It's a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Today was a beautiful and yet terribly sad day.
The time ultimately arrived to part ways with me beloved research lab, the most difficult part saying goodbye to my mentor who I've come to admire and adore over the past two years. I saw him get married, watched his eldest son graduate, stood by his side as he rose through the faculty ranks, listened to him when he needed it the most, and formed this everlasting bond with him - something no one else in the lab can rival. He is more than my mentor. He is a friend, someone who I deeply respect and can approach about anything. He is a fountain of wisdom and a beacon of light in my life. I'll never forget him.
Out of all the lessons I've learned from him, one truly struck a chord with me. It was when I practically burst into his office screaming that MIT accepted me. He obviously rejoiced, perhaps exhibiting more emotion than myself. After all I became like a "son" to him. But after we settled, letting our highs subside, he sat me down and told me one of the most profound statements I've ever heard. Getting caught in all the hub bub of getting into a "US News-acclaimed" school, it's easy to forget about the real essence of college. He opened me eyes, however, allowing me to finally advance past the superficiality of brand-name schools. Sure, I got into a great school. What does that even mean though? Nothing, if you don't work for it. He told me, "College is a tree of opportunities, ripe for the taking. You must take advantage of every possible one you can. You've got in, but that's only the beginning." It's easy to live in the fantasy that the "college name" will mystically guide you in life toward success and endless treasures, but because of my mentor, my friend, I'll never forget that every accomplishment is only another chance for opportunity, another means to achieve.
Being the gracious and kindhearted man that he is, he treated the entire lab to a wonderful lunch at our city's premier Chinese restaurant. We all chatted for hours, discussing the memories, the good times we all had together, and of course they gave me the obligatory reprimand that they'd hunt me down if I did not visit.
We were all a close-knit bunch - my second "family" if you will. Today I bade farewell to all that.
Things are changing. I know that. I even understand that. I may be grasping, practically dangling, onto the last threads of the life I've grown to love, but regardless, in three days I'll be in Cambridge at the start of a new epoch.
Maybe in all the craziness of these last days, it's hard to remember how life without change is boring, dare I say, even pointless. I can't help but smile that the end of this chapter ushers in a new phase of my life full of bountiful opportunities and friends just waiting to be made.
Today was a beautiful day and I loved every moment of it.
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Today was a beautiful and yet terribly sad day.
The time ultimately arrived to part ways with me beloved research lab, the most difficult part saying goodbye to my mentor who I've come to admire and adore over the past two years. I saw him get married, watched his eldest son graduate, stood by his side as he rose through the faculty ranks, listened to him when he needed it the most, and formed this everlasting bond with him - something no one else in the lab can rival. He is more than my mentor. He is a friend, someone who I deeply respect and can approach about anything. He is a fountain of wisdom and a beacon of light in my life. I'll never forget him.
Out of all the lessons I've learned from him, one truly struck a chord with me. It was when I practically burst into his office screaming that MIT accepted me. He obviously rejoiced, perhaps exhibiting more emotion than myself. After all I became like a "son" to him. But after we settled, letting our highs subside, he sat me down and told me one of the most profound statements I've ever heard. Getting caught in all the hub bub of getting into a "US News-acclaimed" school, it's easy to forget about the real essence of college. He opened me eyes, however, allowing me to finally advance past the superficiality of brand-name schools. Sure, I got into a great school. What does that even mean though? Nothing, if you don't work for it. He told me, "College is a tree of opportunities, ripe for the taking. You must take advantage of every possible one you can. You've got in, but that's only the beginning." It's easy to live in the fantasy that the "college name" will mystically guide you in life toward success and endless treasures, but because of my mentor, my friend, I'll never forget that every accomplishment is only another chance for opportunity, another means to achieve.
Being the gracious and kindhearted man that he is, he treated the entire lab to a wonderful lunch at our city's premier Chinese restaurant. We all chatted for hours, discussing the memories, the good times we all had together, and of course they gave me the obligatory reprimand that they'd hunt me down if I did not visit.
We were all a close-knit bunch - my second "family" if you will. Today I bade farewell to all that.
Things are changing. I know that. I even understand that. I may be grasping, practically dangling, onto the last threads of the life I've grown to love, but regardless, in three days I'll be in Cambridge at the start of a new epoch.
Maybe in all the craziness of these last days, it's hard to remember how life without change is boring, dare I say, even pointless. I can't help but smile that the end of this chapter ushers in a new phase of my life full of bountiful opportunities and friends just waiting to be made.
Today was a beautiful day and I loved every moment of it.
I've decided to begin a series of posts that detail why I elected MIT to be my four-year death sentence. It's been such a long, arduous journey since last summer full of surprises and mind-opening events that I've been taken aback and left almost speechless. I scraped through senior year, traveled the East Coast, and watched this love blossom for a school I never wished to attend. Over days, weeks, maybe even months, this magic spell took over every fiber of my being and sucked me into a whirlpool whose only end was MIT. The blogs no doubt played a major role in my entrancement, serving as this gushing fountain of stories about the lives behind the school. I laughed and cried along with bloggers and even felt their pain during the treacherous finals week. A lifeline between MIT and me was formed and luckily still remains alive today, drawing me closer to the zany campus every day until this sudden moment in time when I'll actually step into my dorm room and realize my life is all genuinely unfolding as I imagined it not too long ago.
That's easy enough to say, but what is it that mysteriously attracts me to this strip of land in Cambridge. To me it seems impossibly difficult to pinpoint, but I'll attempt to illustrate my love for this school through 10 reasons why I committed myself to the "Institute."
*figurative drum roll please*
Reason 10: Independent Activities Period (IAP for short)
IAP is a four-week term in January that exemplifies what MIT students are all about. While MIT students could escape away to the Bahamas or watch cartoons all day for a bona fide break, IAP tempestuously invites students to rebel against the "man" and revel in any pleasures that please their hypothalami. This limbo state in between the fall and spring terms is where MIT students show their true masochistic colors, immersing themselves in anything from fast-paced courses to impossible competitions, from research 24/7 to even a Charm School (I kid you not).
Those particularly keen in all that is MIT know that the most prominent and seductive part of IAP is the Mystery Hunt, a puzzle-fraught chase for a hidden coin on campus. Sounds simple, right? Far from it. To come out victorious in the hunt, one's team must solve over 40 ridiculously tortuous, byzantine puzzles to be finally lead to this eluding coin. One must possess arcane knowledge, think ingeniously, and be willing to sprint across campus frantically searching for clues to even come remotely close to winning. Some of the most esoteric puzzles require live ducks to solve them and will thrust your sanity to the brink of lunacy.
After all the hassle, stress, and inevitable swearing, the winner's only compensation is the right to design the next year's Hunt. Practically, this may seem quite unsatisfactory and frankly lame, but in the end, the Hunt's not just about winning - it's more. It's this tradition, a sense of camaraderie between students, in which everyone's intelligence is pushed to the limit. While to the everyday person this prize may seem paltry and impractical, to the passionately dedicated player there's no greater honor than to be handed down the torch and allowed to carry on this venerated MIT custom.
To me, the Hunt transcends just mere winning, being rather about the journey. It's about every team forming strong bonds, experiencing the high of pushing their bodies to the physical limits of exhaustion, laughing hysterically into the late night about the randomness of every challenge, and collapsing after days of no sleep. The real reward is simply being apart of this wit-testing, nerd-encrusted MIT legacy.
In some respects, the Mystery Hunt symbolizes what is veritably at MIT's heart - this philosophy that students must sweat through enormous pain to triumph, recognizing that education is not a state function, that the odyssey endured to obtain a grade is more meaningful than the grade itself.
But I diverge. It's just that IAP means so much to me. This special term unrivaled by any other school is a major component of why I'm willing to spend four years sleep deprived attempting to overcome insurmountable challenges. Any school that encourages their students to pursue scholarly interests as much on their own as they do in the classroom is a place I can certainly cherish as home.
This may all sound silly, but to me it's a world of possibilities just waiting to be explored =)
That's easy enough to say, but what is it that mysteriously attracts me to this strip of land in Cambridge. To me it seems impossibly difficult to pinpoint, but I'll attempt to illustrate my love for this school through 10 reasons why I committed myself to the "Institute."
*figurative drum roll please*
Reason 10: Independent Activities Period (IAP for short)
IAP is a four-week term in January that exemplifies what MIT students are all about. While MIT students could escape away to the Bahamas or watch cartoons all day for a bona fide break, IAP tempestuously invites students to rebel against the "man" and revel in any pleasures that please their hypothalami. This limbo state in between the fall and spring terms is where MIT students show their true masochistic colors, immersing themselves in anything from fast-paced courses to impossible competitions, from research 24/7 to even a Charm School (I kid you not).
Those particularly keen in all that is MIT know that the most prominent and seductive part of IAP is the Mystery Hunt, a puzzle-fraught chase for a hidden coin on campus. Sounds simple, right? Far from it. To come out victorious in the hunt, one's team must solve over 40 ridiculously tortuous, byzantine puzzles to be finally lead to this eluding coin. One must possess arcane knowledge, think ingeniously, and be willing to sprint across campus frantically searching for clues to even come remotely close to winning. Some of the most esoteric puzzles require live ducks to solve them and will thrust your sanity to the brink of lunacy.
After all the hassle, stress, and inevitable swearing, the winner's only compensation is the right to design the next year's Hunt. Practically, this may seem quite unsatisfactory and frankly lame, but in the end, the Hunt's not just about winning - it's more. It's this tradition, a sense of camaraderie between students, in which everyone's intelligence is pushed to the limit. While to the everyday person this prize may seem paltry and impractical, to the passionately dedicated player there's no greater honor than to be handed down the torch and allowed to carry on this venerated MIT custom.
To me, the Hunt transcends just mere winning, being rather about the journey. It's about every team forming strong bonds, experiencing the high of pushing their bodies to the physical limits of exhaustion, laughing hysterically into the late night about the randomness of every challenge, and collapsing after days of no sleep. The real reward is simply being apart of this wit-testing, nerd-encrusted MIT legacy.
In some respects, the Mystery Hunt symbolizes what is veritably at MIT's heart - this philosophy that students must sweat through enormous pain to triumph, recognizing that education is not a state function, that the odyssey endured to obtain a grade is more meaningful than the grade itself.
But I diverge. It's just that IAP means so much to me. This special term unrivaled by any other school is a major component of why I'm willing to spend four years sleep deprived attempting to overcome insurmountable challenges. Any school that encourages their students to pursue scholarly interests as much on their own as they do in the classroom is a place I can certainly cherish as home.
This may all sound silly, but to me it's a world of possibilities just waiting to be explored =)
While stalking faithfully reading the MIT blogs, a nice nugget of information seemed to have slyly appeared on the left side, just waiting to be discovered, something I think a lot of people have been patiently awaiting.
After hours of down time in which monkeys running the giant server rooms scrambled to prepare everything necessary for the 2009 online application, it has finally been made available.
So the 2009 application season for MIT has officially begun (*gunshot). With the release of this year's application, I'm now a true frosh ready to tackle the psets and long nights of MIT. I hand off the mantle to you, class of 2013ers, knowing full well you will take on the role of proud prefroshies by commenting on the blogs, keeping your facebook group active, and invading campus next Spring during CPW 2009 (wow already?)!
I'm pleased that the application hasn't been modified too much since I think MIT's application does it right. It doesn't succumb to the level of uniformity and remains a maverick under the excruciating pressure to adapt to the common app. It has it's own personality, a special, mystical aura about it that no other school can dream of touching. With the MIT blogs, the application forms a deadly combination, poised to draw in unsuspecting prefrosh until MIT is all they can think about. The blogs allow for an atmosphere of openness and comfort. With MIT, you know that down-to-earth people are reading your applications, excited to read about your exploits as a teen, excited to fathom the real you. It leaves room for creativity ("something you have built"), asks the right questions, and even let's you have fun. Plus, who doesn't like superscoring their test scores (yes I'm looking at all you CC folks)?
Other than some adjustments that improve the overall experience, there should have supposedly been an another addition to the application. About a month ago, I along with a few others received the following message from the Ben Jones:
We all hit the writing pads and after hours of putting pen to the paper, nose bleeds provoked by deep thought, and hands covered in blisters, we provided him with some quotes and sure enough, as I'm sure you'll eventually see, we mustered up a number of inspirational and supportive quotes. Naturally, I produced the following Pulitzer Prize worthy piece of writing:
Although I don't see any of our quotes present, I just thought I'd share this piece of information with you all. If they are ultimately tossed into the vast interweb for your reading pleasure, I hope that these quotes guide you toward success while forming your applications. I'd be completely distraught and lost if they didn't :p.
So how many of you started? Consider yourselves lucky. Back in my day, we didn't have this online shindig. We had it old school: fountain pens and scrolls. We didn't have email, only snail mail, but we survived.
Yeah, yeah. I'm pulling your leg. You probably called me out on that one.
Well, all this application talk lately has surfaced many memories from the past year. Expect an entry on senior year from me shortly once I pull myself together and get over the fact that I'm leaving my humble Midwestern abode for the scary, cryptic East Coast in precisely 11 days. Yikes >.<
Until then, good luck on the application!
"Online Application • The freshman online application for entry in Fall 2009 is now live!"
After hours of down time in which monkeys running the giant server rooms scrambled to prepare everything necessary for the 2009 online application, it has finally been made available.
So the 2009 application season for MIT has officially begun (*gunshot). With the release of this year's application, I'm now a true frosh ready to tackle the psets and long nights of MIT. I hand off the mantle to you, class of 2013ers, knowing full well you will take on the role of proud prefroshies by commenting on the blogs, keeping your facebook group active, and invading campus next Spring during CPW 2009 (wow already?)!
I'm pleased that the application hasn't been modified too much since I think MIT's application does it right. It doesn't succumb to the level of uniformity and remains a maverick under the excruciating pressure to adapt to the common app. It has it's own personality, a special, mystical aura about it that no other school can dream of touching. With the MIT blogs, the application forms a deadly combination, poised to draw in unsuspecting prefrosh until MIT is all they can think about. The blogs allow for an atmosphere of openness and comfort. With MIT, you know that down-to-earth people are reading your applications, excited to read about your exploits as a teen, excited to fathom the real you. It leaves room for creativity ("something you have built"), asks the right questions, and even let's you have fun. Plus, who doesn't like superscoring their test scores (yes I'm looking at all you CC folks)?
Other than some adjustments that improve the overall experience, there should have supposedly been an another addition to the application. About a month ago, I along with a few others received the following message from the Ben Jones:
"Hi folks,
I am still working on an application companion piece for MIT that is meant to guide prospective students through the application process and help them to chill out. I've set aside a page for quotes from current students about their own experiences in applying to MIT, and I'm looking for help filling the page
I need quotes from a few different people, perhaps a sentence or two each, that basically convey the fact that simply being yourself is the best strategy. If you feel inspired to contribute, hook me up!
Many thanks, and see y'all in the fall, when I visit. :-)"
We all hit the writing pads and after hours of putting pen to the paper, nose bleeds provoked by deep thought, and hands covered in blisters, we provided him with some quotes and sure enough, as I'm sure you'll eventually see, we mustered up a number of inspirational and supportive quotes. Naturally, I produced the following Pulitzer Prize worthy piece of writing:
In my application, I decided to emphasize my passions and where I came from. I wasn't afraid to write that some of my favorite interests did not involve math or science or that to this day I still spend afternoons playing with Legos. Showing who you are is of the utmost importance because the perfect school for you is where your personality will feel right at home.
Although I don't see any of our quotes present, I just thought I'd share this piece of information with you all. If they are ultimately tossed into the vast interweb for your reading pleasure, I hope that these quotes guide you toward success while forming your applications. I'd be completely distraught and lost if they didn't :p.
So how many of you started? Consider yourselves lucky. Back in my day, we didn't have this online shindig. We had it old school: fountain pens and scrolls. We didn't have email, only snail mail, but we survived.
Yeah, yeah. I'm pulling your leg. You probably called me out on that one.
Well, all this application talk lately has surfaced many memories from the past year. Expect an entry on senior year from me shortly once I pull myself together and get over the fact that I'm leaving my humble Midwestern abode for the scary, cryptic East Coast in precisely 11 days. Yikes >.<
Until then, good luck on the application!
But Wait There's More - College Application Advice Continued
Filed under: advice, application, MIT Author:
In response to the guide I spun up for seniors applying to college, I received two questions that I would like to address now. I've opted for a more public discussion of the questions because I feel like it's important for everyone to learn from each other in an open sort of format. So without further ado, question numba one from Alex is as follows:
With teacher recommendations, you are definitely walking on thin ice. Recommendations tend to be fairly involved and lengthy, requiring much time and effort on the reader's part. Now, as long as you are fulfilling the number of recommendations required, no problem. The problems arise when sending in optional recs. You send in too many and well, you're guaranteed to aggravate your reader and may earn yourself some negative feedback.
The trick to this is to restrain yourself to only sending in a maximum of two recommendations above the number required. These extra recs, however, should not come from teachers since it goes without saying that good students receive good references - the same good references. Not too many words exist for "hard work" and "amazing intelligence" and consequently recommendations start becoming repetitive. For this reason alone, I encourage you to solicit recommendations from sports coaches, research mentors, dance instructors, and so on. Ask for references from people who know you out of school, people who will talk about your non-academic qualities, the ones that show that you aren't a human-killing robot programmed to study by day and take over the world by night. For my own application, I asked my research mentor who graciously provided me with many kind words about his experiences with me over the past two years.
For submitting the recommendations, basic etiquette dictates one of the following two options: agree on picking up the materials sealed after a designated amount of time or provide stamped envelopes for the teachers to use in sending in the recommendations. Either one is perfectly acceptable.
~~~
The second question, coming from Ahana Datta, is:
Don't feel alone! This is a common sentiment. I believe all of us at one point in time during the application process felt as if we were standing at the base of Mount Everest wondering how we could ever climb such a beast. In some respects, everything you might put on the application may have been used before, but in the end, it's the specific combinations that matter. Thousands of prefrosh may play tennis, do research, or help out clinics in third world countries, but how many do all three? Think about filling out your application as playing a game of "Apples to Apples" - if only it were as much fun too! Individually, the words available surely have passed through the hands of many, but once you look at the combinations of words, distinctness arises and your true personality shows - the words revealing your innermost nature (at least that's what some say).
To further individualize what are you writing, use examples. While overall ideas repeat, life examples usually do not. If talking about how tennis leadership shaped your character, discuss the instance when you helped Rob with his family crisis or had to intervene in a serious fight between two players. If telling the reader that your life-long dreams were influenced by your childhood, bring up the middle school science teacher who left a lasting impact on your life or the Gray's Anatomy book your mother got you when you were only in 5th grade. It's the stories, the moments in life, that will eventually distinguish you from the abstract pile of applications. Think hard about your life and build up a bank of examples you can use in your application.
All this is essentially a long about way of saying that you should refrain from hesitating to write something in the fear that it seems too plain and probably overused. Even if people are using similar ideas, the pieces of your application will fit together differently than theirs, giving the reader a completely separate, idiosyncratic image of you.
~~~
While digging in my brain - what a dark and scary place - for answers to these questions, I realized that I should mention something about updates.
Updates are a useful tool to stay in contact with the college and remind them that you're still alive and kicking. Every time you send in an update, someone has to dig up your folder and leave a sticky note or something that will end up in your reader having to pull up your application to read again. This is definitely good. Every time this happens, the reader is re-familiarized with you and will begin to notice how devoted you are to the institution. Only use this tactic, however, for serious updates. Any achievements that involve the regional level or above merit such lengths. Anything else does not. In your cover letter, include some sentiments about how deeply interested you are in the school and how much you dream about going there next Fall. It's always a good thing to remind your top school how interested you are.
I hope what I have said comes in handy. Sorry that all you MIT prefrosh have to wait a little bit longer, but like most have been saying, use this time to contemplate what you want to convey to the admission committee. Again, if anyone has questions, feel free to shoot away!
Could you tell me more about teacher applications and how they work (max to send, which teacher or what people should send them,etc.)
With teacher recommendations, you are definitely walking on thin ice. Recommendations tend to be fairly involved and lengthy, requiring much time and effort on the reader's part. Now, as long as you are fulfilling the number of recommendations required, no problem. The problems arise when sending in optional recs. You send in too many and well, you're guaranteed to aggravate your reader and may earn yourself some negative feedback.
The trick to this is to restrain yourself to only sending in a maximum of two recommendations above the number required. These extra recs, however, should not come from teachers since it goes without saying that good students receive good references - the same good references. Not too many words exist for "hard work" and "amazing intelligence" and consequently recommendations start becoming repetitive. For this reason alone, I encourage you to solicit recommendations from sports coaches, research mentors, dance instructors, and so on. Ask for references from people who know you out of school, people who will talk about your non-academic qualities, the ones that show that you aren't a human-killing robot programmed to study by day and take over the world by night. For my own application, I asked my research mentor who graciously provided me with many kind words about his experiences with me over the past two years.
For submitting the recommendations, basic etiquette dictates one of the following two options: agree on picking up the materials sealed after a designated amount of time or provide stamped envelopes for the teachers to use in sending in the recommendations. Either one is perfectly acceptable.
~~~
The second question, coming from Ahana Datta, is:
somehow I'm getting cold feet at the prospect of the application. I mean, there is so much I want to say on the application, but then I feel it's all done before. how do you get around that?!
Don't feel alone! This is a common sentiment. I believe all of us at one point in time during the application process felt as if we were standing at the base of Mount Everest wondering how we could ever climb such a beast. In some respects, everything you might put on the application may have been used before, but in the end, it's the specific combinations that matter. Thousands of prefrosh may play tennis, do research, or help out clinics in third world countries, but how many do all three? Think about filling out your application as playing a game of "Apples to Apples" - if only it were as much fun too! Individually, the words available surely have passed through the hands of many, but once you look at the combinations of words, distinctness arises and your true personality shows - the words revealing your innermost nature (at least that's what some say).
To further individualize what are you writing, use examples. While overall ideas repeat, life examples usually do not. If talking about how tennis leadership shaped your character, discuss the instance when you helped Rob with his family crisis or had to intervene in a serious fight between two players. If telling the reader that your life-long dreams were influenced by your childhood, bring up the middle school science teacher who left a lasting impact on your life or the Gray's Anatomy book your mother got you when you were only in 5th grade. It's the stories, the moments in life, that will eventually distinguish you from the abstract pile of applications. Think hard about your life and build up a bank of examples you can use in your application.
All this is essentially a long about way of saying that you should refrain from hesitating to write something in the fear that it seems too plain and probably overused. Even if people are using similar ideas, the pieces of your application will fit together differently than theirs, giving the reader a completely separate, idiosyncratic image of you.
~~~
While digging in my brain - what a dark and scary place - for answers to these questions, I realized that I should mention something about updates.
Updates are a useful tool to stay in contact with the college and remind them that you're still alive and kicking. Every time you send in an update, someone has to dig up your folder and leave a sticky note or something that will end up in your reader having to pull up your application to read again. This is definitely good. Every time this happens, the reader is re-familiarized with you and will begin to notice how devoted you are to the institution. Only use this tactic, however, for serious updates. Any achievements that involve the regional level or above merit such lengths. Anything else does not. In your cover letter, include some sentiments about how deeply interested you are in the school and how much you dream about going there next Fall. It's always a good thing to remind your top school how interested you are.
I hope what I have said comes in handy. Sorry that all you MIT prefrosh have to wait a little bit longer, but like most have been saying, use this time to contemplate what you want to convey to the admission committee. Again, if anyone has questions, feel free to shoot away!
Applying to College - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Filed under: advice, application, college, MIT Author:
As many of the anxious prefrosh know, MIT has delayed the grand release of this year's application for another week or so, leaving many prefrosh empty-handed. Originally, I intended for this post to be released concurrently with the application, but being the fickle man that I am, I obviously posted it now, hoping to partially satisfy the thirst of prefrosh everywhere by giving them a small taste of what their life will be like for the next few months. Essentially, at the heart of this post is a hodgepodge of advice - and ravings - from an application year veteran. Use the coming week to learn from this and prep for the MIT application.
With all the hype and excitement over this year's applications, I've been having nostalgic flashbacks about my own experience applying. There was that one night in Pittsburgh during my family vacation when I lay sprawled out on the coach until 1 a.m. fervently filling out the activities section in MyMIT. There was the five hour drive back home when I impetuously scrapped two essays and finally hit upon the one for MIT. And then of course there was October 12th, when I finally clicked the submit button and saw 65$ leave my pockets. Oh the good times.
As I sat musing about these memories, I realized there was one important thing I wished I could have had that would have meant the world to me: a simple guide for applying to college! So like any good engineer (soon to be engineer?) I decided to fix this problem for posterity sake by sharing what I have learned from my experiences. What follows is a list of some pointers that will help you prefroshies this year and hopefully for many years to come.
Caution: Use at your own discretion. Tailor to fit your needs.
1) Be Yourself
I'm not a fan of overused, contrite statements like "Be yourself and you'll live a happier life," but in this case you really, really do need to be yourself. Many think that the holy-like MIT admissions committee are looking for a certain type of person, you know the MIT stereotype. These people have 2400s, develop new math theorems for fun, and can secretly program AI robots, but secretly don't because they all belong to a clandestine consortium of programmers protecting the world form robot destruction. Fortunately, this is far from the truth as the admission people desire an eclectic class and thus look for special quirks, the things that make you you. Why? Because otherwise every student at MIT would be clones and life would be dull (aka Communism). Admission to top-tier colleges is not random, even though a thorough examination of the numbers may make you believe otherwise. MIT looks for a "match," a set of general guidelines that indicate how well suited you are for MIT. Does that mean you should present yourself in a different light, stretching the truth to be in accordance to the "match"? No, because you don't want to artificially match to a school and then find you are not enjoying the atmosphere of the place. I know many people, some who have even transferred, because they landed themselves in their dream school, but then discovered it was not for them. So my words of wisdom are, read up on your colleges, show them the qualities that demonstrate why you are a match, and all the while be yourself.
2) Know when to be serious and know when to let loose
Think of the application process as preparing for marriage. You can go wild, unleashing your darkest uncharacteristic behavior at your bachelor party, but for the most part, I'd recommend staying faithful and serious - and maybe even subservient - to your loved one. Despite somewhat of a bad analogy, most parts of the application require thoughtful answers so keep the writing relatively formal. Use profound language here and there to highlight certain parts, and even throw in some humorous anecdotes. Definitely have some fun, just not too much fun. Talk about your deadly fear of shower curtains or how you still play with Legos (umm...yes that's me). Make yourself stick out in the minds of the admissions officers by telling them something that will distinguish you from the rest and earn you some extra points.
As a side note, keep in mind that the "what do you do for pleasure" question for MIT really means "what do you do for fun." Don't talk about how you nurse stray baby kittens back to health just because you want to impress the admissions committee. Unless you truly do that for fun, talk about how you love playing Rock Band, how you only form scientific words in scrabble, or how cricket is an addiction of yours.
3) Answer the Optional Essay
In this game, optional = mandatory. Yes, there are many stories of people being accepted without the optional essay, but statistically you have a better chance of getting in by answering it. Don't you want to do everything in your power to convince the admissions committee of your worthiness? Ok, in most cases I'd recommend doing the least work possible to excel, as my Physics teacher always said, the first tenet of Physics is laziness, but for this, writing an optional essay allows you to express more about your passions and dreams. It gives the admissions people more to chew on. In my case, the optional essay provided an additional outlet to express myself. One essay felt too restricting. The word limit stifled me and relegated my full writing potential to a cage. The optional essay, on the other hand, has no rules. It's the "Joker" essay (The Dark Night ftw), the essay where you can unleash your writing talents for hours on end until you have a literary masterpiece.
4) Edit, Revise, Rethink, Consult, Rinse and Repeat
The essay portion of the application is by farthest the most important part in my opinion because it's MIT's only chance to see inside your head and see what's really rolling around in there. Luckily for you it's the part you also have the most control over.
While I wish writing the essay was as simple as pressing the "Easy Button" and walla, it's not and will require time, patience, and an open mind. I suggest writing whatever comes to you at first, just to get your gears turning. Think long and hard - even spending multiple afternoons pondering - about what you want to convey and take risks. Write about stuff you wouldn't normally write about. Write about stuff you may have never told anyone before. Show MIT how much you are into them and why. Above all, don't be afraid to scrap a well-written piece because you have a better idea. In fact, I suggest you write intending to only use your third or fourth draft. It took me two essays, one about my middle eastern heritage and one about how tennis changed me, before I landed on talking about my childhood and how my biomedical engineering interests developed through various events in my life. When all is said and done, have people read and edit it. You yourself should at least read it 15-20 times, editing, revising, rethinking, until there's nothing left, but a pristine essay ready for submission.
Add an extra touch to your essays by showing, not telling. Don't just tell MIT that you built a social networking website for your school, show them. Describe the long, frustrating nights it took you before your algorithms worked or how Monster cans lay piled up all over the floor. Grabbing the reader's attention through detail is a surefire way to form a lasting impression. Going this extra mile will make all the difference.
5) Activities... which to choose?
One of the many difficulties you'll encounter during the application process is which of your activities you should include. I will first advise you not to attach a laundry list of your activities because in actuality colleges only care about the activities that mean the most to you, not everything you participate in. So, yes, unfortunately you must limit yourself to the top 5 or so activities you love. Remember, order matters here.
I will add that the only exception to my "no laundry list" rule is if you truly spend a respectable amount of time in more than 5 activities. Under these circumstances, you may attach something that describes the activities you couldn't fit on the application, but don't just list them.
For activities, it's crucial for you to convey your passions to colleges. Pick an activity - maybe two for you risk-takers - and just discuss every possible aspect of why you love it. In my optional essay, my feelings about research drowned the page. I told them how research impacted me and why it is I did it in the first place. Show them what drives you to reach such amazing heights.
6) SAT, ACT...no worries!
Try not to worry about your numbers when writing up your application. Just list everything as it is and leave the rest up to the colleges. Don't look back. Don't worry one bit. Colleges, especially MIT, care about the perfect "match" and not numbers based off of long, grueling tests. Being a match for MIT transcends any numbers and even grades (well probably not D's unless there's a good excuse).
7) Emphasize Your Love for the School
Don't be afraid of sucking up. In the classroom, being the teacher's pet may have earned you your classmates' snickers (pssh, I loved all the brownie points I racked up), but in the application, it's the best course of action. Schools hate nothing more than just being applied to for the heck of it. I'd recommend inserting school-specific comments here and there. In my optional essay, I mentioned the infinite corridor, the great dome, the ball pit in Simmons, and other random snippets about MIT. Showing a college that it is your number one choice and emphasizing your undying desire to have a home there is truly to your benefit. Let your gut, your heart, and your dreams guide you in choosing the perfect words to express your emotions.
8) Craft a Story
You're more than just an applicant. You are a person with one amazing story to tell so don't look at each piece of your application as a means to an end separate from the whole. Rather, try to weave your wacky and crazy experiences together into a "quilt". Each thread stands on its own, speaking for itself, but together you have a picture, your whole life story. The essays, short answers, recommendations, and grades are ingredients. Make sure that each has its own special flavor while still fitting into the bigger picture.
9) Arrogance, it's not a virtue
Tell it as it is, but don't show haughtiness in your writing. There's an incredibly fine line between discussing your achievements and bragging about them. Don't cross it. At the same time, however, don't be afraid to talk about yourself, your accomplishments, your goals. We all like to talk about ourselves - me more than most - and essentially that's what an application is for, so as long as you don't boast arrogance, you'll be perfectly fine. Be confident. Readers like that. Overconfidence, however, is frowned upon.
Keep in mind that while it may seem easy to rest your entire case on your crowning moments in high school, you must not rely too much on them as after all, they're still one piece of the pie. Weave them into your story to your advantage. Talk about how excited you are about the opportunities awaiting for you in college. While colleges will want to hear about your victories, they will want to know even more about how you plan to succeed at their school. For example, I raved about how excited I was to jump into the research "world" at MIT and how MIT would propel me forward to achieve lengths I never thought possible.
10) The rest is history
After you've completed the application, you're ready for the hardest part of all. Share with others what you've written. Make use of teachers, friends, and especially your parents. My mom and dad were invaluable throughout the entire process. We had many fights over what works, what doesn't, but after the dust settled, everything turned out perfectly. Double check, triple check. Keep checking! There's no extra points for submitting months early. Ask questions. Go to your counselor if you are unsure of something. Venture forth into the uncharted waters of college confidential and ask for help. The people there are tremendously helpful. Even if you don't have a question, go there and read, soak in the advice, and learn from people's mistakes.
Once you feel that you've represented yourself to the fullest, your essays are in tip-top shape, and all around you've written a story that flows from start to finish, you're ready to submit. Before you seal the envelope or hit the submit button, ensure that you are addressing the correct school. Lastly, I suggest, if it at all can be helped, to not wait until the last minute. Servers may crash, electricity can cut out, or life just happens, so plan to submit at least a week in advance. Trust me, it's not healthy staying up until 3 am three days in a row because of procrastination - or perfectionism for many of you.
~~~
Luckily, I survived the application process to live another day - and share my fanatic lessons. This is what I've learned from suffering through the application process. For you, I hope it makes the months of hard work less distressing.
I enjoy sharing my war stories so please don't hesitate one bit to contact me. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be glad to help.
On one last note, I officially apologize for the length of this guide. I realize many of you skim these posts, but if this advice applies to you at all, I encourage you to carefully breathe it in and follow it. There's no 100% guarantee that you'll be accepted, but there is my guarantee that this advice is the best I can possibly come up with and will aid you tremendously during what is sure to be a tumultuous application season.
With all the hype and excitement over this year's applications, I've been having nostalgic flashbacks about my own experience applying. There was that one night in Pittsburgh during my family vacation when I lay sprawled out on the coach until 1 a.m. fervently filling out the activities section in MyMIT. There was the five hour drive back home when I impetuously scrapped two essays and finally hit upon the one for MIT. And then of course there was October 12th, when I finally clicked the submit button and saw 65$ leave my pockets. Oh the good times.
As I sat musing about these memories, I realized there was one important thing I wished I could have had that would have meant the world to me: a simple guide for applying to college! So like any good engineer (soon to be engineer?) I decided to fix this problem for posterity sake by sharing what I have learned from my experiences. What follows is a list of some pointers that will help you prefroshies this year and hopefully for many years to come.
Caution: Use at your own discretion. Tailor to fit your needs.
1) Be Yourself
I'm not a fan of overused, contrite statements like "Be yourself and you'll live a happier life," but in this case you really, really do need to be yourself. Many think that the holy-like MIT admissions committee are looking for a certain type of person, you know the MIT stereotype. These people have 2400s, develop new math theorems for fun, and can secretly program AI robots, but secretly don't because they all belong to a clandestine consortium of programmers protecting the world form robot destruction. Fortunately, this is far from the truth as the admission people desire an eclectic class and thus look for special quirks, the things that make you you. Why? Because otherwise every student at MIT would be clones and life would be dull (aka Communism). Admission to top-tier colleges is not random, even though a thorough examination of the numbers may make you believe otherwise. MIT looks for a "match," a set of general guidelines that indicate how well suited you are for MIT. Does that mean you should present yourself in a different light, stretching the truth to be in accordance to the "match"? No, because you don't want to artificially match to a school and then find you are not enjoying the atmosphere of the place. I know many people, some who have even transferred, because they landed themselves in their dream school, but then discovered it was not for them. So my words of wisdom are, read up on your colleges, show them the qualities that demonstrate why you are a match, and all the while be yourself.
2) Know when to be serious and know when to let loose
Think of the application process as preparing for marriage. You can go wild, unleashing your darkest uncharacteristic behavior at your bachelor party, but for the most part, I'd recommend staying faithful and serious - and maybe even subservient - to your loved one. Despite somewhat of a bad analogy, most parts of the application require thoughtful answers so keep the writing relatively formal. Use profound language here and there to highlight certain parts, and even throw in some humorous anecdotes. Definitely have some fun, just not too much fun. Talk about your deadly fear of shower curtains or how you still play with Legos (umm...yes that's me). Make yourself stick out in the minds of the admissions officers by telling them something that will distinguish you from the rest and earn you some extra points.
As a side note, keep in mind that the "what do you do for pleasure" question for MIT really means "what do you do for fun." Don't talk about how you nurse stray baby kittens back to health just because you want to impress the admissions committee. Unless you truly do that for fun, talk about how you love playing Rock Band, how you only form scientific words in scrabble, or how cricket is an addiction of yours.
3) Answer the Optional Essay
In this game, optional = mandatory. Yes, there are many stories of people being accepted without the optional essay, but statistically you have a better chance of getting in by answering it. Don't you want to do everything in your power to convince the admissions committee of your worthiness? Ok, in most cases I'd recommend doing the least work possible to excel, as my Physics teacher always said, the first tenet of Physics is laziness, but for this, writing an optional essay allows you to express more about your passions and dreams. It gives the admissions people more to chew on. In my case, the optional essay provided an additional outlet to express myself. One essay felt too restricting. The word limit stifled me and relegated my full writing potential to a cage. The optional essay, on the other hand, has no rules. It's the "Joker" essay (The Dark Night ftw), the essay where you can unleash your writing talents for hours on end until you have a literary masterpiece.
4) Edit, Revise, Rethink, Consult, Rinse and Repeat
The essay portion of the application is by farthest the most important part in my opinion because it's MIT's only chance to see inside your head and see what's really rolling around in there. Luckily for you it's the part you also have the most control over.
While I wish writing the essay was as simple as pressing the "Easy Button" and walla, it's not and will require time, patience, and an open mind. I suggest writing whatever comes to you at first, just to get your gears turning. Think long and hard - even spending multiple afternoons pondering - about what you want to convey and take risks. Write about stuff you wouldn't normally write about. Write about stuff you may have never told anyone before. Show MIT how much you are into them and why. Above all, don't be afraid to scrap a well-written piece because you have a better idea. In fact, I suggest you write intending to only use your third or fourth draft. It took me two essays, one about my middle eastern heritage and one about how tennis changed me, before I landed on talking about my childhood and how my biomedical engineering interests developed through various events in my life. When all is said and done, have people read and edit it. You yourself should at least read it 15-20 times, editing, revising, rethinking, until there's nothing left, but a pristine essay ready for submission.
Add an extra touch to your essays by showing, not telling. Don't just tell MIT that you built a social networking website for your school, show them. Describe the long, frustrating nights it took you before your algorithms worked or how Monster cans lay piled up all over the floor. Grabbing the reader's attention through detail is a surefire way to form a lasting impression. Going this extra mile will make all the difference.
5) Activities... which to choose?
One of the many difficulties you'll encounter during the application process is which of your activities you should include. I will first advise you not to attach a laundry list of your activities because in actuality colleges only care about the activities that mean the most to you, not everything you participate in. So, yes, unfortunately you must limit yourself to the top 5 or so activities you love. Remember, order matters here.
I will add that the only exception to my "no laundry list" rule is if you truly spend a respectable amount of time in more than 5 activities. Under these circumstances, you may attach something that describes the activities you couldn't fit on the application, but don't just list them.
For activities, it's crucial for you to convey your passions to colleges. Pick an activity - maybe two for you risk-takers - and just discuss every possible aspect of why you love it. In my optional essay, my feelings about research drowned the page. I told them how research impacted me and why it is I did it in the first place. Show them what drives you to reach such amazing heights.
6) SAT, ACT...no worries!
Try not to worry about your numbers when writing up your application. Just list everything as it is and leave the rest up to the colleges. Don't look back. Don't worry one bit. Colleges, especially MIT, care about the perfect "match" and not numbers based off of long, grueling tests. Being a match for MIT transcends any numbers and even grades (well probably not D's unless there's a good excuse).
7) Emphasize Your Love for the School
Don't be afraid of sucking up. In the classroom, being the teacher's pet may have earned you your classmates' snickers (pssh, I loved all the brownie points I racked up), but in the application, it's the best course of action. Schools hate nothing more than just being applied to for the heck of it. I'd recommend inserting school-specific comments here and there. In my optional essay, I mentioned the infinite corridor, the great dome, the ball pit in Simmons, and other random snippets about MIT. Showing a college that it is your number one choice and emphasizing your undying desire to have a home there is truly to your benefit. Let your gut, your heart, and your dreams guide you in choosing the perfect words to express your emotions.
8) Craft a Story
You're more than just an applicant. You are a person with one amazing story to tell so don't look at each piece of your application as a means to an end separate from the whole. Rather, try to weave your wacky and crazy experiences together into a "quilt". Each thread stands on its own, speaking for itself, but together you have a picture, your whole life story. The essays, short answers, recommendations, and grades are ingredients. Make sure that each has its own special flavor while still fitting into the bigger picture.
9) Arrogance, it's not a virtue
Tell it as it is, but don't show haughtiness in your writing. There's an incredibly fine line between discussing your achievements and bragging about them. Don't cross it. At the same time, however, don't be afraid to talk about yourself, your accomplishments, your goals. We all like to talk about ourselves - me more than most - and essentially that's what an application is for, so as long as you don't boast arrogance, you'll be perfectly fine. Be confident. Readers like that. Overconfidence, however, is frowned upon.
Keep in mind that while it may seem easy to rest your entire case on your crowning moments in high school, you must not rely too much on them as after all, they're still one piece of the pie. Weave them into your story to your advantage. Talk about how excited you are about the opportunities awaiting for you in college. While colleges will want to hear about your victories, they will want to know even more about how you plan to succeed at their school. For example, I raved about how excited I was to jump into the research "world" at MIT and how MIT would propel me forward to achieve lengths I never thought possible.
10) The rest is history
After you've completed the application, you're ready for the hardest part of all. Share with others what you've written. Make use of teachers, friends, and especially your parents. My mom and dad were invaluable throughout the entire process. We had many fights over what works, what doesn't, but after the dust settled, everything turned out perfectly. Double check, triple check. Keep checking! There's no extra points for submitting months early. Ask questions. Go to your counselor if you are unsure of something. Venture forth into the uncharted waters of college confidential and ask for help. The people there are tremendously helpful. Even if you don't have a question, go there and read, soak in the advice, and learn from people's mistakes.
Once you feel that you've represented yourself to the fullest, your essays are in tip-top shape, and all around you've written a story that flows from start to finish, you're ready to submit. Before you seal the envelope or hit the submit button, ensure that you are addressing the correct school. Lastly, I suggest, if it at all can be helped, to not wait until the last minute. Servers may crash, electricity can cut out, or life just happens, so plan to submit at least a week in advance. Trust me, it's not healthy staying up until 3 am three days in a row because of procrastination - or perfectionism for many of you.
~~~
Luckily, I survived the application process to live another day - and share my fanatic lessons. This is what I've learned from suffering through the application process. For you, I hope it makes the months of hard work less distressing.
I enjoy sharing my war stories so please don't hesitate one bit to contact me. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be glad to help.
On one last note, I officially apologize for the length of this guide. I realize many of you skim these posts, but if this advice applies to you at all, I encourage you to carefully breathe it in and follow it. There's no 100% guarantee that you'll be accepted, but there is my guarantee that this advice is the best I can possibly come up with and will aid you tremendously during what is sure to be a tumultuous application season.
Just a year ago exactly, my family and I were preparing to embark on our second annual trip to the East Coast to visit MIT and Harvard. I did not know much about either school other than that "Harvard" should be said "Hahvahd" and that MIT was not pronounced "mit" as in the first syllable of "mitten." Four days later, I arrived at Boston for my first time and was immediately in awe of this great city. I loved how beautiful the skyline looked in the night and how pretty the river glistened in the sunset. I loved how you could practically find lobster at every restaurant in downtown Boston and that falafel was a common delicacy in Cambridge. Most of all, though, I loved how in all the hustle and bustle, this was a college town, filled with thousands of genius students all vying to achieve and go forth into the world on their next big adventure. Somehow an environment like that just attracts me (sort of like bugs to light). Not normally one to quickly fall in love with something, I knew Cambridge was the place for me no matter what.
I was only eleven when I first heard of MIT. I was spread out on the living room carpet with Legos as far as I could see. This only meant one thing: I was building my next big project. At that age, I had this addiction to Mindstorms. I just couldn't stop designing robots and programming them. It seemed so cool that I could make some object follow my every command. Well, this time I decided to build a large model of the titanic, complete with programmed motors and nine decks. In the end it didn't float, but at one point, while I was deeply immersed in the project, my mom stopped me for a few seconds and asked,
"Honey where do you want to go to college?"
"Umm, I don't know. I'm working right now."
"Have you ever thought about it though? What do you like to do?"
"Come on just let me build this...well, I like working with my hands, making things."
"What's your favorite subject in school?"
"You know, math!"
"Have you ever thought about MIT?"
"What's that?"
"It's a place for people who like math and of course building things"
"Sounds nice"
Then and there, MIT was implanted in my head somewhere, only to be rediscovered years later when it was seriously time to be contemplating my future. Honestly, I never thought about MIT until June last year. In fact, it had only occurred to me to consider it when my teacher suggested it to me. I guess somehow he thought my affection towards math mixed with my nerdy sense of humor would make me a great fit for it. Well, MIT became a reality for me when I remembered the childhood conversation with my mother about my college plans and how MIT struck a chord with me, and so it only felt appropriate that I apply to the first college I had ever learned about.
And so soon enough I was in Boston still unsure about which school I was destined for. I would leave it to my visit impressions to guide me. Up first was Harvard, you know the land of argyle shirts and amazingly intelligent people. This visit pretty much ended for me though when I posed the following question to my tour guide:
"So what do you know about engineering here? What are some of the strengths of Harvard engineering?"
Pausing for a few moments, he replied,"Umm...yea why would you come here? MIT is just down the street?"
"Hehe..."
Just go to MIT was his advice. Thanks to this random person, who I don't remember one bit, my life had drastically been altered. Here, this very moment, was the turning point when MIT began to infect my mind, in a good way of course. The next day I visited MIT and endured another long tour in the scolding heat (you'd think being Arab and all that I'd have a tolerance for heat, but no). The tour went on for an hour or so and unfortunately I left unimpressed. I secretly desired a school with the traditional architecture and spread out campus of Harvard, but with the pro-science attitude of MIT. I would have to look elsewhere was my conclusion. This turn of events left me in quite a dilemma because I wanted so desperately to live in Cambridge and attend this top tier institution. Sadly, I departed Cambridge with neither Harvard nor MIT as my top choice any more, casting me into a wretched, despondent state in which I pondered what my future would hold. I already had my college application list all set in stone; the question was where I would go. Well, luckily school started and I pushed this matter to the back of my mind, reassuring myself that I would know the right decision eventually. Boy did I hope that would be true. Regardless, I became too bogged down in work to worry about life a year from now. Instead, I resolved to put all the same care and love into all my applications and wish for the best and that was that.
Well, September and October blew by and following my counselor's advice, "No trick-or-treat until applications are complete," I had submitted all my forms on October 30th. I was done...well, only with the paperwork. The biggest decision of all was still waiting.
Weeks went by and still nothing happened. My future and I were still at a stalemate. I often found myself deep within the recesses of my mind conversing with the little people up there who keep everything well oiled,
"Where am I going to go?"
"Well, there's Princeton"
"Yeah...but they're in the middle of nowhere...plus they have grade deflation."
"What about UPenn? You liked their campus."
"You're right. I loved their campus and it's right smack dab in downtown Philly, but of course, Wharton seems to overshadow everything else on campus. Hmm what else?"
"There's Johns Hopkins!"
"That place seems perfect. They have the number one biomedical engineering program and have a great medical school, but those are the only two things I like about that school."
and on and on it went for days, weeks, and even months...until one day in November when everything changed.
Something magical happened. Up until then, I had been ignoring the MIT blog posts, using the site for just the most basic information. I never thought much of the blog, not ever realizing why it was on an admissions website of all places. One lazy afternoon, however, like any impatient teenager, I started to wonder when MIT's early action decisions would be released. I scoured the MIT blogs for previous posts relating to this and at that moment when I finally read my first MIT blog post fate intervened. I felt like Pandora (a manly version of her) opening a non-evil Pandora's box and releasing a trove of information into the world. It felt exhilarating. My mind went crazy as I read through post after post about hacks and snowball fights and dorms and so much more. In just hours I had fallen in love with MIT. Here was my act of fate, this random event in time that handed my decision to me and told me that this was the right school for me. About time!
This decisiveness that empowered me proved to be a double edged sword. While I couldn't help but smile knowing that I finally had a plan, something to work toward and believe in with all my might, I quickly discovered the "dark side" and it definitely was not something eye-poppingly (Webster-please add "eye-poppingly" to your dictionary) cool like in Star Wars. Think of the MIT blogs as drugs and the average reader as the poor victim. We readers gradually start warming up to the blogs until one day when BAM we become addicted, can't stop clicking refresh, and have brains that run on and on at the speed at light thinking about MIT. I mean the MIT blogs are so mind-altering that people actually fight to post "FIRST" in the comments. Did I mention how sharp that sword was when decisions finally rolled around December 15th?
On December 1st, time literally slowed. Classes seemed longer, sleep couldn't end quicker, and regular, everyday life pretty much seemed pointless with the advent of decisions any day. What any day?!?!? There's not a specific date?!?!? Well, in a move that makes the decisions ever more suspenseful, the admissions committee doesn't release the "decisions date" until a few days before the "actual decisions date." This element of surprise was the root of a two week span of inattentiveness in my classes, perhaps due to my checking of the MIT blogs every fifteen minutes on my phone. Those last days leading up to the dreaded 15th, although tough, left me with lasting memories. I remember listening to soothing songs like "Relax" by Mika and "Who Will Save Your Soul" by Jewel. I remember jumping up and down in my seat during physics when I learned there was only five days left until decisions. I remember half-watching I Am Legend with my friends, one of which had just been accepted into Yale and was having the time of his life. Most of all, of all the painfully long days, of all the never ending lectures, of all the sleepless nights, of all my dreams that I hoped would come true, I remember the kind words of my friends who pushed me through the darkness of these winter days and pacified even the worst of the butterflies that plagued me. What would I ever do without you guys?
Well, the 15th did finally did sneak up. I was terribly inefficient that morning, suffering from bouts of serious butterfly attacks (like Mongolia killer butterfly attacks) and various thoughts along the lines of "OMG OMG OMG OMG WHAT IF I DONT GET IN DO I EVEN HAVE A CHANCE AFTER BEING DEFERRED COULD REJECTION HAPPEN I WORKED SO HARD I NEED THIS BUT WHAT IF THE WORST HAPPENS" and on and on until about 11:30 am at which time I started clicking refresh over and over because of course it's common knowledge that the decisions site goes online approximately 15 minutes early. And like clockwork, at 11:46 I was inputting my login information and ignoring the "There is no interim page. You will see your decision right away" text. In matters of seconds, my adrenaline spiked and then came crashing down when I saw a short paragraph and the one word that stood out: "defer".
The following two weeks constituted the most depressing and longest winter break I've ever endured. Against the advice of others, there was nothing to do but to contemplate the steps leading up to this moment. I already had sent in my previous applications. I had no travel plans. I even had no homework. I knew better though. You should never question yourself, your dreams, your actions or anything you've done. Being deferred was no statement about my abilities or personality, no matter how much it felt like it was. At that time, there was just not enough information to conclude whether I was the perfect match for MIT. So what did I do? I heeded the wise words of Thomas Edison: "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." I sure as heck was not going to sit down during winter break wondering what I did wrong or which path I should have followed. NO! I quickly became focused on what I was going to do about this. For two weeks, I worked on updates for MIT. I wrote a long essay about my passion for research and how I grew from it. I talked about new accomplishments, but most of all, I opened up and flat out expressed my undying love for MIT and my visions of walking down the infinite with just minutes to spare for class or studying with friends into the wee hours of the night. It had taken me 17 years, but I finally opened up to someone, telling them my deepest, darkest secrets, and only hoping that they would understand and be appreciative.
Although the next three months ran on the same long timescale as the two weeks leading up to early decisions, my actions were completely opposite. I enjoyed life more. I went to movies more. I played tennis more (for fun of course, season was long done). I soaked in every moment, realizing how short my time left in high school was. I was going to be somewhere next year. That much was for sure. My dream was MIT, my goal was college. After all, this whole application process was just another instance of my all time favorite quote: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
I felt the long days pass, but I was having a blast. When the 15th rolled around, I was in school on a Friday night at the annual SciFi Fest. I stuffed myself with pizza, ridiculed terrible movies with friends, and totally forgot about the immediate future. It was all about the present, living life one step at a time. This time around there were no killer butterflies, no shaky hands, no runaway thoughts. There was just me with a more mature outlook for my future. I never gave up on my dreams. I knew dreams never had to end because of one setback, one moment in time. During the milliseconds between when I clicked "submit" and when I waited for the page to load, the only thought running through my head was about how much I loved my parents and friends for giving me the best senior year possible and all the support I needed in the worst of times. Well, the few hundred milliseconds ended and there I was reading "pleasure...accept..." and immediately jumping up and down, hugging my parents, and yelling thanks to everyone out there for being so kind during a taxing 8 months. I called, I texted, and I instant messaged. Veni, vidi, vici!
My dream had been achieved. I was going to Cambridge for sure. The days following were ethereal blessings. I floated through the hallways and was tackled with hugs between every class. Teachers patted me on the back and strangers congratulated me. Needless to say, a smiled a whole lot (maybe even too much, Botox anyone?). My away message for an entire week and to the annoyance of many read "I LOVE MIT!!!" In this week, my school learned more about MIT because of me than they ever did about our own high school. In this week, I became facebook friends with Ben. I exchanged emails with Snively and told Paul I'd see him at CPW. Best of all, I thanked everyone, from my fellow classmates in the MIT '12 chatroom to teachers and friends at school for all their help and wise words.
If I could condense my entire senior year into one tiny morsel of advice, it'd be to live a little. Study, learn, work hard, but in the end, live your last months at home worry-free. Go to that new cafe you've always wanted to try, let the radio blast on your way to school at 7:30 am, talk to people who you never thought you could have been friends with, but in between all of this, make memories. In just a year, you won't care which colleges denied you. Rather, you'll regret the moments you missed out on, the potential for having the time of your life. Moments are all we really have. You miss them and there goes your life right before your eyes, but you hold onto them, make them yours, and then you have truly lived.
Ever since March 15th 11:45 am, life's been a party. The instant the application process is over and you decide on your four-year home, life becomes this giant never-ending party lasting until your first class in the Fall. I can't even explain how amazing April was with the absence of worrying, May with the best week of my life happening (ISEF) and June with graduation and the ending of a major chapter in my life. I'll need an another monstrous entry just to explain how unforgettable my senior year was. Perhaps the best part was learning about "blogging" and the ability of blogs to bring droves of people together into one tight-knit community. I never thought I could learn so much from transcribing my life experiences. If only I could express in words how much of a lifeline this blog proved to be during my "deferred months." It served as an emotional outlet, fueled by the readers. So while I've thanked my family, my friends, and basically everyone I know for being there for me, I now would like to thank you readers for being the wind underneath my wings, the ones who truly listened and still listen to what I have to say.
I was only eleven when I first heard of MIT. I was spread out on the living room carpet with Legos as far as I could see. This only meant one thing: I was building my next big project. At that age, I had this addiction to Mindstorms. I just couldn't stop designing robots and programming them. It seemed so cool that I could make some object follow my every command. Well, this time I decided to build a large model of the titanic, complete with programmed motors and nine decks. In the end it didn't float, but at one point, while I was deeply immersed in the project, my mom stopped me for a few seconds and asked,
"Honey where do you want to go to college?"
"Umm, I don't know. I'm working right now."
"Have you ever thought about it though? What do you like to do?"
"Come on just let me build this...well, I like working with my hands, making things."
"What's your favorite subject in school?"
"You know, math!"
"Have you ever thought about MIT?"
"What's that?"
"It's a place for people who like math and of course building things"
"Sounds nice"
Then and there, MIT was implanted in my head somewhere, only to be rediscovered years later when it was seriously time to be contemplating my future. Honestly, I never thought about MIT until June last year. In fact, it had only occurred to me to consider it when my teacher suggested it to me. I guess somehow he thought my affection towards math mixed with my nerdy sense of humor would make me a great fit for it. Well, MIT became a reality for me when I remembered the childhood conversation with my mother about my college plans and how MIT struck a chord with me, and so it only felt appropriate that I apply to the first college I had ever learned about.
And so soon enough I was in Boston still unsure about which school I was destined for. I would leave it to my visit impressions to guide me. Up first was Harvard, you know the land of argyle shirts and amazingly intelligent people. This visit pretty much ended for me though when I posed the following question to my tour guide:
"So what do you know about engineering here? What are some of the strengths of Harvard engineering?"
Pausing for a few moments, he replied,"Umm...yea why would you come here? MIT is just down the street?"
"Hehe..."
Just go to MIT was his advice. Thanks to this random person, who I don't remember one bit, my life had drastically been altered. Here, this very moment, was the turning point when MIT began to infect my mind, in a good way of course. The next day I visited MIT and endured another long tour in the scolding heat (you'd think being Arab and all that I'd have a tolerance for heat, but no). The tour went on for an hour or so and unfortunately I left unimpressed. I secretly desired a school with the traditional architecture and spread out campus of Harvard, but with the pro-science attitude of MIT. I would have to look elsewhere was my conclusion. This turn of events left me in quite a dilemma because I wanted so desperately to live in Cambridge and attend this top tier institution. Sadly, I departed Cambridge with neither Harvard nor MIT as my top choice any more, casting me into a wretched, despondent state in which I pondered what my future would hold. I already had my college application list all set in stone; the question was where I would go. Well, luckily school started and I pushed this matter to the back of my mind, reassuring myself that I would know the right decision eventually. Boy did I hope that would be true. Regardless, I became too bogged down in work to worry about life a year from now. Instead, I resolved to put all the same care and love into all my applications and wish for the best and that was that.
Well, September and October blew by and following my counselor's advice, "No trick-or-treat until applications are complete," I had submitted all my forms on October 30th. I was done...well, only with the paperwork. The biggest decision of all was still waiting.
Weeks went by and still nothing happened. My future and I were still at a stalemate. I often found myself deep within the recesses of my mind conversing with the little people up there who keep everything well oiled,
"Where am I going to go?"
"Well, there's Princeton"
"Yeah...but they're in the middle of nowhere...plus they have grade deflation."
"What about UPenn? You liked their campus."
"You're right. I loved their campus and it's right smack dab in downtown Philly, but of course, Wharton seems to overshadow everything else on campus. Hmm what else?"
"There's Johns Hopkins!"
"That place seems perfect. They have the number one biomedical engineering program and have a great medical school, but those are the only two things I like about that school."
and on and on it went for days, weeks, and even months...until one day in November when everything changed.
Something magical happened. Up until then, I had been ignoring the MIT blog posts, using the site for just the most basic information. I never thought much of the blog, not ever realizing why it was on an admissions website of all places. One lazy afternoon, however, like any impatient teenager, I started to wonder when MIT's early action decisions would be released. I scoured the MIT blogs for previous posts relating to this and at that moment when I finally read my first MIT blog post fate intervened. I felt like Pandora (a manly version of her) opening a non-evil Pandora's box and releasing a trove of information into the world. It felt exhilarating. My mind went crazy as I read through post after post about hacks and snowball fights and dorms and so much more. In just hours I had fallen in love with MIT. Here was my act of fate, this random event in time that handed my decision to me and told me that this was the right school for me. About time!
This decisiveness that empowered me proved to be a double edged sword. While I couldn't help but smile knowing that I finally had a plan, something to work toward and believe in with all my might, I quickly discovered the "dark side" and it definitely was not something eye-poppingly (Webster-please add "eye-poppingly" to your dictionary) cool like in Star Wars. Think of the MIT blogs as drugs and the average reader as the poor victim. We readers gradually start warming up to the blogs until one day when BAM we become addicted, can't stop clicking refresh, and have brains that run on and on at the speed at light thinking about MIT. I mean the MIT blogs are so mind-altering that people actually fight to post "FIRST" in the comments. Did I mention how sharp that sword was when decisions finally rolled around December 15th?
On December 1st, time literally slowed. Classes seemed longer, sleep couldn't end quicker, and regular, everyday life pretty much seemed pointless with the advent of decisions any day. What any day?!?!? There's not a specific date?!?!? Well, in a move that makes the decisions ever more suspenseful, the admissions committee doesn't release the "decisions date" until a few days before the "actual decisions date." This element of surprise was the root of a two week span of inattentiveness in my classes, perhaps due to my checking of the MIT blogs every fifteen minutes on my phone. Those last days leading up to the dreaded 15th, although tough, left me with lasting memories. I remember listening to soothing songs like "Relax" by Mika and "Who Will Save Your Soul" by Jewel. I remember jumping up and down in my seat during physics when I learned there was only five days left until decisions. I remember half-watching I Am Legend with my friends, one of which had just been accepted into Yale and was having the time of his life. Most of all, of all the painfully long days, of all the never ending lectures, of all the sleepless nights, of all my dreams that I hoped would come true, I remember the kind words of my friends who pushed me through the darkness of these winter days and pacified even the worst of the butterflies that plagued me. What would I ever do without you guys?
Well, the 15th did finally did sneak up. I was terribly inefficient that morning, suffering from bouts of serious butterfly attacks (like Mongolia killer butterfly attacks) and various thoughts along the lines of "OMG OMG OMG OMG WHAT IF I DONT GET IN DO I EVEN HAVE A CHANCE AFTER BEING DEFERRED COULD REJECTION HAPPEN I WORKED SO HARD I NEED THIS BUT WHAT IF THE WORST HAPPENS" and on and on until about 11:30 am at which time I started clicking refresh over and over because of course it's common knowledge that the decisions site goes online approximately 15 minutes early. And like clockwork, at 11:46 I was inputting my login information and ignoring the "There is no interim page. You will see your decision right away" text. In matters of seconds, my adrenaline spiked and then came crashing down when I saw a short paragraph and the one word that stood out: "defer".
The following two weeks constituted the most depressing and longest winter break I've ever endured. Against the advice of others, there was nothing to do but to contemplate the steps leading up to this moment. I already had sent in my previous applications. I had no travel plans. I even had no homework. I knew better though. You should never question yourself, your dreams, your actions or anything you've done. Being deferred was no statement about my abilities or personality, no matter how much it felt like it was. At that time, there was just not enough information to conclude whether I was the perfect match for MIT. So what did I do? I heeded the wise words of Thomas Edison: "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." I sure as heck was not going to sit down during winter break wondering what I did wrong or which path I should have followed. NO! I quickly became focused on what I was going to do about this. For two weeks, I worked on updates for MIT. I wrote a long essay about my passion for research and how I grew from it. I talked about new accomplishments, but most of all, I opened up and flat out expressed my undying love for MIT and my visions of walking down the infinite with just minutes to spare for class or studying with friends into the wee hours of the night. It had taken me 17 years, but I finally opened up to someone, telling them my deepest, darkest secrets, and only hoping that they would understand and be appreciative.
Although the next three months ran on the same long timescale as the two weeks leading up to early decisions, my actions were completely opposite. I enjoyed life more. I went to movies more. I played tennis more (for fun of course, season was long done). I soaked in every moment, realizing how short my time left in high school was. I was going to be somewhere next year. That much was for sure. My dream was MIT, my goal was college. After all, this whole application process was just another instance of my all time favorite quote: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
I felt the long days pass, but I was having a blast. When the 15th rolled around, I was in school on a Friday night at the annual SciFi Fest. I stuffed myself with pizza, ridiculed terrible movies with friends, and totally forgot about the immediate future. It was all about the present, living life one step at a time. This time around there were no killer butterflies, no shaky hands, no runaway thoughts. There was just me with a more mature outlook for my future. I never gave up on my dreams. I knew dreams never had to end because of one setback, one moment in time. During the milliseconds between when I clicked "submit" and when I waited for the page to load, the only thought running through my head was about how much I loved my parents and friends for giving me the best senior year possible and all the support I needed in the worst of times. Well, the few hundred milliseconds ended and there I was reading "pleasure...accept..." and immediately jumping up and down, hugging my parents, and yelling thanks to everyone out there for being so kind during a taxing 8 months. I called, I texted, and I instant messaged. Veni, vidi, vici!
My dream had been achieved. I was going to Cambridge for sure. The days following were ethereal blessings. I floated through the hallways and was tackled with hugs between every class. Teachers patted me on the back and strangers congratulated me. Needless to say, a smiled a whole lot (maybe even too much, Botox anyone?). My away message for an entire week and to the annoyance of many read "I LOVE MIT!!!" In this week, my school learned more about MIT because of me than they ever did about our own high school. In this week, I became facebook friends with Ben. I exchanged emails with Snively and told Paul I'd see him at CPW. Best of all, I thanked everyone, from my fellow classmates in the MIT '12 chatroom to teachers and friends at school for all their help and wise words.
If I could condense my entire senior year into one tiny morsel of advice, it'd be to live a little. Study, learn, work hard, but in the end, live your last months at home worry-free. Go to that new cafe you've always wanted to try, let the radio blast on your way to school at 7:30 am, talk to people who you never thought you could have been friends with, but in between all of this, make memories. In just a year, you won't care which colleges denied you. Rather, you'll regret the moments you missed out on, the potential for having the time of your life. Moments are all we really have. You miss them and there goes your life right before your eyes, but you hold onto them, make them yours, and then you have truly lived.
Ever since March 15th 11:45 am, life's been a party. The instant the application process is over and you decide on your four-year home, life becomes this giant never-ending party lasting until your first class in the Fall. I can't even explain how amazing April was with the absence of worrying, May with the best week of my life happening (ISEF) and June with graduation and the ending of a major chapter in my life. I'll need an another monstrous entry just to explain how unforgettable my senior year was. Perhaps the best part was learning about "blogging" and the ability of blogs to bring droves of people together into one tight-knit community. I never thought I could learn so much from transcribing my life experiences. If only I could express in words how much of a lifeline this blog proved to be during my "deferred months." It served as an emotional outlet, fueled by the readers. So while I've thanked my family, my friends, and basically everyone I know for being there for me, I now would like to thank you readers for being the wind underneath my wings, the ones who truly listened and still listen to what I have to say.
I found out I'll be temped in Simmons at MIT for orientation! For those who aren't familiar with MIT's housing, freshmen basically are given temporary dorms during orientation. Right before the semester starts, we have the option to select a new dorm based on what we have experienced during orientation and if we're feeling particularly dangerous, we can even choose a new roommate. MIT definitely does housing in a manner that does not disappoint and provides flexibility.
I'll be in room 744 on the south wall, which gives me a beautiful view of downtown Boston. Unfortunately, I probably won't see the river, but at least I will see this:
I was perusing floor maps of Simmons and noticed that I am temped in a single. There's nothing wrong with this as I'd rather meet someone during orientation than randomly be paired with someone based upon some whimsical answers we put down for the housing questions. In the end, if I end up alone and desolate, at least I'll be able to revel in the extra privacy.
By the way, the photo at the top is my random picture for today. I snapped it last year when I was visiting the great New York City. Some parking garage owner seems to have an MIT-like sense of humor. I bet he cruelly enjoyed watching us nerds stop and laugh as opposed to most people who had no clue about it. You should consult wikipedia about 1337 if you are not sure what it means.
Well, now that housing lottery results are out, I feel one major step closer to MIT. All that's left is the loooong drive out there, which I'll be sure to blog about. Shannon and I already discussed this. She'll be blogging her journey as well, but don't worry because both of ours will be completely different. Luckily, she is taking the route through Canada as it is the shorter one while I will be taking the other route that goes through Ohio and Pennsylvania. So yes, be sure to read both of ours.
Until next time, good night!
Above is a strip from my favorite web comic site: the Perry Bible Fellowship! Don't be fooled by the name. None of these are holy like. This comic rocks this world so much that it has been turned into one of the greatest books of all time. That's right! Nothing can beat a book that has a candyland theme. It even has one of those handy built in bookmarks. Go check the rest out NOW. Some of their outstanding strips include "Suicide Train," "An End to Gopher Trouble," and "The Tree of Irony." Let me know what your favorite comic site is in the comments!
For you mac lovers out there, a new site launched that allows you to make your own software bundles for discounted prices. I'm not talking about the 5% discount that saves you like 3 dollars on an item that's overpriced in the first place and is taking you for everything you've got. No. This has actual prices with discounts based on the number of applications you buy. If you buy five, you'll get 40% off! I was playing around and discovered that I could buy five applications for less than the cost of parallels, the only application I care for at this time. Sweet deal right?
Because of Enas '12 I can now have MIT's school calender on my phone! She created an iCal version of MIT's calender and posted it, allowing me to download it and transfer it over to my phone. Now I know precisely when every holiday is!
The only downside is that now I have no excuse for missing anything. Oh wait, I'm covered. "My phone ran out of battery." There we go I'm good for the time being. I do know though when that excuse won't fly like today with my physical exam appointment. This has been scheduled for months and I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't be pleased if I missed it. Yeah, that's right. I slyly snuck in the fact that I'm almost done with some of the last major forms MIT needs! Once I get this medical report out, I believe I will be done for the time being. Woohoo.
CPW 2008 - Another Highly Satisified Customer!
Filed under: college, CPW, fun, MIT, senior year Author:
[Guest Entry on MIT blogs]
While I’m not cool enough to enroll at MIT on an iTouch or to dedicate myself to MIT for four years weeks before CPW, I am cool enough to now say, “I am enrolled at MIT!” In fact, I just enrolled moments before finishing this very blog entry and am proud of it. Now with that out of the way…Hi, I’m Omar!
I come from a small Midwestern town located on the lower left side of the palm that is Michigan (I wonder how many people actually get what I mean by palm :-p). After a two hour flight, in which I met a matriculating Harvard Medical School student who tried to convince me to go to a public university, I was definitely ready for some MIT action. I left the plane and descended upon the luggage claim where I met my first MIT friend Shubhi. Although I never saw her again during CPW, there's no one like your first MIT prefrosh friend (words of wisdom).
To those who have heard rumors of a clandestine, transcendental chat group full of amazing people, let me assure you. There is an MIT 2012 chat room (commercial: if you would like to be part of this, for a one time only fee of five dollars (just kidding) you can join this interesting bunch by going to your favorite AIM client and joining the chatroom “MIT12”).
And here are our trusty sidekicks:
For the past few months, while waiting for my MIT decision and even after it, the chatroom provided me with my daily MIT fix. We laughed, we cried, we made fun of Harvard and Caltech, and we anxiously awaited CPW. All of us chat people became closeknit and couldn’t wait to meet at CPW. When I stepped off the Peter Pan bus onto MIT’s campus, I looked around hoping to spot someone I "know." As I edged closer to the student center, I saw some people doing an odd version of the cha cha slide and by the time I turned on my trusty, dandy, handheld video camera with laser deathbeam and all, I had realized that they were all MIT12 chatters!
(They are all going to punch me at orientation for posting that picture.)
My first duty on campus after registration, of course, was to find the admissions office. I quickly scanned the doors in the infinite corridor until I found:
After the chat group finished taking pictures we knocked on the door and an MIT student asked, “Are you prefrosh?” and we just giggled and nodded yes and she told us that all of the admissions officers were in the student center. We didn't care though, we got what we came for: a picture of the names.
Now, one of my personal goals during CPW was to collect as many free shirts as possible. While I ended up only getting 4, I still came away feeling like I had somewhat accomplished my goal. Two of the shirts were actually unexpected, while the other two I snagged from the enourmous activities fair. While I do not have a picture of the activities fair, I do have a picture of the CPW festival, which was held in the same place and looks exactly the same as the activities fair minus a naked guy in a box.
At the activities fair, I saw Paul again and he was at my favorite booth. He works for the MIT Undergraduate Research Journal staff and if I recall correctly is going to be co-Editor-in-Chief next year. This journal rocks and so I did what any prefrosh would do...I put my email address on "the list."
I ended up obtaining another shirt from the Arab Students' Organization (ASO). I adore this shirt because it spells “Massachusetts Institute of Technology” in Arabic. Yeah, you wish you had one of these. While on the subject of the ASO, let me go off on a tangent and say that I am very impressed with how MIT regards religion on campus. I went to a Muslim Students Association event held in the Religious Activities Center and it was amazing. There was a well-furnished prayer hall filled with everything a Muslim student would need. Out of all the universities I visited, MIT treats religion the best. End tangent here.
Aside from rocking out in Rock Band throughout CPW...
...some of the highlights of my trip at MIT included:
1) CPW Welcome
My favorite part about the welcome was definitely the MIT Logarhythms, MIT’s all-male a cappella group. For your enjoyment, here are two of the songs they performed:
Here in Your Arms:
Thanks to Sam '12 for uploading this second video for me :-).
2) Battle of the Bands
In this event, I received my fourth free shirt as one of the bands threw a shirt and I luckily pushed and shoved people out of the way and caught it. At first I was like “Meh another shirt,” but then someone pointed out to me that the band members on the shirt actually spell out “MIT” and then I was like “OMG this shirt rocks!” and I walked around feeling victorious.
3) Walking on the Harvard Bridge…like a bajillion times!
I quickly found the Skullhouse fraternity on the other side of the river to be a nice safe haven for breakfast, snacks, monster drinks, and, of course, rock band. As a result, I trekked a few times back and forth across the Harvard bridge, killing my feet in the process. That’s ok though because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to stomp on something that relates to Harvard and I wouldn’t have taken this picture below, which adequately describes how I feel now as the orientation approaches and the next four years edge closer.
4) Bouncy Ball Drop
This event rocked. It absolutely rocked. There is nothing like being the target for 10,000 bouncy balls that are being subjected to the cold-hearted force that is gravity. One moment it was quiet and calm, the next moment it was raining bouncy balls. I must admit that the strobe light was a nice addition, especially since it helped illuminate the floor in our scramble to collect as many balls as possible. Right as we all began collecting balls though, the fine folks of Senior House began pelting us with water balloons. After being struck by the third water balloon, I decided it was time to high tail it over to the Meet the Bloggers event before I was late.
5) Meet the Bloggers
With wet, soggy pants, I power walked through East Campus and the infinite corridor and reached the student center with time to spare. Inside, Ben Jones himself was preparing all the necessary supplies to make a scrumptious root bear float. The event eventually kicked off and all the bloggers filed in! After each person gave a brief introduction, everyone would clap with Ben and Snively earning the loudest clapping/cheering (no surprise there :D). When the introductions were complete, we were scoffed down root beer floats and conversed with the wondrous MIT blogging team. I got to chat with Ben, Matt, Paul, Snively, Melis, Mollie (college confidential ftw!), and Chris. Chris by the way does look a lot taller in person. I think that is the general consensus. To top off the night, we did the obligatory group picture!
6) Underground Capture the Flag
On the last night, a huge game of capture the flag took place in the vicinity of the infinite corridor. The underground tunnels, the main floor, and second floor were all fair game and made for an interesting battle. While my feet were killing me at this point due to the continuous walking for three days, I toughed it out and played offense with Sam ’12. We snuck around for most of the game, until we were deep in red territory (we were Blue) and were spotted. I made a run for it and somehow ended up out of bounds. Nevertheless, I hid around a corner for five minutes, but just as I felt I was safe again, a red person came out of nowhere and took me to jail where I found Sam ’12 sitting. Then just moments later, we found out the game had ended and everyone walked back to lobby 10 to discover that the Red team had dominated. Well, at least it’s “better dead, than red.”
7) Math until you die
I died after 30 minutes. Here are the poor souls who I left behind:
While I only stayed 30 minutes, the math involving group theory and topology was still fairly interesting.
8) Simmons Hall
After seeing the tour, I absolutely fell in love with Simmons and will be putting it as my first choice (disclaimer: all feelings I express now are subject to change). Let’s start with the basics:
a) Meditation Room
b) Cool architecture
c) Random walls that jut out
d) A very new feel (maybe because it is new)
e) Amazing, hard-to-reach views (can you guess where in Simmons this was?)
If I decide I don’t want Simmons anymore, I would definitely choose Baker. I think Baker made the cut when I saw this board filled with physics. It reminded me of The Big Bang Theory, one of my favorite shows.
If neither Simmons nor Baker work out, I could always live in the best room on campus: the study area within the great dome!
I must say that MIT has really shown itself to be a safe campus. It’s great to know that campus police have thought about every possible situation and have come up with ways to protect the student body. This really puts my parents at ease too.
After walking past this excellent hack, I was innocently rickrolled (yes, I'm streching the meaning of the term) as someone was cruelly playing Rick Astley's music video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" in the hallway. Of all places!
The welcome ceremony was also entertaining, giving us another performance by the MIT Logs and an amusing act by a guy with Chinese Yo-yos. Click here to see their performance of "Save Room" by John Legend.
At the end, I saw none other than Ben Jones himself and got a picture along with Pam ‘12:
Overall, CPW was a great way to experience MIT in a fun way (I hear it's not like this at all next year, go figure). It was so much fun that it persuaded me to enroll. I cannot wait to be a full fledged MIT freshman next Fall. I visited a few classes, such as Physics II (not too bad), Linear Algebra (I understood it all yay :-) ), and Applied Electromagnetics: From Motors to Lasers (cool stuff). The premed panel was also very helpful. I was afraid I'd come to MIT, leave with a bad gpa, and end up practicing medicine in my parent's basement, but it's not true! Just about 90% of premed undergrads get into med school :-).
I am very happy to say: Only four months left!
While I’m not cool enough to enroll at MIT on an iTouch or to dedicate myself to MIT for four years weeks before CPW, I am cool enough to now say, “I am enrolled at MIT!” In fact, I just enrolled moments before finishing this very blog entry and am proud of it. Now with that out of the way…Hi, I’m Omar!
I come from a small Midwestern town located on the lower left side of the palm that is Michigan (I wonder how many people actually get what I mean by palm :-p). After a two hour flight, in which I met a matriculating Harvard Medical School student who tried to convince me to go to a public university, I was definitely ready for some MIT action. I left the plane and descended upon the luggage claim where I met my first MIT friend Shubhi. Although I never saw her again during CPW, there's no one like your first MIT prefrosh friend (words of wisdom).
To those who have heard rumors of a clandestine, transcendental chat group full of amazing people, let me assure you. There is an MIT 2012 chat room (commercial: if you would like to be part of this, for a one time only fee of five dollars (just kidding) you can join this interesting bunch by going to your favorite AIM client and joining the chatroom “MIT12”).
And here are our trusty sidekicks:
For the past few months, while waiting for my MIT decision and even after it, the chatroom provided me with my daily MIT fix. We laughed, we cried, we made fun of Harvard and Caltech, and we anxiously awaited CPW. All of us chat people became closeknit and couldn’t wait to meet at CPW. When I stepped off the Peter Pan bus onto MIT’s campus, I looked around hoping to spot someone I "know." As I edged closer to the student center, I saw some people doing an odd version of the cha cha slide and by the time I turned on my trusty, dandy, handheld video camera with laser deathbeam and all, I had realized that they were all MIT12 chatters!
(They are all going to punch me at orientation for posting that picture.)
My first duty on campus after registration, of course, was to find the admissions office. I quickly scanned the doors in the infinite corridor until I found:
After the chat group finished taking pictures we knocked on the door and an MIT student asked, “Are you prefrosh?” and we just giggled and nodded yes and she told us that all of the admissions officers were in the student center. We didn't care though, we got what we came for: a picture of the names.
Now, one of my personal goals during CPW was to collect as many free shirts as possible. While I ended up only getting 4, I still came away feeling like I had somewhat accomplished my goal. Two of the shirts were actually unexpected, while the other two I snagged from the enourmous activities fair. While I do not have a picture of the activities fair, I do have a picture of the CPW festival, which was held in the same place and looks exactly the same as the activities fair minus a naked guy in a box.
At the activities fair, I saw Paul again and he was at my favorite booth. He works for the MIT Undergraduate Research Journal staff and if I recall correctly is going to be co-Editor-in-Chief next year. This journal rocks and so I did what any prefrosh would do...I put my email address on "the list."
I ended up obtaining another shirt from the Arab Students' Organization (ASO). I adore this shirt because it spells “Massachusetts Institute of Technology” in Arabic. Yeah, you wish you had one of these. While on the subject of the ASO, let me go off on a tangent and say that I am very impressed with how MIT regards religion on campus. I went to a Muslim Students Association event held in the Religious Activities Center and it was amazing. There was a well-furnished prayer hall filled with everything a Muslim student would need. Out of all the universities I visited, MIT treats religion the best. End tangent here.
Aside from rocking out in Rock Band throughout CPW...
...some of the highlights of my trip at MIT included:
1) CPW Welcome
My favorite part about the welcome was definitely the MIT Logarhythms, MIT’s all-male a cappella group. For your enjoyment, here are two of the songs they performed:
Here in Your Arms:
Thanks to Sam '12 for uploading this second video for me :-).
2) Battle of the Bands
In this event, I received my fourth free shirt as one of the bands threw a shirt and I luckily pushed and shoved people out of the way and caught it. At first I was like “Meh another shirt,” but then someone pointed out to me that the band members on the shirt actually spell out “MIT” and then I was like “OMG this shirt rocks!” and I walked around feeling victorious.
3) Walking on the Harvard Bridge…like a bajillion times!
I quickly found the Skullhouse fraternity on the other side of the river to be a nice safe haven for breakfast, snacks, monster drinks, and, of course, rock band. As a result, I trekked a few times back and forth across the Harvard bridge, killing my feet in the process. That’s ok though because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to stomp on something that relates to Harvard and I wouldn’t have taken this picture below, which adequately describes how I feel now as the orientation approaches and the next four years edge closer.
4) Bouncy Ball Drop
This event rocked. It absolutely rocked. There is nothing like being the target for 10,000 bouncy balls that are being subjected to the cold-hearted force that is gravity. One moment it was quiet and calm, the next moment it was raining bouncy balls. I must admit that the strobe light was a nice addition, especially since it helped illuminate the floor in our scramble to collect as many balls as possible. Right as we all began collecting balls though, the fine folks of Senior House began pelting us with water balloons. After being struck by the third water balloon, I decided it was time to high tail it over to the Meet the Bloggers event before I was late.
5) Meet the Bloggers
With wet, soggy pants, I power walked through East Campus and the infinite corridor and reached the student center with time to spare. Inside, Ben Jones himself was preparing all the necessary supplies to make a scrumptious root bear float. The event eventually kicked off and all the bloggers filed in! After each person gave a brief introduction, everyone would clap with Ben and Snively earning the loudest clapping/cheering (no surprise there :D). When the introductions were complete, we were scoffed down root beer floats and conversed with the wondrous MIT blogging team. I got to chat with Ben, Matt, Paul, Snively, Melis, Mollie (college confidential ftw!), and Chris. Chris by the way does look a lot taller in person. I think that is the general consensus. To top off the night, we did the obligatory group picture!
6) Underground Capture the Flag
On the last night, a huge game of capture the flag took place in the vicinity of the infinite corridor. The underground tunnels, the main floor, and second floor were all fair game and made for an interesting battle. While my feet were killing me at this point due to the continuous walking for three days, I toughed it out and played offense with Sam ’12. We snuck around for most of the game, until we were deep in red territory (we were Blue) and were spotted. I made a run for it and somehow ended up out of bounds. Nevertheless, I hid around a corner for five minutes, but just as I felt I was safe again, a red person came out of nowhere and took me to jail where I found Sam ’12 sitting. Then just moments later, we found out the game had ended and everyone walked back to lobby 10 to discover that the Red team had dominated. Well, at least it’s “better dead, than red.”
7) Math until you die
I died after 30 minutes. Here are the poor souls who I left behind:
While I only stayed 30 minutes, the math involving group theory and topology was still fairly interesting.
8) Simmons Hall
After seeing the tour, I absolutely fell in love with Simmons and will be putting it as my first choice (disclaimer: all feelings I express now are subject to change). Let’s start with the basics:
a) Meditation Room
b) Cool architecture
c) Random walls that jut out
d) A very new feel (maybe because it is new)
e) Amazing, hard-to-reach views (can you guess where in Simmons this was?)
If I decide I don’t want Simmons anymore, I would definitely choose Baker. I think Baker made the cut when I saw this board filled with physics. It reminded me of The Big Bang Theory, one of my favorite shows.
If neither Simmons nor Baker work out, I could always live in the best room on campus: the study area within the great dome!
I must say that MIT has really shown itself to be a safe campus. It’s great to know that campus police have thought about every possible situation and have come up with ways to protect the student body. This really puts my parents at ease too.
After walking past this excellent hack, I was innocently rickrolled (yes, I'm streching the meaning of the term) as someone was cruelly playing Rick Astley's music video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" in the hallway. Of all places!
The welcome ceremony was also entertaining, giving us another performance by the MIT Logs and an amusing act by a guy with Chinese Yo-yos. Click here to see their performance of "Save Room" by John Legend.
At the end, I saw none other than Ben Jones himself and got a picture along with Pam ‘12:
Overall, CPW was a great way to experience MIT in a fun way (I hear it's not like this at all next year, go figure). It was so much fun that it persuaded me to enroll. I cannot wait to be a full fledged MIT freshman next Fall. I visited a few classes, such as Physics II (not too bad), Linear Algebra (I understood it all yay :-) ), and Applied Electromagnetics: From Motors to Lasers (cool stuff). The premed panel was also very helpful. I was afraid I'd come to MIT, leave with a bad gpa, and end up practicing medicine in my parent's basement, but it's not true! Just about 90% of premed undergrads get into med school :-).
I am very happy to say: Only four months left!
