I GOT IN! I GOT IN! I GOT IN!!!! OMFGGGG!!!!!!!
So, I applied to MIT Early Action (EA) in fall 2009.
MIT has always been my dream school: The students are a bunch of nerds who have PERSONALITY, who work damn hard, who have a passion for what they love to do, and who want to help change the world for the better. The faculty are just ridiculously good, and many conduct research,
some swing from the ceiling, and others are Nobel Laureates.
Plus, Tony Stark (my IDOL) graduated from MIT. For a fictional degree in Mechatronics.
Guess what I'M going to try and major in? =]
I hope to do Course 2-A. (Majors are numbers at MIT. Deal with it.) Course 2-A is a subset of Course 2 (Mechanical Engineering) which allows you to scratch the ME-specific classes and take electives instead. The elective choices must come together into some crazy frankenstein animal resembling a coherent major, and must be approved by the department heads.
Thank God my choice of concentration is pretty coherent! =D
Mechatronics is the marriage of Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Systems Design, Controls Engineering, and any other cool techy computer/hardware/robotic field you can think of. Think Ironman's suit. The term was coined by
some Japanese guy. And it's usage has grown ever since.
So yeah, MIT.
Holy shit xp
After applying EA, I got deferred to Regular Action (RA). I got a 75 for my first quarter AP Calculus BC grade. I think that might be why...
I worked harder and harder, stayed after school, lost much sleep, and pulled my grade up to an 83 by the second quarter. It was good, but not good enough, because on Pi day, March 14 at 1:59PM, I watched my desicions.mit.edu screen
in horror as I was waitlisted by my dream school. My parents lost hope, and kept pushing me to pursue my other college choices.
I refused.
I knew the people who would get in from the waitlist would be those who:
- Improved from the time they were waitlist
- Showed a significant interest to go to MIT
- Would really get involved on campus and enrich it.
First, I improved. My third quarter calc grade was a 89. My fourth quarter calc grade was a 97.
No, the material did not get any easier.
Then I showed my interest: sent a letter saying how much I wanted to be a Beaver, how much I wanted to tool at MIT, that I've walked too many Smoots to turn back now, that my mission was MIT's mission. I sent in some of my artwork, contacted an admissions offer I had met on a campus visit, had an additional recommendation sent, and waited it out.
As for the whole enriching the campus thing, I said I would DEFINITELY do research, I said I knew exactly what major I wanted to do, and how MIT was the ONLY DAMN COLLEGE who had it (2A), and they already knew I not only liked to engineer, but draw, paint, play guitar, be in metalcore bands, row boats on the Charles, maybe even be an Admissions Blogger.
Chicka Chicka YeahWow, looking at that it seems like a lot, but there's a difference between sending a good lot and a being freakin creepy and rediculous.
DO: Send any significant updates. Like joining your highschool's first crew team. Like being in charge of the first Battle of the Bands at your HS in a while. Like getting a 97 in Calculus BC. Like helping start your highschool's tutoring program by tutoring 8th graders in math.
DO NOT: Go to campus and demand an interview. Send chocolates every day. Send the same damn update TO EACH INDIVIDUAL ADMISSION OFFICER!
I pulled the weight, examined my profile, saw that calculus grade was my weakest point, pulled that shit up, and BOOYAH!
I'll let the shirt do the talking:
Hell f**king yess!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Pce
