subjects in total. Consists of 40-100 questions of the level of parts A and B of the exam, which need to be answered in an hour. You can also score up to 800 points. Five answer choices, all, of course, in English.
Regarding the items required at MIT:
Mathematics is of two levels: Level 1 is designed for knowledge of statistics and combinatorics, Level 2 is designed for knowledge of trigonometry, stereometry, logarithms, and analysis began. 50 questions per hour are given.
Physics - 75 questions per hour, you need to consider that the American approach to teaching is different from ours.
Biology is also divided into two types: Ecological and Molecular. I can judge them only by name. Chemistry is also not familiar.
For two tests: Math Level 2 and Physics - I spent 78 USD.
Organizers - CollegeBoard
TOEFL is an English proficiency test, in this case we take only Internet-Based Test. It consists of four parts, for each you can get up to 30 points: Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing. The maximum, respectively, 120 points. About TOEFL on the Internet a lot of information that you can get. To pass the TOEFL is 250 USD.
Organizers - ETS .
ACT is an esoteric alternative to the SAT.Do not hand it over, boys.
SAT Subject Tests - tests in specific subjects, about twenty subjects in total. Consists of 40-100 questions of the level of parts A and B of the exam, which need to be answered in an hour. You can also score up to 800 points. Five answer choices, all, of course, in English.
Regarding the items required at MIT:
Mathematics is of two levels: Level 1 is designed for knowledge of statistics and combinatorics, Level 2 is designed for knowledge of trigonometry, stereometry, logarithms, and analysis began. 50 questions per hour are given.
Physics - 75 questions per hour, you need to consider that the American approach to teaching is different from ours.
Biology is also divided into two types: Ecological and Molecular. I can judge them only by name. Chemistry is also not familiar.
For two tests: Math Level 2 and Physics - I spent 78 USD.
Organizers - CollegeBoard
TOEFL is an English proficiency test, in this case we take only Internet-Based Test. It consists of four parts, for each you can get up to 30 points: Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing. The maximum, respectively, 120 points. About TOEFL on the Internet a lot of information that you can get. To pass the TOEFL is 250 USD.
Organizers - ETS .
ACT is an esoteric alternative to the SAT.
In addition to the exams, you must send two letters of recommendation: one from a teacher of humanities, one from a teacher of mathematics or a scientific cycle. Also, you must give your head teacher or director complete the Secondary School Report - this is your GPA, and the questionnaire evaluating you according to different criteria. Even in your application for admission, you must write two essays (100 words) and three essays (250 words) about yourself on specific topics.
Deadline - January 1, 23:59 EST. In general, there are two deadlines: November 1 and January 1, but take your time, my little applicants: the deadline of November 1 is available only to US citizens. Well, Canada, like.
It should be noted that in most top American universities the deadlines range from December 1 to January 3. Deadline universities are much more democratic.
Now about everything in order.
Interview and registration for exams
6 September. Panic. I then thought that the deadline was November 1, and the registration for the latest available SAT date - October 7, seems to be closing on September 7. I was afraid that I would have to pass the exams in a month, but then I read everything and was light from my heart.
I decided not to pull the cat by the tail and immediately wrote to my interviewer. He responded by saying that he was busy with other things while he could sign up for an interview in October. In the meantime, I decided to deal with the exams. I decided to take the TOEFL and SAT Math II / Physics.
A very important digression for entering the States.
Here it is necessary to note one very important point: I enrolled only at MIT, ignoring other universities. Only then did I understand the rashness of my act. If you intend to enroll in several top universities at once, then you should take into account that MIT has a rather logical policy of choosing tests for foreigners. Many other universities it is not. Caltech, for example, requires both SAT and TOEFL, and so with most universities. On the other hand, you can get to Princeton without SAT at all (although if you do that, I will erect a monument to you, but there is still such an opportunity).
Despite the fact that everything was quite good with my English, for the first time in my life I had to go to a TOEFL tutor. Surprisingly, but since then my English has become significantly better. Especially added confidence. I would recommend that you find a specialist anyway.
September and October were pretty fast, I went to the tutor once a week, did a lot of TOEFL assignments, and scored on subject SAT, considering that they were elementary. This is also my mistake, the consequences of which I will discuss below. I decided that I would take the SAT Subject Tests on December 1 in Moscow, and the TOEFL on December 22 in Ufa.
I signed with the interviewer, we agreed on November 11th. The interview was on Skype, it lasted an hour and a half. Interviews are conducted by MIT graduates, so it consists of two parts: the first half of the time you answer questions about yourself, the second half of the time - your questions about MIT. The interview went smoothly, they told me that the report would be good. I was pleased as an elephant.
Meanwhile, December is approaching.
Exams
For two months I was preparing for TOEFL, and it was only on November 27 that I paid attention to the SAT. And I fell into despair, because he was not a damn thing easy. Yes, the questions were tolerable, but they were too many. I found a wonderful site that I recommend to you - SparkNotes - on this site you can immediately go through several SAT, GRE, GMAT samplers, see your results and analyze them in depth. I was unlucky then to get sick, and I spent the rest of three days tormenting this site, squeezing everything I could from it.
It must be said that the first attempts of mathematics and physics were not very steep - 670 points for each subject. From the second attempt, I wrote mathematics by 780 points, but I couldn’t raise the physics above 710. I started a special notebook in which I examined each of my mistakes and looked for solutions.
Day test. It was necessary to take a printed Admission Ticket, a passport and, just in case, be overseas and come up at 7:45 am at MUM (sharaga for majors on Leningradsky Avenue, where Luzhkov is the dean of the Faculty of Management of major cities, lol). The problem is that I had to get there from Minsk highway, and besides, I didn’t know where it was at all. When I arrived at the station Belorussky Station, I realized how terrible a heap of buildings is Moscow, I "stopped loving" it that day.
We came, there were about thirty or forty people, probably. All of them were pretty flustered, that waking up plunged me into depression, but then it turned out that almost all the people there were Muscovites who donated the SAT not for the first time, because they had already started. And it was a pretty cool feeling, but it came to me only after the test, and during the exam I was not myself.
How is the exam
You are seated in classrooms, give out books with tests in all subjects and forms in which you can write up to three tests. You can change the list of items on the day of the test, in contrast to the exam. You listen to a briefing, fill out forms, then in turn you mark the items to be handed over, the timer starts, you open the book in the right place and write a test. The book is a draft. Pencils will be given to you there. The calculator can only be used in mathematics, but it can be the most sophisticated, you can even use graphic types such as TI-86.
The hour is over - you leave the audience for a break. If you are afraid to fill out the form during the test, leave five minutes in stock. I had already burned myself: I did not have time to put circles on mathematics, and I was barely, with prayers, allowed me to fill in the form on physics.
The hour is over - you leave the audience for a break. If you are afraid to fill out the form during the test, leave five minutes in stock. I had already burned myself: I did not have time to put circles on mathematics, and I was barely, with prayers, allowed me to fill in the form on physics.
I went out, and I was shaking all over, although I was usually calm. I thought I was a master of physics and was hoping for math. The results were to come on December 20, and it was a very nervous three weeks. In the end, the results came.
I was the happiest man on earth.
Some statistics : most MIT students have results from 760 to 800 in math and from 740 to 800 in scientific discipline. I more than perfectly fit into these indicators. The case is left for the TOEFL.
TOEFL I passed on December 22 in Ufa. Because of the hour of waiting in a cold audience, I again became terribly nervous. I was very worried about Speaking, since I do not know how to answer these questions quickly - this is a problem for me. I will not spread, I will say only that I also thought that I had filled up the TOEFL and wrote its points at 60.
To enter MIT, you must write a TOEFL of at least 90 points, the recommended result: more than a hundred. On January 4th, my results came, and I was again stunned:
My chances of admission are growing rapidly.
New year, fussing with recommendations and essays
The New Year was inexorably approaching, which meant the deadline, and my essay and recommendations were not ready. I got a very awkward situation with recommendations: I asked them in early December, I agreed to give them, then they abruptly refused at the behest of my left heel, and then, in the twentieth numbers, they took their words back. In general, by the end of December, I had no recommendations. What a sin to conceal, I had to write myself. However, the problem was that they had to be sent on the official letterhead of the educational institution, and I did not have time to make them before the building of my lyceum was sealed. Thus, I was left without a recommendation, but, fortunately, the deadline for the documents was extended until February first! I immediately ran to the lyceum when it opened, and did everything. One recommendation was nevertheless written to me, and the second was approved by its “author”.
At the same time, it was necessary to fill out an application for admission. I will tell you a little about the essay that was required to write; the best way to write an essay for MIT is described in the article by Chris S. Show, Don't Tell!
For those who are too lazy to read the article
For MIT, you need to write two detailed answers to two questions for 100 words and three essays for 250 words.
In the first essay, in fact, you should tell about something that you do for fun. I wrote about drawing epic drawings and the desire to become like Toshihiro Egava, but there were absolutely fabulous essays, for example, one person wrote about how he tried myopia treatment techniques.
In the second essay, you should write which specialty at MIT is closer to your heart and why. Hi, Electrical Engineering And Computer Science!
The first essay is the most impressive feature of your personality. Here I was just in a stupor, I will not talk about what I wrote.
In the second essay, you are required to describe your environment, your life, and how they affected your aspirations and dreams.
The latest essay is the biggest test of your life. You can also describe some situation in life when something went wrong with the plan, and you took it and somehow corrected everything.
In the first essay, in fact, you should tell about something that you do for fun. I wrote about drawing epic drawings and the desire to become like Toshihiro Egava, but there were absolutely fabulous essays, for example, one person wrote about how he tried myopia treatment techniques.
In the second essay, you should write which specialty at MIT is closer to your heart and why. Hi, Electrical Engineering And Computer Science!
The first essay is the most impressive feature of your personality. Here I was just in a stupor, I will not talk about what I wrote.
In the second essay, you are required to describe your environment, your life, and how they affected your aspirations and dreams.
The latest essay is the biggest test of your life. You can also describe some situation in life when something went wrong with the plan, and you took it and somehow corrected everything.
I started writing an essay on the thirtieth of December and finished at five in the morning on the second of January, so the most important advice:
Never leave everything at the last moment!
At this point, I only needed to send my estimates for the half year. I did this and, thus, my application for admission was completed:
The list of requirements I have preserved only in this form, do not be angry.
Financial issue
Probably, those who have not fallen asleep at this moment are concerned about the issue of payment for tuition.
The cost of tuition for living on campus in the current school year is 57010 USD, 42,000 of which go to study, and the remaining fifteen go to campus, textbooks and meals. I must say that I am from an ordinary family, so I don’t have that kind of money. In truth, for me, MIT was an urgent issue only with 100% financial assistance that could be received - it is difficult, but possible.
To count on financial assistance at MIT, you need to do a few things:
- Fill out the CSS Profile on Collegeboard.org . It costs 25 USD.
- Send a letter from employers parents with information about income. With a notarized translation, of course.
- If the parents are divorced, fill out a form for a parent not living with you.
I filled out the CSS Profile, but with the rest I did not have time in time. I decided that if I did, they would allow the rest to be sent.
And came the month of waiting ...
Letter
On the night of March 8, a rather interesting letter came to my mail:
Hi 12sd
I immediately followed the link and made sure that the system was working. But I lost the screen.
And then day X came - everything was supposed to be known on March 15 at 3:28 Ufa time, everyone wished me luck, but I was in a slightly apathetic state, saying that I did everything I could, come what may.
Today, March 15, I accidentally woke up at 4:50, immediately went to the site and ...
I hope this does not turn out to be a great disappointment for you, but I did not enter.
That's all the payoff for my efforts. I think I had a good chance, but it did not work out. However, to my own surprise, I am not very upset. After all, this is a great experience, and besides, I now have the opportunity to tell you about enrollment and, perhaps, encourage you to new achievements.
From the bottom of my heart I congratulate you, those five or ten lucky people from the CIS who entered MIT! I am sure that one of you is definitely sitting on a habr or just stumbles upon this article, I am waiting for your answer, I think it will be interesting not only for me.
Finally, I want to leave a small list of tips for entering the top American universities:
- Always submit documents to several universities. A backup option in this case is simply necessary.
- If possible, pass both TOEFL and SAT.
- Be careful and do not worry.
- Never, never delay sending documents to the last moment.
- To avoid problems, do not spoil the relationship with your teachers. They can fuck up the whole picture.
- Fill all forms carefully and correctly. This is especially true fin. help.
- Believe, and you will succeed.
Behind this all. If someone wants to talk with me and learn more, you are welcome.
The long-awaited end.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/173413/
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