Applying to MIT

Your chances as an international are around 1-2% statistically. Developing your passions and being recognised for them can improve your chances, but ultimately it is about "luck" and if the admissions office see something intangible in your application which makes them want to admit you.

What is it about MIT that draws you and have you considered any other universities in the US?

Reply 2

OP

No the only reason I wanted to go to MIT is due to it being at the forefront of innovation and undeniably the best University/College for Computer Science and computing relating subjects at the moment, I am going to self teach myself to make websites and stuff but I don't know anything else that would make me stand out from the drones of people applying :/

Any Ideas?

Reply 3

Original post by TMudd

No the only reason I wanted to go to MIT is due to it being at the forefront of innovation and undeniably the best University/College for Computer Science and computing relating subjects at the moment, I am going to self teach myself to make websites and stuff but I don't know anything else that would make me stand out from the drones of people applying :/

Any Ideas?

The only thing you can do is be yourself and follow your passions, as I've said. There is no magic formula.

Have you looked at MIT's curriculum? And I would strongly advise against applying to only MIT. The odds are stacked against you and the application process is (in my opinion) not worth going through for a 1-2% chance.

Reply 4

OP

I'm not only applying to MIT, god no that would be Educational Suicide.. MIT is the only American College I am applying to, I am also going to apply for Cambridge, Imperial and another Lower entry requirement University, just in case but I know following my passion but my passion brought me to a giant brick wall known as MIT, is there any sort of general areas I could look into that could beef my application up, make it more interesting, for example I'm self teaching myself Web Creation, is there any other things such as that which would even slightly make me more appealing to their admissions office?

Reply 5

czechmishaout

16

You have to have A LOT of extracurriculars to get into a college in the US. You have to volunteer a bit, lead some clubs, possibly play an instrument and a sport as well..
Also, if you are going to need financial assistance, your chances will be lower. US admission officers take in consideration who will be able to pay for it themselves and who will need their money to get through.. And they're more likely to accept a student who won't cost them anything in scholarships. :no:

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(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 6

Zefiros

10

Original post by TMudd

I'm not only applying to MIT, god no that would be Educational Suicide.. MIT is the only American College I am applying to, I am also going to apply for Cambridge, Imperial and another Lower entry requirement University, just in case but I know following my passion but my passion brought me to a giant brick wall known as MIT, is there any sort of general areas I could look into that could beef my application up, make it more interesting, for example I'm self teaching myself Web Creation, is there any other things such as that which would even slightly make me more appealing to their admissions office?

It sounds as though you really know what you want. I appreciate it when people do not only blindly apply to one country. You might want to consider Stanford too. On the west coast of the US (where Stanford is located) Stanford is at least as well regarded as MIT, and with reason.

Original post by czechmishaout

You have to have A LOT of extracurriculars to get into a college in the US. You have to volunteer a bit, lead some clubs, possibly play an instrument and a sport as well..
Also, if you are going to need financial assistance, your chances will be lower. US admission officers take in consideration who will be able to pay for it themselves and who will need their money to get through.. And they're more likely to accept a student who won't cost them anything in scholarships. :no:

Posted from TSR Mobile

This is not true for the need-blind colleges, one of which is MIT. You will not have to indicate your financial need before acceptance and are guaranteed to have all of your need met. Also, for colleges of MIT caliber they will hardly care for trivial extracurriculars as playing an instrument, unless you have achieved some measureable things (at least at a national level). They care most about 'extracurriculars' in the sense of international olympiad medals, published papers/books, projects you have contributed to. Of course, any achievements at a(n) (inter)national level are worth mentioning. Trivial extracurriculars are only useful in that they show that you are not a complete antisocial person, which is something US colleges tend to care about. So definitely throw in some music, sports or volunteering, but that is not what will get you accepted. Similarly, US colleges will want their students to be interested in a wider range of subjects than their major. You will have to make sure you do not come across as a CS obsessed person.

Reply 7

Original post by TMudd

I'm not only applying to MIT, god no that would be Educational Suicide.. MIT is the only American College I am applying to, I am also going to apply for Cambridge, Imperial and another Lower entry requirement University, just in case but I know following my passion but my passion brought me to a giant brick wall known as MIT, is there any sort of general areas I could look into that could beef my application up, make it more interesting, for example I'm self teaching myself Web Creation, is there any other things such as that which would even slightly make me more appealing to their admissions office?

What I meant is that I wouldn't recommend applying to only MIT in the US. That's what I meant. The whole process is long and (in my opinion) not worth it for just a 1-2% chance.

If you are self teaching Web Creation, is there any formal qualification you can take in it? That way, it would be quantifiable. You could start a club teaching others at your school. Those kinds of things. Just, don't do anything just to "beef up your application".

And, MIT is not the only college in the US which is amazing for computer science. Expand your perspective. Having a "dream school" is suicide. Please understand. Do not ever fall in love with a school. It will only hurt you.

Original post by czechmishaout

You have to have A LOT of extracurriculars to get into a college in the US. You have to volunteer a bit, lead some clubs, possibly play an instrument and a sport as well..
Also, if you are going to need financial assistance, your chances will be lower. US admission officers take in consideration who will be able to pay for it themselves and who will need their money to get through.. And they're more likely to accept a student who won't cost them anything in scholarships. :no:

Posted from TSR Mobile

The aim is quality, not quantity, and there are no compulsory types of extracurricular activity. And as far as MIT goes, OP's chances are not any less if they need financial aid or not.

Reply 8

Original post by Zefiros

Similarly, US colleges will want their students to be interested in a wider range of subjects than their major. You will have to make sure you do not come across as a CS obsessed person.

This is very true and very important, which is why I asked OP if they had looked at MIT's curriculum (at MIT you are required to take a bunch of courses outside of your major). And while IMO it is great to come across as a "CS obsessed person," especially for a geeky, technology-oriented place like MIT, OP should be careful when describing their passion for it, particularly in comparison their passion for other subjects. Sentences such as "Nothing has ever caught my interest like Computer Science" when written in an essay could raise a red flag for admissions officers-- unlike in the UK, US colleges do not want a one-trick pony. That goes strongly against the philosophy of their educational system.

Reply 9

czechmishaout

16

Original post by feyy

x

Original post by Zefiros

x

Sorry guys, I wasn't aware that MIT has a need-blind policy.

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Reply 10

OP

I know about other great US computer science schools, but studying in America is only something I would want to do at MIT but I might have a look at Stanford, and I would look into a formal qualification and I'm not a one trick pony, yeah I also have a huge interest in Astrophysics but it isn't something I would want to work in, it would be a backup if anything.

And no, nothing I would do would be to beef up my application, that would be secondary to the purpose, I do wish to learn how to do these things, If I couldn't find a formal qualification would practical evidence of my skill be near to that? For Example my brother runs a web creation business, If I helped out in that and made a few of the sites he designed?

Thanks for your contribution to this thread by the way, I'm starting to understand more about what I am asking in the first place, really my goal is to go to one of the best Computing Institutes in the World, MIT from what I heard was this mystical place but clearly there are others just like it.

Reply 11

Zefiros

10

Original post by TMudd

I know about other great US computer science schools, but studying in America is only something I would want to do at MIT but I might have a look at Stanford, and I would look into a formal qualification and I'm not a one trick pony, yeah I also have a huge interest in Astrophysics but it isn't something I would want to work in, it would be a backup if anything.

And no, nothing I would do would be to beef up my application, that would be secondary to the purpose, I do wish to learn how to do these things, If I couldn't find a formal qualification would practical evidence of my skill be near to that? For Example my brother runs a web creation business, If I helped out in that and made a few of the sites he designed?

Thanks for your contribution to this thread by the way, I'm starting to understand more about what I am asking in the first place, really my goal is to go to one of the best Computing Institutes in the World, MIT from what I heard was this mystical place but clearly there are others just like it.

MIT is indeed the mystical place. I do not think there are other schools 'just like it'. There are other schools that are just as good, though different and probably even better in some aspects. Some schools may be rather different in nature (those outside the US). That makes it hard to compare the quality.

For postgrad studies (in theoretical computer science) I applied to three top schools in three different countries. I was already in at my current institution, in a fourth country, so I could afford to be picky. I just went for quality of education in my field. One of the schools I applied for was MIT. I did not get into due to a lack of (relevant) research experience. I would have applied for Stanford too if they offered any financial aid to Master's students. Although I would have gone to MIT if I had been admitted, it was probably not the best in my field. It is worth checking what field of CS you are interested in and what courses MIT offers.

Reply 12

OP

See Im not entirely sure about which area I am interested in, I like the idea of creating applications and software but the Hardware side interests me, but then Artifical intelligence and robotics is also really interesting, I look into it and decide upon about 10 different specialisations :/

Reply 13

username738914

21

Original post by TMudd

See Im not entirely sure about which area I am interested in, I like the idea of creating applications and software but the Hardware side interests me, but then Artifical intelligence and robotics is also really interesting, I look into it and decide upon about 10 different specialisations :/

Check out Caltech, Cornell and Harvey Mudd to round out your US roster. Applying to a school with a 2% acceptance rate is not ideal if you're seriously considering the states. There are other good Comp. Sci. schools that are equally/nearly on par with MIT. In addition, make sure to look into private schools; public schools don't have the means to provide international students with financial aid.

Reply 14

OP

Which of those recommendations are need blind? I don't really have the money to afford college in America.... To be honest I'm not sure how many people could in the current economic climate haha

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 15

Zefiros

10

Original post by TMudd

Which of those recommendations are need blind? I don't really have the money to afford college in America.... To be honest I'm not sure how many people could in the current economic climate haha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission

I know some US people come out of undergrad with one or two tons in debt while others get out clean.

Reply 16

Original post by TMudd

Which of those recommendations are need blind? I don't really have the money to afford college in America.... To be honest I'm not sure how many people could in the current economic climate haha

Don't look for just need blind. Look for "full need met" for all international students admitted. It takes a lot of personal research but in the end you will get there.

Reply 17

OP