I must admit, I'm not generally a big comic book superhero fan, and I hadn't even heard of Iron Man until only recently. Most movies like this go by without my notice. But last month, I heard from my friend Wally, via my friend Lisa, about photo stills from the movie that caught my attention:

Hold on, what was that? On his finger in both pictures?

Iron Man with a Brass Rat!

Having Iron Man, a.k.a. Tony Stark, be an MIT alum got me interested in the movie. According to the Wikipedia bio, this is Stark's background:

Anthony Stark was born on Long Island, the son of Howard Stark, a wealthy industrialist and head of Stark Industries, and Maria Stark. Tony is a boy genius, entering MIT at the age of 15, and graduating at the top of his class.

In the movie version, they say that Stark graduated "summa cum laude" from MIT. Of course, MIT doesn't have Latin honors, or a valedictorian, or class rank, or anything like that. The movies really like to give these kind of honors to fictional MIT grads, though. In 2003's The Recruit, Colin Farell's character was said to have been the MIT valedictorian, with a major in "nonlinear cryptography." In the movie version of Carl Sagan's Contact, Ellie Arroway was said to have graduated magna cum laude from MIT.

In an MIT Viewbook-quality quotation, director Jon Favreau said of Stark as a superhero, "He wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider, he’s somebody who created a suit using his own intelligence and sweat of his brow. I would love for that to make being an engineer cool, that people might want to go to MIT instead of being on MTV." (Thanks!)

The film, contrary to the web bios I've read, has also made Stark's best friend, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, an MIT graduate. Stark talks about a 1987 spring break trip with Rhodey, implying a college friendship. Even stronger evidence is Rhodey's wearing a brass rat himself in the scenes in the military control room.

Another nice touch is Tony Stark on the cover of MIT's alumni magazine, Technology Review. (I'm trying to track down a copy of the cover)

When you go to see the movie, you should stay through the end of the credits; there's a teaser of a scene that's worth watching. I could tell it meant something to the die-hard fans, but I was clueless, and much more interested in the actor making a cameo (I won't spoil it).

If you do stay through the credits, do me a favor -- watch for the name John Underkoffler, and write down what he is credited as (Google has failed me on this one). It's towards the end of the credits, and it's a long title, something like "science/technology advisor & future visionist." Who is John Underkoffler?

John Underkoffler '88 SM '91 PhD '99 is an MIT alum, inventor, and science/technology consultant to many films, including Minority Report, The Hulk, and Æon Flux. You can read a cool article about his work on Minority Report here. And if you're interested in learning more about the technology of Iron Man, check out this article in NewScientist.

If you saw the movie, what did you think?

If you're still undecided: How can we help you make your decision? What more would you like to know about MIT? What are your lingering concerns? I am available, as are all of the bloggers, to field questions below in the comments, all the way through midnight tomorrow...

If you haven't yet replied: As soon as you've made up your mind for sure about whether or not to attend MIT, please let us know your decision through the online reply form at MyMIT. You have three choices: tell us you're enrolling this fall (Yay! Welcome officially to the MIT Class of 2012!), that you're declining our offer of admission (it's okay, we know you're making the best choice for yourself), or to request a deferral/gap year(s) before enrolling at MIT (for a gap year, military service, or other reason). Whatever your decision is, please do reply through the online form as soon as you can. This way, we can ensure the fairest treatment of waitlisted students.

If you need more time because you don't have complete financial aid information: Students can request an extension of the May 1 deadline in order to complete and contemplate financial aid. Please contact Joanne Cummings in the Admissions Office to request the extension, and be sure to also be in touch with your financial aid officer.

If you're already said YES to MIT: Yay! Several things will happen soon. First, you should make sure you've signed the guestbook on MyMIT so you can stay in the MIT Class of 2012 Facebook group. Second, we will begin sending out the Next Big Mailing (NBM) soon... start thinking about an email address soon (look for more in a future entry). We're looking forward to seeing you in the fall!

If you've already said NO to MIT: First: thank you. It's been a real pleasure getting to know you. We've spent the last year thinking about you, getting to know you, talking to you, your parents, and more. After a ridiculously competitive admissions process, we chose you from the thousands upon thousands of super-qualified applicants, because we truly believe in you. And, in the process, we grew very attached to you, and not just for what you'd bring to the MIT community, but also for the amazing persons you are. Like a wise man once said, for us, it's more than a job. It's hard not to get attached.

This college process, is, of course, a two-way street. You get to choose where to apply, then we (the admissions officers) choose whom to admit, but the final choice is yours -- which school is the best fit for you? We knew coming in that approximately one-third of all of the students we admitted would choose to enroll somewhere else. That's a statistic. But zooming in, there are 500 individuals who find a better match, and letting go of other options can be hard on both sides. That can be emotional.

To those of you who have written in with personal letters -- some bordering on apologies (there's nothing to apologize for!) -- letting us know that you're choosing another school that's a better fit for you: thank you for your letters, thank you for your friendship, and congratulations on making a great choice for yourself. This isn't the end of the road, and I hope you'll feel free to keep in touch and talk about all the amazing things that happen in your life. In the end, wherever you ended up for college, you were going to be an awesome person. I truly and honestly wish you all the best for your next four years and beyond. You've got an amazingly bright future ahead.

If you're on the waitlist: The waitlist is part of the college admissions process. Schools don't yet know if they'll be going to their waitlists, and if so for how many students. For MIT's waitlist, I know many of you are curious; however, I won't be able to say anything until I post here, and I'll post as soon as I can, but please be patient. In the meantime, make sure you enroll at another school before May 1.

Happy April 30th!

But above all else, for most students, Spring Weekend means the Spring Concert. Every year, MIT brings to campus a national act to headline a big concert on campus. This year's Spring Concert features Third Eye Blind and Howie Day.

Over the years, many awesome bands have played MIT's Spring Concert. Here are some of the highlights from past years. In parentheses are the band's most popular song (according to iTunes) and my favorite song from the band (if different). For some of these bands, choosing a favorite song was really hard; sometimes, it was a near coin toss.

1966: The Beach Boys ("Kokomo" / "Wouldn't It Be Nice")
1968: Jefferson Airplane ("White Rabbit" / "Somebody to Love")
1969: Janis Joplin ("Piece of My Heart" / "Mercedes Benz")
1971/1969: Chuck Berry ("Johnny B. Goode")
1974: Aerosmith ("Dream On")
1976: Don McLean ("American Pie")
1982: The Ramones ("I Wanna Be Sedated" / "Sheena is a Punk Rocker")
1984: Cheap Trick ("Surrender" / "I Want You to Want Me")
1985: R.E.M. ("Supernatural Superserious" / entire album: "Life's Rich Pageant")
1987: Squeeze ("Tempted" / "Black Coffee in Bed")
1989/1984: ‘til tuesday ("Voices Carry")
1990: Psychedelic Furs ("Love My Way" / "Heartbreak Beat")
1991: Jesus Jones ("Right Here Right Now")
1992: Violent Femmes ("Blister in the Sun")
1993/2000: They Might Be Giants ("Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" / "Birdhouse in Your Soul")
1994: Belly ("Feed the Tree")
1995: Sonic Youth ("Superstar" / "Kool Thing")
1996: Soul Coughing ("Super Bon Bon" / "Screenwriters Blues")
1999: Busta Rhymes ("Touch It" / "Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check")
2001: The Roots ("The Seed (2.0)")
2002: Sugar Ray ("Fly" / "Every Morning")
2003: OK Go ("Here It Goes Again" / "Get Over It")
2004: Live ("Lightning Crashes" / "Selling the Drama")
2005: Fabolous ("Make Me Better" / "Can't Deny It")
2006: CAKE ("The Distance" / "Short Skirt/Long Jacket")

Here is a somewhat complete list of the history of MIT Spring Concerts:

2008: Third Eye Blind / Howie Day
2007: Ying Yang Twins / Ozomatli
2006: CAKE / matt pond PA.
2005: Fabolous / Lloyd Banks
2004: Live/ Slick Rick
2003: Jurassic 5 / OK Go
2002: Sugar Ray / Spin Doctors
2001: The Roots / Blues Traveller
2000: They Might Be Giants / Reel Big Fish
1999: Busta Rhymes
1998: Maceo Parker / Fishbone / Five Fingers of Funk
1997: Battle of the Bands (no headliner)
1996: Soul Coughing
1995: Sonic Youth
1994: Belly
1993: They Might Be Giants
1992: Violent Femmes
1991: Jesus Jones
1990: Psychedelic Furs
1989: ‘til tuesday
1987: Squeeze
1986: Ministry / Face to Face
1985: R.E.M.
1984: Cheap Trick / 'til tuesday
1983: The Tubes
1982: The Ramones
1977: Aztec Two-Step
1976: Don McLean
1974: Aerosmith
1973: Sha-Na-Na
1971: Chuck Berry
1969: Janis Joplin / Dave van Ronk / Chuck Berry / Julie Driscoll
1968: Jefferson Airplane
1967: The Brothers Four
1966: The Beach Boys
1962: Dakota Staton
1962: The Four Preps

Which Spring Concert do you most wish you could've attended?

brownmityale.org

These meetings will be a great opportunity for high school sophomores and juniors to hear from three great universities all in one place. Each school will talk a little about what makes it unique, and will also describe common philosophies on admissions, financial aid, and more. Each session, including Q&A, will run about 90 minutes. You can RSVP at brownmityale.org.

In addition, we will also host breakfast meetings for your guidance counselors. We're excited to have these conversations with your counselor about the state of admissions. Counselors can RSVP at brownmityale.org.

I know that many blog readers are seniors, so for you, I have this mission (if you are in the areas of these meetings): 1) inform those great sophomores & juniors about the meetings, and 2) tell your guidance counselor about the counselor breakfasts.

I should note that in addition to the west coast and midwest, MIT will also attend college fairs this month in New York City and New England.

Of course, we'll also be visiting 70+ cities across the country in the fall, so if we're not in your area now, hopefully we'll be nearby in September or October.

We look forward to seeing you!

And for those of you who attended CPW -- it was great to meet you!

Here are the videos, compiled from the great people at MIT TechTV and (of course) YouTube.

President's Welcome & Faculty Keynote Lecture

This was the official CPW Welcome, including speeches by Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill, President Susan Hockfield, and an awesome keynote address by Amy Smith. It's long, but worth watching!

Click To Play

The CPW Festival

The Festival occurred Thursday night, after the Student Welcome. Dozens of student groups offered activities ranging from 2x4 Jenga to big screen DDR to a liquid nitrogen ice cream extravaganza. It was really fun!

Click To Play

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Panel Discussion

(with special panelist Melis '08!)

Click To Play

Marching Band performs for President Hockfield

You may have already seen Snively's entry covering this...

21: Bringing Down Next House blackjack event

The Next House dormitory hosted some of the members of the famed MIT Blackjack Team on Saturday night, including a panel (first video, discussing their "scariest moment" while on the team) and a member who gave a card counting tutorial (second video).

Interviews with Liz '12 and Andy '12

On the third day of CPW, Bryan '07 interviewed some students about their experiences so far.

Click To Play

Click To Play

CPW Closing Ceremony: MIT Logs

The Closing kicked off with this a capella performance from the Logarhythms.

CPW Closing Ceremony: MIT Chorallaries

The Chorallaries performed...

CPW Closing Ceremony: Jacob Sharpe '11

For my money, Jacob's juggling act was the highlight of the closing... sadly, we don't have video of it, but here's another video with Jacob's act, at the Festival Mondial du Cirque De Demain ("The Worldwide Festival of the Circus of Tomorrow") in Paris. Surprise fact: as in this video, Jacob was originally scheduled to perform with his equally talented and brilliant brother Nate '09, but Nate had a track meet. The Shapre Brothers are quite a duo...

I hope that gives you a flavor of the CPW that was...

Important note: the weather forecast has a 70%+ chance of rain Friday night through Saturday night. Bring an umbrella, raincoat, and/or waterproof footwear! (Thursday looks to be beautiful, though)

It's after midnight here on the East Coast, so Campus Preview Weekend begins today for the MIT admitted class of 2012. It's going to be a fun weekend.

In total, there are 600+ published events over the course of CPW (wow!). Here are a few that caught my eye...

• Late night classes called Firehose, starting at midnight Thursday night (or early Friday morning, if you prefer to look at it that way), going until 6am Friday. Speaker building, hypercubes, the Black Death, and more, taught in a fun/crazy style by MIT students.

• Real members of the MIT Blackjack Team (of Bringing Down the House and 21 fame) will be speaking at Next House late Saturday night.

• Awesome music at ZBT's Battle of the Bands at 8pm Saturday, with special guest judges Ben & Bryan.

• The famous Bouncy Ball Drop at Senior House, Friday night at 8. Must be seen to be believed.

• People always love Underground Capture the Flag, Saturday at midnight.

• The appropriately-named Cool Projects Open House Friday at 4pm. The solar car team will be there, the Formula SAE race team, the Mars Gravity Biosatellite, the Solar Electric Vehicle Team...

• There are many department receptions throughout the weekend, including Friday's Department of Architecture Faculty Reception, Thursday's Biology Open House, and Friday's Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) Open House/Continental Breakfast

• Thursday afternoon, check out Instructables@Simmons Hall, especially if you're a big fan of Instructables

• Also Thursday afternoon, check out a talk by Astronaut/Professor Jeffrey Hoffman (I'd like to be an "Astronaut/Professor").

• Former Mystery Hunt winners Random Hall will host a Minihunt... I love minihunts.

• The keynote lecturer at the President's Welcome on Friday morning will be the awesome Amy Smith!

• Forgot that MIT has as many Pulitzer Prize-winning Humanities professors as it does Nobel Prize-winning Physics professors? Check out the MIT Literary Society Dessert Reception.

• See MIT's great a capella groups altogether at Saturday afternoon's SGBIS concert.
  

What event(s) are you most looking forward to?

For the parents who will be attending CPW

We're excited to have you as our guests! Here are some (hopefully) helpful hints for the weekend:

• Parent events: Parents have been a part of Campus Preview Weekend since its beginnings, so over the years we've honed our parent event offerings based on feedback, requests, and questions. Some of the parent events over the weekend include:
  • The Welcome for Parents: Thursday night at 7:30, things get kicked off. The keynote speaker is Prof. Don Sadoway, who teaches MIT's most popular freshman chemistry course. He's great, you'll love him.
    
  • Financial Aid and Student Financial Services Session for Parents: Friday afternoon at 1pm, Director of Student Financial Aid Daniel Barkowitz will answer questions and talk about the hows, whys and whens of financial aid at MIT -- how we determined your financial aid award, when your supplemental forms are due, how to pay your balance, how to find on-campus student employment, and how your online student account will work.
    
  • Student Life and Learning Panel for Parents: Friday afternoon at 2pm, there will be a panel of the top student life administrators at MIT: Professor and Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel Hastings, Director and Head of MIT Medical William Kettyle, Senior Associate Dean of Students Barbara Baker, and Director of Security and Campus Police Services John DiFava.
    
  • Parent Reception with Parent Connectors and Alumni Association: Friday evening, there is a nice reception with MIT alums and MIT parents.
    
  • "Insight for Parents by Parents": First thing Saturday morning, a panel of current MIT parents will be on hand to share their insights and answer your questions.
    
  • Residential Living Advising Panel for Parents: Saturday morning, you can learn more about MIT's unique (and very supportive) housing system. Faculty housemasters and residential life administrators will talk about the system and student experiences.

  And while there are no formal Boston/Cambridge tours planned, I'd suggest making some new friends and going out to explore the city yourself. There are lots of great historic sites, restaurants, and shopping -- my parents love getting to visit me in Boston.

• The Parent Lounge: I hope you'll take advantage of the Parent Lounge. The Parent Lounge will be in the Coffeehouse, on the 3rd floor of the Student Center, one floor above CPW Headquarters/check-in. It's a good place to relax, and to meet other parents. It will be staffed throughout the weekend by the MIT Parents Association who can answer many questions.

• For those driving to campus: I've been living in Boston for 12 years now, and I don't own a car, and for good reason. Getting around on foot or via public transportation in Boston/Cambridge is extremely easy and efficient. I use the subway, which is safe and cheap, every day.

  Driving, on the other hand, can be extremely trying. Lots of one-way streets, very little parking, traffic. Many parents I talk to at CPW Registration who aren't used to driving in Boston (or a similar city, like San Francisco or New York) are quite frustrated. I write this to warn you a bit, and to encourage you to plan ahead.

  Parking on or near campus is very difficult. There are very few parking spaces available for visitors during the day on Thursday and Friday (evenings and weekends are usually somewhat better). We recommend that you park at your hotel and make your way to campus from there. Please note that we can't provide transportation to or from your hotel -- call them and figure out your best way to get to MIT on public transportation.

  Most of you will drive to MIT on the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90). To get to the drop-off point from "the Pike," follow I-90 east to the Cambridge/Brighton exit (exit 18). After paying the toll, follow the signs to Cambridge. Proceed through the stoplights at the intersection. You will cross the Charles River via the River Street Bridge. Continue straight on River Street for about 7/10 mile to Central Square (the next major intersection). Turn right onto Massachusetts Avenue and follow Massachusetts Avenue for about 7/10 mile. After you cross the railroad tracks, you will be looking at MIT - the Great Dome and academic facilities are on the left, the dormitories and athletic facilities are on the right. Make a right at the third stoplight after the railroad tracks; the drop-off point is ahead on your right.

• For those flying to campus: On Thursday from 8am until 9pm, we will be running a free shuttle bus from Boston Logan Airport Terminal E directly to MIT. There are free airport shuttle buses that can take you from the baggage claim at your terminal to Terminal E. The MIT airport shuttle is a green Peter Pan bus with an MIT sign on the front windshield. We will also run shuttles from MIT back to the airport on Sunday from 6am until 2pm.

  At other times, there are other ways to get to/from the airport. The cheapest way is by public transportation (MBTA), taking the Silver Line bus to the Red Line subway, exiting at Kendall/MIT (cost: $2). The fastest and most convenient way is by taxi (~$35, including tolls & tip).

• Food: I hope you'll get a chance to try out different food options on campus. We will be providing a meal voucher to have dinner in one of the residential dining halls, and there will also be a special brunch on Saturday provided in the dorms by the Faculty Housemasters.

• Financial Aid Appointments: From 9am-5pm Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the very nice financial aid officers will be taking 20 minute one-on-one appointments to answer your questions and help with financial aid issues. We will try to meet with as many families as possible throughout the weekend, but availability is limited. Sign up at CPW Headquarters/check-in to make an appointment.

We're looking forward to seeing you soon!

For the parents whose student (only) will be attending CPW

First of all, rest assured, we will take good care of your son or daughter while they are here. They have been paired with a quality MIT student host and have a place to stay in an MIT living group.

Here are a few (hopefully) helpful hints:

• Being in touch: The students tend to have a lot of fun during CPW, and sometimes forget to call home and check in. We recommend talking to your son or daughter before they leave about being in touch. We do provide for free phone calls in CPW Headquarters.

• Cell phones: If your student does not have a cell phone, but you do, you may want to consider loaning them the cell phone for the weekend. We have found that this makes it easier to coordinate and be in touch.

• Medical release form: Please sign and fax in the Medical Release Form ASAP. The form came in the March mailing with the other CPW materials, and is also available on the CPW website as a PDF. You can fax it to 617-253-4076.

• If you have questions about MIT: We're sorry we can't see you in person for CPW, but we're happy to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to leave questions in the blog comments, or call our office directly, or email us, or send us a letter by carrier pigeon. We are here to help answer your questions, so don't hesitate to ask.

...and keep an eye on the blogs, you may see a familiar face!

For parents who won't be at CPW, nor their student

• We still welcome a visit by your son or daughter, or you and your son or daughter, anytime. Between now and May 1, we're happy to provide an MIT student host for an overnight visit (parent housing not included); have your son or daughter submit the Overnight Program registration on MyMIT.

• If you have questions about MIT: We're sorry we can't see you in person for CPW, but we're happy to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to leave questions in the blog comments, or call our office directly, or email us, or send us a letter by carrier pigeon. We are here to help answer your questions, so don't hesitate to ask.
  

Let us know how we can help bring the campus to you!

There's a lot more excitement between now and May 1, but for now, our attention is focused on CPW and the 1,000 members of the Class of 2012 who will be on campus.

In the meantime, any last minute CPW questions?

• Your host: A team of admissions staff and MIT students spent much of thos week trying our best to find every one of you a well-matched host for the weekend. Tonight, we had a meeting with the MIT student hosts and gave them your contact information, with the expectation that they will be in touch with you, by phone or email, tonight or tomorrow. If you don't hear from your host tonight, don't worry -- we do have a host for you, and they'll be in touch soon.

  There's no one standard for hosting. Some hosts are very hands-on, being excited to be with you the entire weekend. Others are more like guides: being willing to give lots of advice, showing you around to some extent, but also giving a lot of freedom for you to explore on your own. You may want to talk with your host about your needs for the weekend, the help that you'd like, and to what extent you're looking to explore on your own.

  Like online dating, sometimes the match is perfect, but more often it's just pretty good, and occasionally horrible. We've done our best to make mitHarmony. If you find that you and your host are not a good match, don't suffer through it -- please let us know, we do have backup hosts.

• The CPW "Weather Machine": One part of CPW mythology is the "Weather Machine" -- that somehow, the weather during CPW seems to be much nicer than the days around it. It would be nice if it were true, wouldn't it?

  You should definitely keep your eye on the weather forecast as you pack for the weekend. Right now, it looks like there may be some rain during the weekend. That will just give you more incentive to explore MIT's extensive tunnel system.

• "CPW isn't real": An oft-cited criticism of CPW is that it isn't representative of a typical weekend at MIT. It is true that CPW isn't a typical weekend, but as long as you understand that coming in to the weekend, I think you can learn a lot. That being said, CPW is far from "fake" -- actually, it is the true MIT, in a supersaturated form.

  Think about it this way: there are 300+ student activity groups on campus, 40+ living groups, 40+ varsity sports, and 30+ academic departments. They know that a substantial portion of the Class of 2012 will be on campus, so it would actually be pretty irresponsible if all of these groups didn't have events. CPW isn't jam-packed with events to "fool" you -- it's jam packed events because so many groups at MIT are excited about your presence.

• What you won't see: There are a number of aspects of life that you're less likely to see during CPW. For example, you probably won't see much in the way of tooling, of students working on problem sets. For sure, it will be happening, but many students will try to organize their week such that their studying is done before you arrive, or while you're at other events. Again, that's not to hide this aspect of MIT, but rather it's part of being a gracious host: making time for your guests.

  While you'll have lots of opportunities on Thursday and Friday to see classes, you'll have fewer opportunities to see labs. In part, this is because labs are not designed for large numbers of visitors, and in part because research is going on all the time. We will offer UROP tours (sign up at CPW headquarters), and your hosts and hosts' friends will be a great resource in showing off their labs, but your relatively brief visit to the labs greatly underrepresents the importance of undergraduate research at MIT.

  Similarly, you may or may not have the opportunity to have one of those real great conversations with professors. If it doesn't happen, don't be too disappointed; you're only here for two class days. When you're at MIT, you'll have many more opportunities to have meaningful interaction with faculty, in the classroom, in the lab, in the dining hall, athletic center, wherever.

  And, of course, you won't get to see all of the date-specific events from the rest of the year, like Mystery Hunt, Ring Premiere, International Fair, Steer Roast, IAP, the 2.007 finals, etc.

• Over-hype: After all this build-up, it's inevitable that every year, some folks come back from CPW disappointed. And if you don't have ZOMGthetimeofmylife!!11!1!, that doesn't necessarily mean MIT isn't the right place for you. For some people, things don't click immediately, and that's okay. Just be sure to keep your eyes peeled for what's important to you in a college, and do your best to seperate that from other extraneous stuff.

I know we've all been throwing advice at you left and right lately, but above all know this: we're all really excited to see 1,000 of you this weekend.

My hope is that you will at least consider, just for a moment, taking a gap year (read on for details). If you are a member of the Class of 2012 and would like to request a one-year (or sometimes two-year) deferral from starting at MIT, it's now easier than ever to do so. On your online reply form on your MyMIT portal, just choose

I will enroll at MIT and I request to defer my enrollment until the term beginning:

And then choose one of

• September, 2009 (1 gap/deferral year)
  
• September, 2010 (2 gap/deferral years)

We will then ask you to write us and tell us what you plan to do. We will grant a deferral for almost any reason. Come up with somewhat of a plan, and you'll probably be fine. Some members of the Class of 2011 deferred to spend a year in Israel, others to do intensive music study. What you do is up to you.

I should also note that if your gap year plans are not certain by May 1, you can instead select the "Enrolling" option on the reply form, and then you can request a deferral any time right up until Registration Day in September (though I strongly suggest you do so well before that). No worries.

And if you already have submitted your reply form telling us you're enrolling, again, no worries: you, too, can request a deferral any time right up until Registration Day in September (though, again, I strongly suggest you do so well before that).

Last year, Anthony wrote an excellent post on this very topic:

So you got into one of the best, most stimulating and resource-rich universities in the world. Welcome – MIT’s an amazing place (no matter what you’re here to study), and I bet you’re really eager to come – not just for Campus Preview Weekend, but to start your academic and life voyage as a freshman this fall semester. You’re probably already planning your summer, the changes from home to college ... what to bring, how you’ll spend those last days with friends and family, perhaps visiting your favorite childhood haunts in a last bid to say goodbye. But what if you held off on all that?

Sounds crazy, right? – because you want to get away from your parents as soon as possible, start your own life, and not be told when to go to bed and what not to eat... well, whatever the reason, college is a way to leave home that’s accepted by both your friends and your folks (no matter how conservative), and you’re all ready to GO. It feels like the "right thing to do," because after high school, don’t all good students go to college? And besides, what else would you do to prepare for that promising future you’ve always dreamed of (and, no doubt, the one everyone *expects* you to have)?

Let me ask you something else: if you had an entire year to do anything you want, with unlimited time, no expectations, no SATs or class ranks or gossip or student club presidencies to get in the way... what would you do? Let’s just pretend that after you graduate, instead of just returning to school in the fall, you finally get to work on that dream project, tinker in that lab, or spend a year overseas (all expenses paid) teaching something you know and learning everything you never knew all at the very same time. And you’d wake up every day knowing that MIT’s just down the road.

Anthony isn't the only blogger who took time between high school and MIT. Karen deferred her enrollment at MIT for a year and spent that year in Taiwan

A few years back, the Associated Press has a nice story about "gap years" that was picked up by news organizations across the country. Since three years have passed, you'll have to visit an archive to read the full story, but I've pulled out some choice quotes below for comment.

Many college admissions officers support the idea [of deferring admission for a year or two]. While cautioning that a "gap year" between high school and college isn't for everyone -- and that just goofing off isn't worthwhile -- they say many students who take one return more confident and self-aware. [...]

Generally, schools make students submit a proposal beyond "lying on the beach," but often little more is required. The University of Chicago says it will grant deferrals for almost any reason as long as students don't apply elsewhere.

"It's reached the point where a lot of us in admissions are talking about ways to get students to just kind of relax," said Martha Merrill, dean of admission and financial aid at Connecticut College.

"Gap year" is a bit of a loaded term, I think, with images of British aristocracy vacationing in the south of France coming to mind. But during my years in admissions, I've seen students take some time before starting MIT for many great reasons. For example, one of my favorite students spent a year as an EMT in Israel before his freshman year. This gave him a lot of perspective on the world, and when he got his first bad grade at MIT, he knew that it wasn't a disaster, but rather an indication that he might want to reexamine his study habits and try a little harder next time. No crisis. Ultimately, his impact on MIT and the students around him was great, and his mentorship, with the help of his gap year's perspective, was invaluable to many students here.

The article also addresses the different kinds of gap years:

Gap years need not be a luxury for the rich. Some students use them to earn money for school. Many programs offer scholarships or compensation for labor; AmeriCorps offers a living allowance and education funding. Reardon says anyone would be hard-pressed during a gap year to spend the $30,000 or more many of them would be paying for college.

I'm not writing to say that all students should take some time off before starting college. But I do think that there is a bit of a stigma about such plans in many areas of the country, a stigma that should be eliminated. The AP writes:

In the United States, however, experts say the increasing stress of college admissions makes parents nervous about any kind of unusual path. "These are families that somehow see this as not part of the grand plan," said Gail Reardon, who founded a Boston company, Taking Off, that helps students plan gap years. Adds Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania: "Not wanting to break stride is the American way." [...] "I don't think there's any rational explanation to just run to college," [Gerrit Lansing, a student who took a gap year] said. "There's no reason. It's just what everyone does."

Last summer, my friend Shaun over at the blog The International Counselor did a gap year entry, focusing on an extraordinary gap year tale about a future Stanford student:

Parents often worry about kids taking a year off between high school and college. My parents worried when I announced that I was moving to Australia for a year. They feared I would never go to university (I did) nor return home (I did, at least for a time before itchy feet got me moving). Taking a gap year is a wonderful opportunity to focus on something important to you. Take Samantha Larson. Stanford happily deferred her admission for a year. Her plan: Climb Chomolungma also known as Mt. Everest. And she did. Not only that. She became the youngest person to completed the seven summits challenge–summiting the highest peak on each of the seven continents.

From my years in admissions, the overwhelming sentiment from students who have taken a gap year has been:

No one ever regrets having taken a gap year, but plenty of people regret not having taken one.

The bottom line here is that it is okay to slow down. Life, college, career -- it's not a race. Feel free to write me if you need more information about taking a gap year, I'm happy to help.

• Lots of folks have been interested in 4-145, the Blackjack Team practice room. For example, Chris wrote, "'4-145,' the blackjack team room, should be one of the first-floor rooms of Building 4 here at MIT. Although the movie producers got the numbering system right, the numbers of the rooms aren't stuck on the lower right of the glass panels of the rooms (especially not in Building 4 - they're affixed to a placard next to the door). Also, we have a lot of recitations in Building 4, and the classrooms are definitely not laid out anything like that classroom in the movie."

  I actually thought the movie 4-145 was closer to the real thing than most of the rooms in the movie (I thought Ben's dorm room was much more soulless than any dorm room I've seen at MIT). But see for yourself. Below is the movie 4-145, then the real 4-145:

  
  

  Anyway, see the room for yourself when you visit MIT. It's not hard to find.

• I liked seeing Jeff Ma '94 (the "real" Ben Campbell) get more than a passing shot of screen time as Jeffrey, the blackjack dealer:

  

• In the movie, Ben's major is "pre-med." Of course, there's no pre-med major -- students interested in medicine major in lots of different departments. Giving MIT characters fake majors is nothing new, though: take, for example, 2003's "The Recruit," where Colin Farrell's CIA trainee character, James Clayton, majored in "non-linear cryptography."

• The 2.09 competition? Well, as others have already noted, there is no class called 2.09 at MIT. The closest in number would probably be the awesome course 2.009: Product Engineering Processes. 2.009, like 2.09, is a team-based competition, but team size is 15-18 students rather than 2 for 2.09.

  Near to 2.009 is 2.007: Design & Manufacturing I, MIT's famous robotics competition course (and the class that FIRST Robotics was based on). Unlike 2.09, though, 2.007 is an individual competition, and there's no judging -- only robot battle -- to determine the winner.

  Both 2.009 and 2.007, like 2.09, are pretty big deals on campus, and have significant corporate sponsorship. The fictional 2.09 is sponsored by the MIT alum-founded company iRobot. Their CEO, Colin Angle '89 SM '91, makes a cameo in the movie (I believe as the 2.09 judge, but I'm not sure).

  Zach '10, though, notes in the comments of Chris' entry that the course could be 2.12: Introduction to Robotics:

  "Great post! my one comment is directed toward clarifying the course 2 part of the movie :). the 2.09 competition would be most analogous to 2.12, Introduction to Robotics. 2.007 is indeed a robot competition, BUT: 1) its an individual event 2) the robots are remote controlled, not programmed and 3) the materials and task are very limited. The robots in the movie seem too complicated, plus they all do their own thing, to be 2.007 bots. however, 2.12 is a team based competition, and the robots are programmed to be autonomous (although I think that course 2 and course 6 students team up and the 2s build while the 6ers program)"

  Probably, we're all just over-analyzing this... it's just a movie, after all.

Okay, on to movie night...

21: Bay Area

Back row: Jackie Chan, Peter'15, Alejandro'12, Mike'12, Drew'12, Michael
Front row: Yuanyu'12, Tiffany'11, Stephen'11, Rachel'12, Sareena'12, Katherine'12, Linda'12, Steffi

Rachel '12 writes, "Sorry, a few non-prefrosh sneaked into the picture. Hopefully we have enough real ones to make up for it. The Bay Area is pretty conducive to finding MIT people =)

"It might be noteworthy that 10 people in our group are FIRST Roboticsers, and I think 5 are/have been team captains (including the guy taking the picture, but he goes to Harvard). Coincidence?

"The movie was pretty fun, although a lot of scenes went like this:
21: [math joke/commentary about MIT students not having lives]
Us: [collective groan]

"Also, during the abrupt, exposition-free sex scene:
'Oh my god, where did the plot just go?'
'I lost it!'"

21: Boston

Lauren '12, Xiaoli '12, Kimberly '12, Kevin, Allison '12, Mario '12

21: Seattle

Calvin '12, Darien (younger sister '12), Matthew

Says Calvin, "We attempt to spell MIT with three people, but as you can see, it didn't go very well. I guess our human positioning skills were a bit lacking.

"We had a great time, and I loved the opening panoramic shot of Boston along Harvard Bridge. I tried to spot some of the Smoots, but I think I ended up missing them."

21: Chicago

Emily '12, Evelyn '12, Stephanie '12

Emily writes, "At the movies. We didn't have our MIT gear, but we spelled out MIT with our fingers and brought the book."

21: San Antonio

Kayla '12, Beatriz '12

Says Kayla, "Two MIT '12s in MIT gear. :D (no book though, sorry!~)"

21: Kalamazoo

Omar '12

21: Houston

Ahmed '12

Ahmed writes, "I thought the movie was alright. The cheesy and cliche dialogue kind of killed it."

21: New York City

Akara '12, Evá '12, Lesley '12, Becky '12

Becky writes, "Lol, we forgot to take our picture when we were at the theatre, and the nearest bookstore didn't have the book. Oh, well."

21: Howard County, Maryland

Phil '12, Danny '12, Jennifer '12, Samantha '12

Kayla '12 of San Antonio (above) says of this photo, "ah i think you guys get the most bonus points! despite the one guy not wearing MIT gear. unless i can't read that? haha whatev, props. :)"

21: Atlanta

Heidi '12, Marcel '12

Not only did they see the movie, Marcel also wowed everyone with a card trick:

21: East Bay

Ivy '12, Celena '12

21: Florida Keys

Friend and Fausto '12

Fausto writes, "Me and a friend (non-prefrosh ... sorry, I needed someone to hold the poster up) going to see 21. No book ... but I brought MIT stuff!"

21: Cleveland

Matt '12, Alison '12, Steven '12, Beneah '12

After the blog entry was posted, Steven '12 wrote, "Nooooo!! I just came back from seeing 21, WITH 3 MIT PREFROSH!! AND TOOK PICTURES! (and even put them on the MIT Class of 2012 website SO if you wanted to put a picture up it would be really cool and I would love you forever) (and ever) (andevveerrrr...)"