From: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 22:59:45 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Getting into MIT is impossible
Message-ID: <199701290659.WAA21869@toad.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain




According to Rick Osborne:

"I disagree and can speak from experience.  I was denied admission to MIT
even thought I had a 3.82 GPA, 1440 SAT (one try), and had taken 9 AP tests
with two 5's, four 4's, two 3's, and one 2.  As for being well-rounded, I
was on several academic teams, sang in Chorus, acted and stage managed in
Drama, and played Tennis."

People get into MIT--or don't get into MIT--for lots of reasons. Most
intelligent people apply to several schools, knowing that admissions
practices are subject to the vagaries of reality.

In my case, my SATs were about 1500, with some 800s in achievement tests.
And the usual bullshit high school clubs, political offices, etc. etc. I
was accepted by MIT, but not by Caltech. I didn't lose any sleep over the
way things turned out.

And I decided not to go to MIT, either.

"The only thing I didn't have that the next MIT applicant had was money.  I
made the mistake of letting them know that I was dirt poor and would need
full aid/grants/etc, and to quote "The Great Escape" it was "Zzzt! To the
Russian front!""

My guess is that "other factors" were involved. 

I noted with some interest, but little surprise, that the guy claiming MIT
required a 4.0 GPA and a 1600 combined SAT score could barely spell, and
had major problems making a coherent point. Methinks this is why MIT
rejected him, not his lack of a "1600."

">For what it's worth, I wanted to go to MIT my sophomore year in high
>school, too

"Lucky you.  It had been a dream of mine since I was an annoying
overachiever of 6.  Sux to be white trash, I guess."

MIT offered me a substantial economic aid package, in the form of loans,
grants, and various campus jobs. What does this tell you?

"MIT may be a great school, but they tend to be snooty assholes for the most
part.  (DISCLAIMER: Not all MIT grads/attendees are necessarily "snooty
assholes", I'm just saying that I've yet to meet one that wasn't.)

I've known about a dozen or so MIT grads, and only one of them was a snooty
asshole, and it was a _she_, one of the first MIT women grads (and she was
_very_ impressed by this). 

Most MIT grads are perfectly reasonable.

Xanthar




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