I'd like to field some of your last minute questions here in this entry. I'd like to be helpful as you prepare to submit your application.

However, before you submit your question, I'd like to ask you to really look for the answer here on the site -- there's no need to ask basic questions, for example, about standardized test requirements or statistics. If you have a question though that doesn't seem to already have been answered, though, I am more than happy to help.

A few FAQs:

• The deadline is November 1, meaning you can submit your application any time on November 1 or before. (I don't recommend waiting until the last minute, though)
  
• It is okay if your teacher recommendations are later than the deadline. We are very flexible with your teacher recommendations.
  
• The MyMIT Tracking is up-to-date, but please recognize that processing can take 1-2 weeks. You do not need to worry at this time about documents that are not showing on MyMIT; we currently have a backlog of materials in our processing center, and expect to have that backlog into November. Do not worry.

Ask away!

Keshav asked: "Please offer your advice on the following: I am contemplating applying early to MIT without attaching a research abstract. However, my research will be finalized in November. Should I wait until the regular deadline to apply with the research abstract? Is there a competitive edge in applying early action?"

Matt '00 replies: I would recommend applying early, and sending your abstract along when it is complete. We will be able to add it to your application.

Jeff H. asked: "I live in Canada. I have a question on the self-reported coursework section. It states it should be completed by students in US or US based schools. I'm not sure if my Canadian high school is considered US based. We don't have AP classes or many of the other types of classes listed. Should I fill this section out or just submit the transcript?"

Matt '00 replies: You do not need to fill out the self-reported coursework.

Anshu asked: "If my application is deferred until later, will I still be able to edit my application or at least add accomplishments and test scores?"

Matt '00 replies: You will not be able to edit your application, but you are invited to supplement your application with any updates.

Jeff C. asked: "I am applying from Hong Kong and I am an American Citizen but I go to a local Hong Kong school which doesn't have any AP classes and the like, so should I apply as a US citizen or as an International student? Also I am retaking my SATs this November should I leave my SAT scores blank or should I put the best scores I have as of the day I send in my applications? Many thanks!"

Matt '00 replies: Since you are an American citizen, you are considered a domestic applicant. However, we will evaluate you considering your context in Hong Kong. We are quite familiar with the schools and curriculum in Hong Kong, along with many places in the world.

As for the SATs, you may do either -- either way, we will be using the official scores reports and the best results in each section.

Anurag asked: "I was wondering why does MIT, with its awesome international applicant pool, not offer Early Action to its international applicants. [...] Also, there is a cap on the maximum number of international admits. Why is this so? [...] Are we discouraging international applicants? If not, then what purpose does this serve? [...] If MIT is my first priority school(since grade 6! ha!), why can't I know if I'll be going to MIT next fall or not, early?"

Matt '00 replies: Like most American universities, MIT has a quota for the number of international students it can enroll. MIT is more open about this quota than many schools. The quota is not set by the Admissions Office, but by senior officials at MIT.

Considering that the admission rate for international students is very low, we have chosen to only have one admissions round for international students to allot these limited spaces. It is not a question of EA vs. RA, but rather a question of having one round or two rounds. Since the admission rate for domestic students is not as low, we feel comfortable having two different admission dates for this group; however, given how few spaces there are for internationals, we want to give out these limited spaces at the same time, in the same process.

Remember that at MIT, Early Action is not designed as a program to indicate MIT as your priority or first-choice school. We do not consider "demonstrated interest" in admissions decisions. We care about your match with MIT -- and that will be the same no matter what deadline you apply for.

Anonymous2 asked, "The registrations for the SATs I have done did not include my middle name or the suffix of my name. I remember reading that we should type our name exactly as it appeared on our SAT registration so that the scores will be matched with the account. Do middle names or suffixes matter for your system to match registrations with applications, or should I leave them off of Part 1 of the application?"

Matt '00 replies: You should use your formal, legal name on your application, including middle initial. Even with the mismatch this will cause with your SAT registration, there's a reasonable likelihood that our matching algorithm will figure it out. To be safe, though, you should email admissions -at- mit -dot- edu and provide the helpful information so that we can ensure that your records are matched.

International Anonymus asked, "In the application form you ask whether or not we have already tried to enter MIT before. Will the fact that you have sent the application the year before and are trying again hurt your chances? If not, why is it important for the admission staff to know it?"

Matt '00 replies: Having applied previously to MIT does not by itself impact your admission. It is interesting to see how the application has changed since the prior application -- these changes can make the difference, as few reapplicants are admitted on the second try (though some of our most notable students were reapplicants).

"Class of 2010" wrote, "For the additional information section, I'd like to submit the longer version of an essay I wrote for Part 2 of the application. The essay that specifically addresses the essay prompt is about 250 words, but I feel that the 500 word version is more interesting and gives a deeper look into the topic. The 250 word version gives a good overview of the topic, but I feel the 500 word version does it more justice. Would the admissions office see this as redundant? Again, the two essays present essentially the same ideas, but the longer version does it on a deeper level."

Matt '00 replies: As you describe it, it does sound redundant, but if you truly believe that it will help, by all means submit the additional, longer response as well.

James asked, "With regards to financial aid, do we need to fill out the css profile on college board or can we wait until Jan 2010 for the fafsa application?"

Matt '00 replies: You do not need to submit any financial aid documents now. The deadline for financial aid applications for all students -- EA and RA -- is February 15. All students -- again, EA and RA -- who apply by the deadline will receive their financial aid package in March.

Emily asked: "When you have to list your APs, A-levels and O-levels/GCSEs would it give the wrong impression if I listed only a few of my GCSEs? There isn't enough space to put all of the high school qualifications that I have and I was wondering whether listing a few GCSEs would cause admissions to think that I had only done those. I took all of my GCSEs at the same time so choosing the most recent ones is not an option. Would it be simpler to just list my A-levels and let the transcript cover my GCSEs?"

Matt '00 replies: I know that there aren't enough lines for all A-levels and O-levels. My recommendation is to combine onto one line multiple O-level results. Maybe something like this:

Maths, Economics, Drama	A*, A*, A
Latin, Geography, History	A, A, B

...and so on. How does that solution look to you?

Matt asked: "If applying early action, is there any leniency on the submission of music portfolios? I've been having trouble finding decent recording materials. :\ "

Matt '00 replies: I can't say much more than what's on our website: "If you are thinking about submitting a music portfolio, please try to submit it by November 1 if you are an Early Action applicant or by January 1 if you are an Regular Action applicant."

"Anonymous" asked: "If I'm South American, am I given the under-represented status like African Americans, Native Americans, etc.? I've been in contact with the MIT Men's Tennis Coach for a little over 2 years now..how helpful is getting recruited by a sport in the admissions process?"

Matt '00 replies: At MIT, we consider African American, Native American, and Hispanic students as underrepresented minorities.

For athletics, MIT works a bit differently than the "recruitment" that other universities do. Certainly, we will recognize your athletic talent as a special talent that you will bring to MIT. This will help you in that we are interested in bringing students into the class with special talents like athletics, music, art, and more. However, we do not "lower the bar" for athletes or have separate admissions criteria for athletes. If you get in, it will be because you are a good match for MIT, not because we like how well you can throw/kick a ball. And you'll enter a community of student-athletes who are not only great at sport, but also great at academics and research.

Byce asked: "I too was wondering why scores to submit on the early application part 2. I have my sat scores from june earlier this year. But I am also getting my new scores back on the 29th of October. This is scary close to the EA deadline and i do not want to wait unitl then. What should I do? I am given the options of submitting my earlier SAT scores (which need improvement), wait until I recieve my more recent (hopefully better) scores, or leave them blank with the date of the test and let MIT recieve the scores in the mail."

Matt '00 replies: Your scores can come in to us after November 1. Feel free to wait until October 29 to make your decision.

[Wednesday 10/28 4:30pm update]

DifferentAnonymous asked: "Is it acceptable that MIT receives my academic teacher Evaluations A and B a few days after November 1st? My teachers are busy and cannot guarantee that the evaluation forms can be submitted early enough."
Peixuan asked: "What if one of my teachers accidentally send in their recommendations after the deadline? Will that kill all of my chances of being accepted?"
Joseph asked: "I applied under early action but my teacher recommendations have not yet been submitted by both of my teachers. I have taking the ACT test with writing and submitted all other required documents. I will also be taking the SAT subject tests in November. Will my application still be reviewed under Early Action?"
Justin H. asked: "My History teacher who wrote my letter of recommendation and the Evaluation B form submitted both a little over a week ago by mail, and it has not yet reached MIT even though I live in Shrewsbury, MA which is only about an hour away from MIT. Is it okay if her letter reaches the Nov. 1st deadline a little late, since it should have reached MIT by now?"
Louis asked: "I turned in my school forms to my guidance office over a week ago, and they probably should have gotten there already. However, I know the application says to give it 1 to 2 weeks to show up on my account. How do I know whether the materials got there or they got lost along the way and should be resent."

Matt '00 replies: It is perfectly fine if, through no fault of your own, your teacher recommendations come in after the November 1 deadline. We are much more understanding of late documents from teachers than from late documents from the applicant.
If you have already sent in the documents and they haven't yet appeared on your tracking (like Justin and Louis above), please, please, please be patient. Please allow significant time for processing. Do not send a second copy of any document at this time. Also, you do not need to call MIT Admissions at this time to check on any such documents (there is a time for this later).

DifferentAnonymous asked: "I am in the process of getting my music supplement together, and it is unlikely that my music teacher will be able to provide me with a letter of recommendation by November 1st. Should I submit the music supplement without this anyway, or should I wait until after the deadline?"
Henry asked: "For the music supplement, can any music teacher write the recommendation? For example, private teacher and school orchestra teacher/conductor? And like DifferentAnonymous's situation above, my recommendation letter may not be ready in time. Should I send what I have by November 1, then send the recommendation letter afterwards? And how should we prove the teacher actually wrote it since it is a digital file without a signature?"

Matt '00 replies: For the music supplement, send in what you can before November 1, and get the recommendation as soon as possible after that. And yes, any music teacher can write the music supplement recommendation.

VAL asked: "I have a question about the time of submission for the online application. Must the application be submitted on or before 11:59:59 on November 1st or on or before 11:59:59 on October 31st?"
Cassie asked: "I promise I did look through the website and can't find this, so: if November 1st is the EA deadline, does that mean we can submit the applications online any time before 11:59pm on November 1st or does that mean before 11:59 on October 31st?"

Matt '00 replies: You can submit your application any time on Sunday, November 1. I wouldn't wait until the last minute, but you certainly may.

Katherine asked: "I completed 9th grade and 1st semester of 10th grade in Hong Kong, and the rest in the US. I've sent an e-mail earlier regarding the self-report course work form, and here's their reply: 'Go ahead and do your best to fill out the self-reported course work form using your transcript from your US school.' What about if the transcript from my US school does not fulling show the courses that I've taken in Hong Kong?"

Matt '00 replies: That's okay. You can just list the courses you took in the US.

Mike asked: "1) How long should the optional section be? I have around 250 words describing my research experience over the summer. I feel this may be a bit long though, as it's about another essay.
"2) The first quarter of the year does not end until this Friday, and teachers do not have to submit grades until the following Wednesday. Would you like me to mail my first quarter grades after they are released, or submit my interim grades so they are postmarked by the application deadline?
"3) How should envelopes containing teacher evaluations be labelled and sent?"

Matt '00 replies: 1) The optional section can be any length from 0 (it is optional, really) to one page. Anything more than one page will not show on the application. But anything under this length is perfectly fine.
2) We do not require first quarter grades. We will ask for midyear grades from RA applicants and EA deferred students in January. If you would like to submit first quarter grades, you can mail them to us at any time.
3) Any application materials being mailed, including recommendation letters, should be sent to: MIT Office of Admissions; 77 Massachusetts Avenue; Room 3-108; Cambridge, MA 02139; USA. It need not have any special code on the envelope. All application materials, though, should have your full name and other identifying information, such as date of birth.

Emily asked (see above for earlier question): "Unfortunately, your suggestion doesn't solve the problem as there is also a character limit. Is it not enough for admissions to have this information from the high school transcript? Or should I mention my GCSE grades in the additional information part?"

Matt '00 replies: I would love to see whatever O-Level information you have room to fit. If you can't fit it all, that's fine -- as you note, we will have official documents confirming everything.

John asked: "Is there any way to submit a video supplement. I've seen the info for submitting other supplements(I'm actually sending in an art supplement), but there isn't a clear word on things outside of art, architecture, music, etc. I know its probably not a common request, but its a video I made using clips from my wrestling matches, I gave it to the coaches before, but the team no longer exists :( Can I submit it to the admissions committee; I feel like showing my involvement in the sport, and my video-editing abilities would give admission officers a better picture of me."

Matt '00 replies: I recommend posting it online and providing us with the URL in your application.

Justin H. asked: "Also, I am retaking the SAT in November so im going to leave that part blank on my application, but will MIT just hold my application until they receive my Nov scores or will they just look at my not-so-good May SAT before getting the Nov scores?"

Matt '00 replies: "We don't need to have SAT scores for the initial review if scores are coming; do not worry.

Amethyst S. asked: "So, I AM submitting an art portfolio, and know what to do with that. But I had also wanted to submit a small poetry portfolio as well. I tried asking the Admissions office but they didn't say whether I should send it any place in particular, leave it out altogether, or include it with the rest of my physically-sent materials. Any help/advice you can give me on this one?"
Sarah asked: "My EC saw a story I wrote and suggested I submit it as a creative writing supplement. What is the procedure for this or is it not of interest to the admission counselors?"

Matt '00 replies: You can either cut and paste your writing into the optional section in Part 2, or mail hardcopies to the Admissions Office. If you mail it, be sure to include your full name and other identifying information, such as date of birth.

Louis asked: "Also, how strict is the essay word count, and do you specifically count words? One of my essays, while it's not a 500 word essay, is somewhat over the 250 word 'limit.' However, I feel it is written succinctly, shows up on the application in fairly large font, and both me and a teacher I gave it to to read over both agree that it can't be significantly cut down anymore without losing the essence of it. Will this work against me in any significant way?"
Bryce asked: "I was wondering how specific MIT will be on the word count. Will you still read my short answer if it was hypothetically 101 words instead of 100?"

Matt '00 replies: Should be fine.

Michael C. asked: "I was about to submit part one when I noticed in the preview an unchecked box asking whether I had arranged/completed an interview, which of course I had. But I can't find that check box on part 1, only on part 2 (where I did check it). Is it just a mistake? Do I need to worry about it?"

Matt '00 replies: You will find this section in Part 2. Online, it is on Page 8; in the preview PDF of the Part 2, it will be on Page 5 for most students.

Jennifer W. asked: "Is it possible to make two selections under which field interests you the most right now if you are equally interested in two? Should this be indicated in the extra information field?"

Matt '00 replies: You can only select one field in the Part 1 question, but feel free to tell us about both in the short answer question in Part 2.

Kranti asked: "DOES MY ONLINE EARLY APPLICATION NEED TO BE SENT IN and/on RECEIVED BEFORE MY INTERVIEW?"

Matt '00 replies: NO.

JF asked: "I come from a technical high school and half of my GPA is attributed to my field of study. My problem is that it doesn't really fall into any specific category of coursework except additional courses, yet to date I have more than 5 final grades, and due to the importance to my GPA I don't want to omit any of these grades. Is it okay if I list them under another section, say Math, since my field of study does have a pretty math intensive portion."

Matt '00 replies: You don't need to put it only in additional courses; fit your classes in wherever you can, however it makes sense. So yes, it is okay.

Yixing asked: "Is it okay if my music supplement is about 14 minutes instead of 10minutes? I know it says to keep it around 10 minutes but I didn't know how much leeway I got with the 'around' part.
"And if an employer wanted to send a recommendation letter, where would she send it to?"

Matt '00 replies: Yes, I think you'll be okay at 14 minutes.
And any application materials being mailed, including recommendation letters, should be sent to: MIT Office of Admissions; 77 Massachusetts Avenue; Room 3-108; Cambridge, MA 02139; USA. It need not have any special code on the envelope. All application materials, though, should have your full name and other identifying information, such as date of birth.

Miriam asked: "I have taken a lot of classes that aren't in the main academic categories, and there isn't room for all of them in the application. Is it okay if I just leave them out, since they'll appear on my transcript?
"Also, if I apply Early Action and get deferred, can I send a music portfolio in December?"

Matt '00 replies: Try to fit as many interesting ones as you can into the slef-reported coursework form; the less interesting ones you can leave out if space doesn't allow.
And: yes.

Valerie asked: "My school does not offer classes in the social sciences. In the "Social Sciences" section of the reported coursework, should I just list my history courses, since there is no room for them elsewhere?"

Matt '00 replies: You should list history courses in the social sciences section.

Geoff asked: "How important is it to have a math class in your senior schedule? Our school only offers up to AP Calculus AB, and I took that course Junior year. I am also looking into the possibility of taking a math course during the summer."

Matt '00 replies: It is important for us that students challenge themselves in math, and that they do math through calculus. We do, however, evaluate coursework within the context of courses offered.

Daniel asked: "I am sending an architecture portfolio along with my application, and I don't know whether it should be post-marked by november 1 or if it should be in your addmissions office on november 1?"

Matt '00 replies: November 1 is a postmark deadline.

Lawrance asked: "My school doesn't have any SAT Request for Waiver of College Application Fee forms. My counselor wrote a letter saying that I meet the financial criteria for the SAT Request for Waiver of College Application Fee. Will MIT accept that?"

Matt '00 replies: Yes, absolutely.

Hanjoon asked (read comments to see full question): 1) "I was wondering whether I should take a more recognized class like AP Statistics instead of Capstone Math or AP Computer Science instead of Capstone Chemistry."
2) "...for the application, would it be allowed to just send in my plans for the research project (if I'm able to finish the plans by October)? Or if I'm not able to finish it, will it be recognized if I just explain my plans?"
3) "Also, do you advise me to take additional AP's during senior year?"

Matt '00 replies: 1) There's no need to take an AP just because it's an AP. The Capstone sounds pretty exciting, I'd go for that. 2) Yes, that would work just fine. 3) It doesn't sound like you need to, but if you'd enjoy it, go for it.

[Thursday 10/29 12:15pm update]

Tani asked, "I know that the best scores from the SAT 1 are looked at individually, is this the same for the ACT as well or does MIT look at the best composite score to date?"

Matt '00 replies: We will look at the best section scores for both the SAT and the ACT.

Sam asked: "Are recommendations from persons other than teachers and school faculty accepted? If so what is the best way to insure their timely and accurate delivery to admissions?"

Matt '00 replies: We can accept supplemental recommendations. There is no special form for supplemental recommendations. Any supplemental recommendations being mailed should be sent to: MIT Office of Admissions; 77 Massachusetts Avenue; Room 3-108; Cambridge, MA 02139; USA. It need not have any special code on the envelope. All application materials, though, should have your full name and other identifying information, such as date of birth.

Shynggys asked: "Can I send SAT scores after deadline?"

Matt '00 replies: You can send SAT scores up until the November testing date.

Kenneth asked: "I am applying as an international student from Hong Kong, which practice the A-Level system. So, we actually graduate twice from our secondary schools. However, we have a so-called Early Admission Scheme which allows students doing well in their O-Level exams to enter the local universities without taking the A-Level exams. So I am applying as a F6. But then I encounter a question is Part 2 of the MIT application: Are you graduating from secondary school early or without a diploma? Should I answer 'Yes' or 'No'?"

Matt '00 replies: I would answer "Yes," so that we understand you are doing the Early Admission Scheme and so that we know not to expect A-Level results.

Nicholas asked: "There are parts of the application that ask for the things you do inside and outside of school. For example, one part asks for a list of summer activities. Do these sections want only activities from within the last year? activities for all of high-school? activities/achievements for my whole life? I don't want to list more or less than is relevant!"

Matt '00 replies: For summer activities, there is no rule, but I would look to mention notable summer activities from your past 2-3 summers.

JF asked: "1-The sibling major thing. What's the format for that because you can't quite fit 'Bachelor's of Computer Science.' Also one of my brother's received a bachelors degree and is currently going for his masters. Do I list him twice, only mention the one he has, or mention the masters because it's highest education.
"2-I Have SAT scores but am retaking in November. Should I send the past report anyways or wait for the new one. I don't want my application to be hurt because the scores I list are lower, when I'll most likely score higher this time around."

Matt '00 replies: 1) You can abbreviate. For example,

S.B., M.Eng. in CS
or
BA & MA in CompSci

Natalia asked: "I sent in three forms last week (both teacher evaluations and the fee waiver form), and it appears that the evaluation has been processed but the request for a fee waiver hasn't. Is it processed separately?"

Matt '00 replies: Yes, it is processed separately. I wouldn't worry at this time.

manis404 asked: "About the 'something you do for the pleasure of it' question, NOTHING other than one of my hobbies makes me so excited and passionate. But as I already mention that hobby in the 'Activities' section, should I talk about it again in the 11(a) question?"

Matt '00 replies: Sure, why not?

Alex L. asked: "I was talking to my guidance/college counselors and they suggested that I send a package to MIT with the application/other supplementary materials. Included is a DVD with videos of my community service project, and me doing various other things (i.e. inspirational speaking) that could not be conveyed in any other way. Will this be seen by MIT Admissions? Also, they suggested hand-delivering it to the admissions office. Is this a good idea?"

Matt '00 replies: It is more likely to be fully considered if you post the video online and provide us with the URL. You should not deliver anything personally, as it will only serve to waste your time and will not benefit you in any way (which isn't to say that visiting isn't worthwhile, but you certainly don't need to come here just to deliver a DVD!).

Landon asked: "I was accepted into the Duke TIP program during middle school, but I have continued an active membership in it since. I am assuming that since it was not awarded during high school it cannot count as an academic distinction that was won during high school. Would that be correct?"

Matt '00 replies: Feel free to list it as an academic distinction if you like.

Udit asked: "I am applying early the Nov 1 deadline, but taking the the 2nd subject test, physics, on Dec'09. Will that be accepted?"

Matt '00 replies: The last acceptable date for standardized tests for early action is November. December tests can count for regular action.

jialing asked: "For the music supplement, it says to attach the teacher rec as a pdf or microsoft word doc- does that mean that I am the one emailing it? Also, if the the whole email with all the files becomes too large, am I allowed to compress the files into a zip folder?"

Matt '00 replies: I would recommend for the teacher to email it directly. Also, I would not recommend a ZIP file. For more information, click here.

Quantum asked: "Is there any way to track or confirm that a supplementary recommendation letter has been received?"

Matt '00 replies: We do not track supplemental letters on the tracking system. EA applicants can call MIT Admissions starting in mid-November to see if we have received supplemental letters.

Robert asked: "My son, a high school senior here in Florida, just took the SAT a second time and received the following scores: critical reading 630, math 730, writing 560. He's doing very well in AP Calc and AP Physics and I'd like to encourage him to apply to MIT. Does he have a chance of admission?"

Matt '00 replies: Anyone who applies has a chance of admission. I can't comment beyond that without the benefit of a full application. As for the scores, you may find our admissions statistics helpful.

[Saturday 2:00pm update]

anonymous asked: "Is the writing portion of the SAT considered more or less than the other sections?"

Matt '00 replies: At this time, we are still evaluating the SAT Writing Test; it is not considered.

Robert J. asked: "If I submitted all my teacher recommendations and my transcript via mail; will your office of admissions indicate on my MIT account that you received those necessary materials?"

Matt '00 replies: Yes, you can track these materials on the MyMIT Tracking System. Please be patient, though, as processing takes 1-2 weeks.

Lindsay asked: "I was wondering if it would be okay to approach the optional essay in a jocular manner if the other ones are more serious."

Matt '00 replies: Absolutely!

monk2010 asked: "1) Last week, I heard that MIT does not accept any early action applicants with a C. Is this really true? 2) Also, what should I do when what I need to put in is longer than what the given textbox can hold? For example, I could not specify the years in which I did certain activities in 'Past Summer activities' section."

Matt '00 replies: It is true that a C isn't good, but it is false that we don't accept students with a C; we have no rule about it, and have accepted some applicants with a C in the past.

Rohit asked: "Our school does not offer AP courses. I have taken 11 ap tests on my own. Should I fill them in self report ap courses and test dates or it is only for the ap courses taken in school?"

Matt '00 replies: In the AP scores section, you should report both self-study APs as well as APs taken in school courses.

Nicholas asked: "If I send in my EA application on time, but my teachers don't send their recommendations in by the EA deadline, will my application be defferred to regular action, or simply thrown out all together?"

Matt '00 replies: Teacher recommendations do not need to be here by the deadline. While we would prefer it, we will accept teacher recommendations past the deadline. Your application will be considered for EA.

Tina asked: "Can the optional question at the end of part 2 be anything at all? Is it okay if I paste one of my blog posts that might give a more clear impression about who I am?"

Matt '00 replies: You can put whatever you want in this section. A blog post sounds great.

Lydia asked: "I am taking all of my courses this year at a local university. Unfortunately, the transcript from the university does not include courses until they are completed, and I am not even allowed to send a transcript until the end of the fall 2009 semester. Is it okay if my current courses are not listed on an official transcript?"

Matt '00 replies: Send in the transcript when it is available at the end of the semester. In the meantime, be sure to list all of your current year courses on the self-reported coursework form.

ashley asked: "does anyone know if mit wants a physical copy of our transcripts, or if an electronic copy through a service like docufide is ok!"

Matt '00 replies: We are happy to accept electronic transcripts through Docufide.

Cassie asked: "When we list our awards/accomplishments, do we need to send in actual physical evidence, like copies of certificates, signatures from sponsors, and such, or is typing it into the application enough?"

Matt '00 replies: Listing awards that you have received is sufficient. We do not need certificates. Do not lie or be deceitful, though.

Lydia asked: "The names of my classes are very, very long, and won't fit as they are in the name box. Is it okay if I put the university they were taken at in the grades box and not the names box?"

Matt '00 replies: If that fits and doesn't displace the grade, it would be fine. However, I might recommend using abbreviations. I am sure that "6.01: Introduction to Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology" wouldn't fit, but it would be fine to list it instead as "Intro to EECS @ MIT."

anonymous asked: "1.) I just found out that my counselor may have sent the resume I gave her for use in writing my recommendation. i was planning on sending an updated and improved version, but now there might be two. can i still send the other, and should i label it anyway? 2.) I don't remember if I signed off to waive my rights to see the teacher recommendation. I know this is crucial, but I don't recall doing it. what should I do?"

Matt '00 replies: 1) Sure, feel free to send it if you like. Remember that we will primarily use your Part 2 and not your resume. 2) There's nothing to be done now, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Mary asked: "Is there any way to get superscripts into the essay section of the application? I need sin^2 x."

Matt '00 replies: Sadly, no. Do your best.

Eden asked: "I have a question about the self-reported coursework section. I asked for my transcript from my school earlier and had planned on using that to fill out the application using that. However, it has come to my attention that there was a glitch in the system and my transcript was incorrect. How should I fill in the self-reported coursework section? Should I just leave out the grades and let my official transcript confirm the grades?"

Matt '00 replies: We would prefer your self-reported coursework to be as complete and accurate as possible. I would report as much of the transcript as you can that you know is correct.

Josh asked: "I took several courses in middle school for which I was awarded high school credit and, thus, appear on my transcript. However, the Self Reported Coursework section does not allow for grades under 9. Should I report these courses without a grade, or as grade 9?"

Matt '00 replies: Either way would be fine.

anonymous* asked: "I have a question about the musical supplement. Would it be alright if I mail a hard copy of materials to MIT, or does the supplement have to be in pdf format?"

Matt '00 replies: The music supplement page very clearly says, "music supplements may ONLY be submitted via email." So, a hard copy would not be considered for the music supplement.

[...and some extra questions answered from Dave's comments]

Justin H asked: "I already submitted my application, but is it okay if our teachers submitted their evaluations more than a week ago and MIT has not processed them yet, even though I only live like an hour away from MIT? Is there like a very large pile of application supplements waiting to be processed at the moment?"

Matt '00 replies: Yes, we are still processing documents. Please be patient.

Lauren asked: "Does anyone know when it says the deadline is Nov. 1, if it means we can submit our apps online ON Nov. 1, or does it have to be done BEFORE Nov. 1--ie, (the night of) October 31st?"

Matt '00 replies: You can submit your application any time on November 1.

Allie asked: "Does anyone know if I need to send in MIT's secondary school report form, or if I can just use the one from my school?"

Matt '00 replies: We prefer our form, but we will accept your school's form.

Yixing asked: "what happens if my employer sends a supplemental recommendation to MIT except all it contains is my full name as identification? I'm pretty sure I'm the only Yixing S. applying though... but what should I do?"

Matt '00 replies: If it's already been sent, do not worry; I'm sure with your name and context clues we'll figure it out.

Tim asked: "Do the teacher recommendations have to be postmarked Nov 1st as well?"

Matt '00 replies: We would prefer it, but we are very flexible with late teacher recommendations.

mcYunBaconBitz asked: "I signed up for MIT 2 other colleges, and a scholarship service to recieve my SAT scores when I tested this month. Now (the day before my application's due,) I check on collegeboard and it says I only sent it to the scholarship service. What do I do?"

Matt '00 replies: We will need an official score report. Assuming your scores don't show up on your MyMIT Tracking, I would talk to the College Board about it.

AHHHH asked: "I sent my sat II scores two days ago through collegeboard. I figured it would be okay, since it says that scores from the november test date make it on time. But now I'm freaking out, even though I have a towel. Should I stop freaking out, or continue freaking out, or go back to collegeboard and sent a rush report, or what?"

Matt '00 replies: Do not freak out. You will not need to send a rush report. If College Board shows you having sent scores to us, we probably have them; it could be a matching problem between your registration name & address and your application name & address. If College Board does not show you having sent scores to us, then send us the scores again. You will not need to use Rush Reporting.

Clara asked: "I submitted part 2, and I just realized that I made a stupid mistake on the app! I had put "Baseball" for Athletics section, and I have nothing to do with it. What do I do?"

Matt '00 replies: Feel free to email us a quick note about it. Sorry for the error.

AnotherAnon asked: "Do we have to mail in proof of our accomplishments, such as certificates or signed statements from club sponsors, or is typing it into the application sufficient?"

Matt '00 replies: Listing awards that you have received is sufficient. We do not need certificates. Do not lie or be deceitful, though.

Eden asked [see above for earlier question]: "1) Just to follow up, I can't be sure of the validity of any of the grades on the transcript, as I was only told that it was inaccurate and given no specifics as to how. The only grades I can be positive about are grades from my last years report card. Since I can't be sure, should I estimate based on my performance in the class? 2) Additionally, I took some high school classes (Math A, Earth science) etc in middle school. Do I report these under the coursework section as well?"

Matt '00 replies: 1) Report your accurate grades for 9-11, and leave this year's blank. 2) You can, but you are not required to.

Mir Ali wrote a long comment.

Matt '00 replies: We're happy to help, but I don't exactly understand your situation. Feel free to email or call us directly and we'll do what we can to help.

Joe asked: "I am currently studying in an 'American School' in a foreign country and am a bit confused of the Self-reported course work aspect. If our school tries to use a US based policy but deviates considerably from it (for example, it includes at least 10 other classes which are non-US based), should I still type it in? If so, if there are some final grades which truly lack confirmation, is it okay if I leave the Final Grades box empty so that they can appear in the updated transcript?"

Matt '00 replies: I would recommend including all classes on your transcript, and all confirmed grades.

Su asked: "I realized that my school sent my supplementary materials (teacher recs, transcript etc.) to MIT Undergraduate Admissions Office; 77 Massachusetts Avenue; Cambridge, MA 02139; and left off the room number.
Do I need to resend it? or will it get to the admission office?"

Matt '00 replies: It will get to us, no worries.

Anonymous asked: "My 100-word 'interest' essay is largely redundant with another essay. Would it be more helpful to write about something different, even if it is less important to me?"

Matt '00 replies: I don't have any great advice here. Do what you think is best.

Matt P. asked: "I was planning on sending a supplement with my research abstract and a letter from my mentor. My mentor just wants to know exactly what the purpose of the specific recommendation is, and who / where exactly to send it to. and any other relevant info."

Matt '00 replies: The purpose is to recommend you, and to give us a sense of the research work that you did. Your mentor should send it to the admissions committee at the usual address, being sure to include your full name and other identifying information, such as date of birth.

Kari L. asked: "There is no open post office today, and tomorrow is sunday, when none are open either. I got a sculpture back from a gallery it was being stored in, and tomorrow is the deadline to send in an art portfolio, but I have no means to send in the pictures of my work. Can a portfolio be postmarked one day later, if the circumstances are like this?"

Matt '00 replies: You should be fine, I wouldn't worry.

Olivia asked: "I have my early action app ready to submit; however, my recording time for my voice & piano submissions was delayed until this coming Friday. Am I better off submitting the app now and following up with the music supplement next week or waiting to send both in at the same time? Thank you for being there for us procrastinators."

Matt '00 replies: You should submit your EA app by the deadline, and send in your music supplement as soon as it is ready.

AZ asked: "For section seven of part 2, should we list our senior year first marking period grades?"

Matt '00 replies: You may but you are not required to do so.

Anonymous27 asked: "I was supposed to have my interview today, but some confusion was involved and we could not meet. If I have an interview after November 1st will it not be considered for EA?"

Matt '00 replies: It will be considered for EA as long as you reschedule it in a timely fashion.

Frank asked: "When I started the application I checked off regular action but now I realize I am all ready and would like to change to early action but the section is locked. Can I change to early action."

Matt '00 replies: Yes. Submit the application by the EA deadline. Email us at admissions -at- mit -dot- edu to request the change from RA to EA and we'll make it happen.

Anonymous asked: "When you say that the writing section of the SAT is not considered, do you mean that admission officers don't look at it at all or is it considered a little bit, like a tipping factor?"

Matt '00 replies: We do not consider it; it is not a tipping factor.

Jeff asked: "I just submitted a music portfolio for drum kit about an hour ago. On the music supplements page, I now see that it says, "At the moment we are only able to evaluate supplements in the fields of classical, jazz, and world music performance." My performances I sent in do not particularly fall into any of these genres, but my music resume does address that I have experience in them. Is my music supplement now null and void?"

Matt '00 replies: My guess is that it will be considered.

Ehsan asked: "1) Does MIT focus only on grade 12 marks or do they also pay attention to previous grades? 2) What would you say is a larger factor grades or SAT scores?"

Matt '00 replies: 1) We very much pay attention to previous grades. 2) Grades are certainly more important.

Nick asked: "1. How much will I be penalized for exceeding the word limit on one of the essays by 25 words? I do not think I can abbreviate my writining any further without comprimising valuable content. 2. For the self-reported coursework, should we submit grades by quarter or semester?"

Matt '00 replies: 1. We do not have any formal penalties for such things, nor do we count words. However, we do believe that good answers can be provided within the word limit. 2. Either way is fine; I have a slight preference for just the semester grades.

Vedha asked: "I am an American citizen currently attending high school in India. My school does not offer AP or IB courses. We follow the CBSE curriculum. I, however, am in an accelerated program at school which preps students for engineering entrance exams conducted in India(IIT-JEE, AIEEE). Hence, my Math, Physics and Chemistry courses are on par with the AP curriculum. How would I get that across in my application?"

Matt '00 replies: You'd be surprised about how much we know about schools in India, but you can feel free to send in extra information about your school.

Southpaw asked: "I've already submitted my application. I'd been hoping to submit an essay I wrote for a contest in the optional question but I didn't have a copy of the essay. I later emailed the essay contests people who sent me the essay, but unfortunately I've already submitted the app. What do I now? Should I forget about it, or is there a way to get it to admissions?"

Matt '00 replies: Feel free to email (plain text, no attachment) or snail mail it to us.

Dion asked: "Is it bad that I personally mailed my teacher recs and secondary school report? They are all individually sealed but enclosed in the same manila envelope..."

Matt '00 replies: That's fine.

Eden asked: "My dad has never really been a part of my family, he completely disappeared from our lives when I was less than 2 years old. All I really know is his name, I don't know whether he is alive or dead, or anything about his education. My mother suggested, putting N/A in his section, since I really don't know any of the information. What would you suggest?"

Matt '00 replies: I would put his name and either leave the other fields blank or put unknown.

Larry asked: "Can an applicant list more than one URL in the "box" for URL's? If so, what is the best separation?"

Matt '00 replies: Feel free to list extra URLs in the additional information box at the end of Part 2.

Clarinetist wrote: "So if I send my music supplement over as an attachment, the attachment would be around 20 MB so I was wondering if the email address I'm sending it too have some kind of attachment limit when if an email with an attachment over a certain amouint would be automatically blocked..."

Matt '00 replies: I'm not aware of any such limitation.

Cassie asked: "In the self-reported coursework section, where it asks for the grades in which you took science courses, are we to put the grade that we took the Honors science or the grade that we took the AP science? I the AP grade down, but I want to be sure."

Matt '00 replies: Where it askes about Calc/Phys/Chem/Bio at the end, you can list either grade level; I would recommend the most recent grade.

Jen asked: "If I am accepted EA, do I need to send my grades from senior year at all?"

Matt '00 replies: Yes. We require final grades from all enrolling students.

The President is expected to begin his remarks around 12:30pm Eastern time. You can watch a live webcast of the speech here:

Here is the White House Press Release:

BACKGROUND ON THE PRESIDENT’S EVENTS AT MIT TODAY

TOUR AT MIT
BUSH BUILDING
CAMBRIDGE, MA
12:00 PM EDT

The President will tour a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology an institution that has been developing cutting edge clean energy technology. Dr. Susan Hockfield, MIT President, and Dr. Ernie Moniz, Director of the MIT Energy Initiative, will lead the President on the tour of the laboratories, where he will visit stations displaying solar, battery, and wind technology, and a LED light experiment.

Below is a brief summary of what the President will see on the tour:

Solar Station: Professor Marc Baldo
Professor Baldo will demonstrate his work on luminescent solar concentrators which collects sunlight for solar cells. These concentrators promise to reduce the cost of solar electricity because they use fewer solar cells for the same energy output. They can be mounted on rooftops and other space- and weight-sensitive locations that cannot support conventional solar concentrators.

Professor Baldo is a principal investigator in MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE). Since his arrival at MIT in, 2002, he has worked on fundamental improvements to the efficiency of organic light-emitting devices, and luminescent solar concentrators — a promising technology that could reduce the cost of solar electricity.

Wind Station: Professor Alex Slocum
Professor Slocum will demonstrate an Offshore Renewable Energy Systems (ORES) for which excess power from a wind turbine pumps water out of a storage volume anchored to the seabed. ORES operates by having water flow past a turbine into the storage volume, creating an inverse lake on the bottom of the ocean. This storage system has two purposes: it enables offshore power generation when the wind is not blowing and power is needed; and can also be used for mooring a floating wind turbine. Storage is a key enabling technology for intermittent renewables such as wind.

Professor Alex Slocum is the Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering, a MacVicar Faculty Teaching Fellow, and a Fellow of the ASME. Alex is a self-described “gizmologist” who designs machines ranging from medical instruments to manufacturing equipment to big renewable energy machines.

Battery Station: Professors Angela Belcher and Paula Hammond
Professors Hammond and Belcher will demonstrate a high-power battery that can be grown and assembled at room temperature using biological processes and no toxic materials for synthesis — and one that adds no harmful materials to the environment. These batteries have the same power performance as the very best state-of-the-art batteries. When scaled, these materials — and, more importantly, the next-generation of materials — could be used for computers or plug-in hybrid vehicles. These batteries are also being designed for integration into small, unmanned aerial vehicles, and as a way to lighten soldiers’ loads.

Professor Belcher is a materials chemist with expertise in the fields of biomaterials, bio-molecular materials, organic-inorganic interfaces and solid-state chemistry. Belcher received a BA in creative studies and a PhD in chemistry, both from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Hammond is a professor of chemical engineering, pursuing research in two major areas: the development of new biomaterials via nano- to microscale fabrication and self-assembled materials systems for electrochemical energy devices, including fuel cells, batteries and photovoltaics. Hammond holds an SB and PhD in chemical engineering from MIT, and an MS from Georgia Tech.

LED Light Station: Professor Vladimir Bulovic
Professor Bulovic will demonstrate quantum dot lighting which is a replacement for existing light bulbs or fluorescent lights that combines warm, rich color with the high efficiency of LED technology. The remarkably high white-light efficiency of this device is combined with a life span of more than 20 years, which could change the paradigm of lighting technology. These lights can be fabricated in a simple molding process, enabling manufacturability and large-scale deployment. Artificial lighting consumes 8 percent of all U.S. energy and 22 percent of U.S. electricity. The efficiency of present light sources (which are primarily incandescent, fluorescent, and high-intensity lamps) can be doubled or even tripled with the LED white light sources that Bulovic and colleagues are developing.

Professor Bulovic holds a BSE, MA, and PhD from Princeton University and studies the physical properties of organic and organic/inorganic nanocrystal composite thin films and structures, and the development of novel optoelectronic organic and hybrid nano-scale devices.

REMARKS AT MIT
KRESGE AUDITORIUM
CAMBRIDGE, MA
12:30 PM EDT

After the tour the President will deliver remarks at MIT challenging Americans to lead the global economy in clean energy and to highlight Recovery Act investments that are creating jobs and making advancements in wind energy. Dr. Hockfield and Dr. Moniz will give remarks prior to the President’s speech.

The audience of approximately 750 will be composed of MIT faculty and staff, business and community leaders, and entrepreneurs. There will also be local political leaders and Members of Congress in attendance.

Expected attendees include the following elected officials:

US Senator John Kerry, D-MA
US Representative Michael Capuano, D-MA
MA Governor Deval Patrick
MA Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray
MA Attorney General Martha Coakley
MA Auditor of the Commonwealth Joe DeNucci
Mayor of Cambridge Denise Simmons
Mayor of Somerville Joe Curtatone
MA Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry
MA Senate President Pro Tem Stanley Rosenberg
Superintendent of Cambridge Public Schools Jeff Young

Susan Hockfield, Ph.D. - President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Susan Hockfield has served as the 16th President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since December 2004. A noted neuroscientist focused on the development of the brain, Dr. Hockfield is the first life scientist to lead MIT and holds a faculty appointment as Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Before assuming the presidency of MIT, she was Provost at Yale University, where she had taught since 1985 and had also served as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Under Dr. Hockfield’s leadership, MIT has built on its traditional strengths in science, engineering, architecture, management and economics to advance the frontiers of energy research and to pioneer crucial advances at the burgeoning intersection of the life sciences, the physical sciences and engineering.

Ernest J. Moniz - Director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative
Ernest J. Moniz is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, Director of the Energy Initiative, and Director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has served on the faculty since 1973. Dr. Moniz served as Under Secretary of the Department of Energy from 1997 until January 2001 and, from 1995 to 1997, as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President. At MIT, Dr. Moniz served as Head of the Department of Physics and as Director of the Bates Linear Accelerator Center. His principal research contributions have been in theoretical nuclear physics and in energy technology and policy studies. He serves on President Obama’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST).

M.I.T. Taking Student Blogs to Nth Degree
By TAMAR LEWIN
Published: October 1, 2009

At M.I.T., from left, Paul Baranay, Jess Kim and Chris Mills write blogs for its admissions site.
Mark Wilson for The New York Times

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Cristen Chinea, a senior at M.I.T., made a confession in her blog on the college Web site.

"There've been several times when I felt like I didn't really fit in at M.I.T.," she wrote. "I nearly fell asleep during a Star Wars marathon. It wasn't a result of sleep deprivation. I was bored out of my mind."

Still, in other ways, Ms. Chinea feels right at home at the institute — she loves the anime club, and that her hall has its own wiki Web site and an Internet Relay for real-time messaging. As she wrote on her blog, a hallmate once told her that "M.I.T. is the closest you can get to living in the Internet," and Ms. Chinea reported, "IT IS SO TRUE. Love. It. So. Much."

Dozens of colleges — including Amherst, Bates, Carleton, Colby, Vassar, Wellesley and Yale — are embracing student blogs on their Web sites, seeing them as a powerful marketing tool for high school students, who these days are less interested in official messages and statistics than in first-hand narratives and direct interaction with current students.

But so far, none of the blogs match the interactivity and creativity of those of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where they are posted prominently on the admissions homepage, along with hundreds of responses from prospective applicants — all unedited.

Not every admissions office has been so ready to welcome uncensored student writing.

"A lot of people in admissions have not been eager for bloggers, mostly based on fears that we can't control what people are saying," said Jess Lord, dean of admissions at Haverford College, which posted student bloggers' accounts of their summer activities this year, and plans to add bloggers this spring to help admitted students hear about campus life. "We're learning, slowly, that this is how the world works, especially for high school students."

M.I.T.'s bloggers, who are paid $10 an hour for up to four hours a week, offer thoughts on anything that might interest a prospective student. Some offer advice on the application process and the institute's intense workload; others write about quirkier topics, like warm apple pie topped with bacon and hot caramel sauce, falling down the stairs or trying to set a world record in the game of Mattress Dominos.

Posting untouched student writing — and comments reacting to that writing — does carry some risks. Boring, sloppily written posts do nothing to burnish an institutional image, college admissions officials say, and there is always the possibility of an inflammatory or wildly negative posting.

Pomona has considered having student bloggers, but so far has felt that the risks outweigh the benefits, said Art Rodriguez, senior associate dean of admissions.

"Blogs can certainly help humanize the process," Mr. Rodriguez said. "The flip side is that a few anxious high school students may think and worry too much about what someone wrote on their blog, and present themselves in a slightly different way than who they really are. And there's always the concern about the political ramifications, that bloggers may open up an issue or topic that starts something negative."

But Mr. Lord of Haverford said prospective students' interest in the summer bloggers calmed his worries.

"High school students read the blogs, and they come in and say ‘I can't believe Haverford students get to do such interesting things with their summers,' " he said. "There's no better way for students to learn about a college than from other students."

Many high school seniors avidly follow student blogs at the colleges they are interested in, and post comments. Luka, one of dozens responding to Ms. Chinea, for example, wrote: "I didn't know about the anime club. I would have never guessed that people at M.I.T. are interested in anime. Oh well ... +1 on my ‘Why should I go to M.I.T.' list."

M.I.T.'s student bloggers said they had read the blogs when they were applying, posted comments and connected with other applicants.

"I was blogging myself, almost every day, when I was in high school, and I read the M.I.T. blogs all the time," said Jess Kim, a senior blogger. "For me they painted a picture of what life would be like here, and that was part of why I wanted to come."

Ben Jones, the former director of communications at M.I.T.'s admissions office, began with a single blog by a student five years ago, at the dawn of the Facebook era, and noticed high school students responding right away. "We saw very quickly that prospective students were engaging with each other and building their own community," said Mr. Jones, who now works at Oberlin College, where he has added blogs to the Web site.

The M.I.T. student bloggers have different majors, ethnicities, residence halls and, particularly, writing styles. Some post weekly or more; others disappear for months. The bloggers are sought out as celebrities during the annual "Meet the Bloggers" session at Campus Preview Weekend.

M.I.T. chooses its bloggers through a contest, in which applicants submit samples of their writing. "The annual blogger selection is like the admissions office's own running of the bulls," said Dave McOwen, Mr. Jones's successor in the admissions office, in his message inviting applications.

This year, 25 freshmen applied for four new spots, and, Mr. McOwen said, it was hard to choose.

"You want people who can communicate and who are going to be involved in different parts of campus life," he said. "You want them to be positive, but it's not mandatory."

And not all posts are positive. Ms. Kim once wrote about how the resident advising system was making it impossible for her to move out of her housing — expressing enough irritation that the housing office requested that the admissions office take her post down. Officials refused, instead having the housing office post a rebuttal of her accusations; eventually, the system was changed.

But most of the blogs are exuberant, lyrical expressions of the joys of M.I.T. life, like last month's post on returning as a sophomore:

"Something's changed," wrote Chris Mills. "Now you know what you're in for, you know the sleepless nights and frustrations are never far away, but this knowledge can't seem to remove the exhilarating smile on your face. And it's in that masochistic moment that you realize who you are. That this is what you're made for."

If you are applying this year -- early action (November 1 deadline) or regular action (January 1 deadline) -- I hope that you have already asked your teachers if they can write a letter on your behalf. Please recognize that teachers are very busy -- teachers in this country are seriously overworked and underpaid; I hope you will respect their time. So whether your application deadline is about a month away, or about three months away, please have these conversations now or very soon, if you have not yet done so.

I recommend that you find some face-to-face time alone with each teacher to ask them in person to write your letter, and to have a conversation about it. This is a much better approach than just leaving the recommendation form on their chair and running away. I recommend giving them all of the recommendation forms for every one of the schools you're applying to at once. This is also a good time to tell them about why you're applying to each school, and how you see yourself as a match for each place. Teachers often find these conversations very helpful.

If a teacher asks you to write the recommendation for them -- do not do this (these requests rarely happen in the United States, but do happen with some frequency abroad). Instead, ask another teacher. Teacher recommendations should only be written by the teacher and by no one else.

If you attend school outside the United States, and have teachers who are not English fluent, this is okay -- you can still have them write you a recommendation. They can write in their native language; the letter can then be translated. There are many sources for translation, and one that you may find helpful is an English teacher at your high school. Official translations from agencies are also good. If you send us a translated recommendation, please include both the English translated copy and the original in the native language.

MIT's teacher recommendation forms are available for download from your MyMIT application portal. Please note that there is no online recommendation system for MIT; recommendations will need to be on paper and mailed to the admissions office. We prefer that teachers use our forms, but it's okay if your high school has its own form, or if teachers want to use the Common App's paper recommendation form. It is also okay -- common, in fact -- for teachers to write their own letter and not answer the questions on our form. We just ask that your teacher attach that letter to our form -- with your name and date of birth clearly indicated -- and that the letter address the questions on our form.

Who should you ask? You should certainly ask a teacher who has taught you in an academic class in high school (i.e. no middle school, and no basket weaving class). Ideally, this will also be a teacher who knows you as more than just a student who does well on all the tests. We find that the best recommendations are written by teachers who know an applicant well as both a student and a person. For example: the English teacher who is your newspaper advisor, the math teacher who is your math team coach, the biology teacher who is your field hockey coach, the history teacher that you talk about politics and health care policy with, the physics teacher who you challenge each day for the best time on the New York Times crossword puzzle, the chemistry teacher who is your mentor.

Also -- you do not need to choose the teacher that teaches the subject that you want to major in. You do not need to choose the teacher from whom you received the best grade. You do not need to choose a senior year teacher -- but you should choose someone with whom you have an ongoing relationship.

You can choose a teacher who has retired or moved to a different school, as long as that teacher meets the above criteria. The process is the same in this case.

I get many questions about what subject teachers can write the A or B eval. As a general rule, if the teacher teaches a class that would count towards MIT's math & science requirement, that teacher should fill out the A Evaluation; if the teacher teaches a class that would count towards MIT's humanities, arts, and social sciences requirement, that teacher should fill out the B Evaluation.

Purely as an exercise, I made a list of different kinds of classes that high school students might take, and tried to classify them as an A Evaluation or B Evaluation as best I could. A few are pretty fuzzy (and could be categorized reasonably either way -- no worries), but most seem pretty straight forward:

A Evaluation potential subjects
Math Biology Chemistry Physics Earth Science	Environmental Science Computer Science Engineering Technology Research

B Evaluation potential subjects
English History French Spanish German Italian	Russian Chinese Japanese Hebrew Latin Economics	Government Psychology Social Studies Art Music Geography

After you have chatted with your teacher and given them the recommendation forms, you can track whether or not MIT has received and processed the letter on your MyMIT tracking page. Please allow up to two weeks processing time during peak application season. If the letter has not shown up as processed by the application deadline, do not worry. You may wish to very politely check in with the teacher, but you do not need to constantly hound them. As long as you have given your teachers sufficient time to write on your behalf, they will get your letter in to us. And we are much more flexible with teacher recommendations that come in a little late than we are with late student application materials.

And when MIT does process your teacher's letter -- please thank your teacher. It's the nice thing to do, and they deserve it.

I hope this is helpful!

[Please note: with this entry, I speak for MIT Admissions. While much of this advice is universal, YMMV with other schools for the specific tips, tricks, and rules]

List any scholastic distinctions you have won since entering high school and indicate the level of distinction.

List any non-scholastic distinctions you have won since entering high school and indicate the level of distinction.

It seems that the distinction between "scholastic" and "non-scholastic" has been causing some confusion, based on web comments and phone calls. In an attempt to alleviate confusion, I sat down with my colleague McGreggor Crowley '00, MD, who directs the admissions process here, and together we tried to make the distinction.

One way to think of it would be this: academic and co-curricular awards will usually be "scholastic." Extracurricular awards will usually be "non-scholastic."

However, an important message is this: there is no wrong way to fill out this section. Don't worry about putting an award in the "wrong" section, as there really is no best way to fill this out. Do your best to place things where you think they belong, but don't stress out over it.

McGreggor and I also brainstormed a list of awards and distinctions, and how we might categorize them. (Again, these are not the "right" answers, but rather some insight into how we might do the sorting). Here goes...

Examples of what might be considered scholastic distinctions:

• Math (e.g. AMC, ARML, Mu Alpha Theta)
  
• Science (e.g. Science Olympiad, USABO)
  
• Robotics (e.g. FIRST Chairman's Award, firefighting robots)
  
• Computer science (e.g. ACSL, USACO)
  
• Engineering (e.g. bridge building, rocketry)
  
• Research & science fairs (e.g. school/regional science fair, ISEF)
  
• Academic summer programs (e.g. Governor's school, SSP, RSI, MITES, WTP)
  
• Academic competition (e.g. Academic Decathlon, Quiz Bowl)
  
• Exam-based awards (e.g. AP Scholar, National Merit)
  
• Grade-based awards (e.g. Honor Roll)
  
• Awards linked to a class or department (e.g. History department award, NCTE, National Latin Exam)
  
• Honor societies (e.g. National Honor Society)
  
• Book awards (e.g. Harvard Book Award, Rensselaer Medal)
  

Examples of what might be considered non-scholastic distinctions:

• Leadership (HOBY, Rotary, student government)
  
• Music (e.g. competitive orchestras, concerto competitions, All County, Interlochen)
  
• Art (e.g. placing in a competition, having a gallery show)
  
• Athletics (e.g. All League, varsity letter, Wendy's High School Heisman)
  
• Volunteering (e.g. Prudential Spirit of Community Award)
  
• Work-related accomplishments (e.g. employee of the month)
  
• Politcal (e.g. Model UN, debate, Boys/Girls State)
  
• Dance (e.g. arangetram)
  
• Scouting (e.g. Gold Award, Order of the Arrow)
  
• Random stuff (e.g. Prom King/Queen, "Most Likely to Succeed," "I have read all of Modern Library's Top 100 Novels")
  

Now, if you happened to list debate as scholastic, or FIRST as non-scholastic, don't worry. As I said above, these are not the "right" answers, rather one attempt at sorting. As long as you've done your best to list those distinctions of which you're most proud and best show your talents, you have done this section correctly.

I hope this is helpful!

• Merritt '13
  
• Carlos '13
  
• Edward '13
  
• John '13
  
• Scott '13
  
• Cory '13
  
• Edner '13
  
• Jeremy '13
  
• Bee '13
  
• Henrique '13
  
• Chika '13
  
• Qinxuan '13
  
• Trevor '13
  
• Chandler '13 and Taylor '13
  
• Jonte '13
  
• Sean '13
  
• Terence '13
  
• Christy '13
  

North Cross student going to M.I.T. in the Fall
By Jarett Henshaw
Published: June 1, 2009

"There are components of people and components of the universe that are not directly expressed in the observable properties of the universe," said Merritt Boyd

Meet Merritt Boyd, the smartest student at North Cross and maybe even all of Roanoke. So smart in fact, that he got accepted into all nine schools he applied to including Stanford, Harvard, Cornell, and Berkeley. He decided to go to college at M.I.T. in Boston.

"The culture of the students I think is something that really drew me there," said Boyd.

Some say he's a genius. He doesn't think so, but plans on studying astrophysics at M.I.T. had to get him to explain exactly what that is.

"Astrophysics is basically the large scale structure of the universe. I've always liked to take the telescope out at night and look at the stars so I think astrophysics would be a lot of fun to study," said Boyd.

Boyd says he's looking forward to studying at such a challenging School.

"I would rather challenge myself than be challenged," said Boyd.

Boyd's mom says today is bittersweet because she's not looking forward to him leaving Roanoke in the fall.

"I'm very very proud but very sad that he's going to leave. I'm worried about who's going to fix our technology problems when he does. Anytime the TV breaks or a computer problems comes up, Merritt fixes it," said Donna Boyd, Merritt's mother.

Something she'll have to figure out in August because Boyd will be seven-hundred miles away, studying things that are a million miles from home.

Scholarships lift the weight off hard-working shoulders
Carlos Garay: Gates Millennium Scholar
Culture shock gives way to passion for learning
By Jason Hidalgo
June 6, 2009

Just moving to a new apartment can be tough for some folks.

But moving to another country? That's an adjustment on a whole different level.

It's a lesson Carlos Garay learned a decade ago when he first arrived in the United States as a 7-year-old from Colombia. At the time, the young Garay wasn't quite ready for the culture shock he would experience, even among fellow Latinos.

"I did not know English, and the way I spoke Spanish was different from the way Mexicans spoke Spanish, so I was picked on," Garay said. "It made me lonely, and I just closed up."

In the years that followed, Garay would redirect the loneliness he felt into a passion for education. That passion would ultimately pay off for the 17-year-old Galena High School student, who now finds himself the recipient of a major scholarship while also being accepted to one of the most prestigious schools in the world.

Last April, Garay was notified about his selection as a Gates Millennium Scholar, an award funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The scholarship was just the second in a string of good news for Garay, who was also notified by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in December that he had been accepted to the school and qualified for a full financial aid award*.

"When I started reading 'On behalf of the Admissions Committee,' I thought, 'Oh great, I'm going to be rejected,'" Garay said. "So when I got to the part that said I was actually accepted, I was like, 'Hey, wait a minute' and read it all over again. I started jumping up and down screaming."

With his education now financially secure through graduate school, Garay plans to get a jump start by attending a summer program at MIT. Garay said he will be majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in material science engineering.

"I really like being able to apply what I know, and, basically, that's what mechanical engineering is," Garay said. "It's not developing some grand theory that's only applicable in the next 100 years. It's about creating things that work very soon and can hopefully help everyone one day."

Garay, who currently lives with his mom and 15-year-old brother, said his experience is a testament to the opportunities available in the United States and how anyone can achieve their dreams if they work hard and set their mind to it. Garay said he is especially grateful to his mom for everything she has done for him.

"I don't think she really understands what MIT is," Garay said. "But she was very happy. She didn't go to college and she sacrificed herself completely so I could get to this point."

An appreciation for education wasn't the only thing Garay developed during his younger, lonelier days.

No longer the recluse he was back then, Garay also learned the importance of having a social support network, which is one of his top priorities once he reaches MIT. It's a lesson that has become even more significant for Garay after hearing stories of promising students in prestigious schools such as MIT and Harvard who crash and burn due to personal issues.

"Everyone accepted at schools like MIT has the intellectual capacity to succeed," Garay said. "But a lot of times, people don't succeed for other reasons. I want to deal with those problems early on so I don't have to deal with them later in life."

One way Garay hopes to do well is by being well-adjusted and not putting too much pressure on himself. Garay admits that his drive to be accepted at a good college or university made him too hard on himself sometimes.

"In high school, I felt I had to be No. 1 all the time," Garay said.

"Now I'm getting used to the idea that even if I'm average at MIT, I can be happy with that. That's actually a big change for me."

[Please note: All of MIT's financial aid is based on financial need; there are no merit scholarships. Reporters are often confused about this. -- Matt]

Active MTHS Senior Gets Full Scholarship to MIT. *
People | Tue, 04/07/2009
By Leslie Truluck

Edward Obropta, Jr. and his sister Alanna Joslin at Romp Apparel in Stone Harbor.

COURT HOUSE — Edward Obropta, Jr., 18, a senior at Middle Township High School, has an extreme schedule.

Not only does he manage to earn exceptional grades in advanced placement and honors courses, he is also very active with extra curricular activities and community service all while running his own family business.

His efforts have paid off as he recently received a full scholarship* to MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge. Although not certain exactly what he will major in, Obropta enjoys math and would like to "build rockets or design planes or something crazy."

Obropta plays second singles on the high school's tennis team and has been team captain for the past two years.

Class of 2009 has continually voted him class president for all four years of his high school career. During his time representing his class, he helped to initiate a canned-food drive and plan a winter formal dance in which profits were donated to area churches.

Involved in several school spirit activities like building homecoming float and prom committee, for the past two years Obropta also listens to students voice concerns as vice president of student council.

"I don't know how it all adds up but it works. I'm always doing something," he said.

Ranking number one in a class of 271, he said he received informal notification that he will be class Valedictorian.

Among his many academic accolades, Obropta is a member of Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society, the school math team and science league and the NJ Envirathon, an event in which high school students compete in eco-friendly exercises.

"It's like an athletic competition but it's about the outdoors," he said.

Obropta plays tenor saxophone as a member of the high school's Jazz ensemble, which plays for area nursing homes and Dennisville Middle School.

"It doesn't happen all at once," he said.

Obropta manages to communicate with other student government members throughout the school day, play with the jazz band one night a week and practice tennis three hours everyday.

The coolest thing, he said, is Romp Apparel, a store he manages on 96th Street in Stone Harbor with his sister, Alanna Joslin, 28, who is in charge of female clothing while Obropta concentrates on the male side of the store. Their parents, Ann and Edward, Sr., have their own screen-printing and embroidery business, which is all done in-house, literally right from the Obropta's home.

Since 2005, when Obropta was only 14-years-old, he has designed the clothing brand, which is focused on a young adult surf and skate demographic with a mini half-pipe right in the store.

"It's very youth-oriented. We let customers sign their names on the wall when they make a purchase," he said. "It's so popular we are running out of space."

While the business is open seasonally and responsibilities are shared with his sister, Obropta said he also does a lot of behind the scenes work, like attending fashion conventions in Las Vegas to buy the season's latest looks.

When he is not involved in school and work endeavors, his interests are eclectic, including skim boarding, quad riding, hiking, canoeing and outdoors activities with his family and volunteering at the Cape May Tennis Club.

"I always like to do a lot of everything. I'd get bored doing the same all the time. Working hard and having it pay off feels good," he said.

Obropta credits his success to his family being extremely supportive.

"My parents don't force me to do things," he said. As a matter of fact, he said they occasionally suggest he take it easy.

As with designing clothing, Obropta enjoys visualizing things and making them become a reality.

"When I see it, I can make it happen," he said.

Hoggard senior has chance to travel abroad in linguistics, mathematics competitions
Hoggard High School: Problem solver
Student excels in national linguistics, math competitions
Published: Monday, June 1, 2009 at 3:08 p.m.
By Carolyn Bowers, StarNews Correspondent

John Berman, a senior at Hoggard High School, knows what it is to be "molistic." And he also knows how to conjugate the verb "shunk." Of course neither of these words appears in any English dictionary because they aren't real words. They are clues to solving problems in the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad, and getting the right answers to problems like these helped Berman place sixth out of more than 1,000 students in the 2009 national competition.

The placement has won him the opportunity to represent the United States at the Seventh International Linguistics Olympiad to be held in Poland in late July.

Berman said he finds the idea of going to Poland "very, very exciting. I can't wait." Recently, the trip got even more exciting when Berman learned he is one of 12 winners of another national competition - the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad. This competition required solving six problems in nine hours over two days.

This test was the third in a series of increasingly challenging mathematical contests. More than 220,000 students worldwide competed in the first round. Of these, about 10,000 were invited to compete in the American Invitational Mathematics Examination.

That contest narrowed the field to 525 who were invited to participate in the prestigious USAMO.

On June 8, the 12 USAMO winners will be honored at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., after which they will take the team selection test to determine which six of the 12 students will be on the U.S. International Mathematical Olympiad team in Bremen, Germany.

If Berman is one of the six, he will first compete in Germany in the Mathematical Olympiad in July and then go on to Poland for the Linguistics Olympiad.

While obviously gifted in both disciplines, Berman isn't wavering about his preference. "My main interest is math," he said. "I'm going to MIT to get a Ph.D. in math and teach in college."

He already has a good head start, having completed several math courses at the University of North Carolina Wilmington while still in high school.

According to his father, David Berman, a computer science professor at UNCW, John has been playing with computer games and puzzles since he was about 6 years old.

"I would just throw questions or puzzles out for John to think about without any expectations," he said. "Play is a lot of the discovery process."

An important note for today: All of MIT's financial aid is based on financial need; there are no merit scholarships. Reporters are often confused about this.

Without further ado, here they are, as written about by members of their local media: Scott '13, Cory '13, Edner '13, Jeremy '13, and Bee '13.

• Scott '13
  
• Cory '13
  
• Edner '13
  
• Jeremy '13
  
• Bee '13
  
• Henrique '13
  
• Chika '13
  
• Qinxuan '13
  
• Trevor '13
  
• Chandler '13 and Taylor '13
  
• Jonte '13
  
• Sean '13
  
• Terence '13
  
• Christy '13
  

Project STEEM alumni accepted to MIT this fall
By Mary Lou Hazal, A&M-Commerce News
Jun 29, 2009

ACCEPTED TO MIT - Cory Ward, left, 2009 valedictorian of Yantis High School, and Scott Landers, 2009 valedictorian of Chisum High School and Paris Junior College graduate, have been accepted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall. This summer they are mentors in Project STEEM, a program at Texas A&M University-Commerce for middle school students, high school students, and teachers that focuses on math, science, technology, and engineering. Ward and Landers attended Project STEEM as high school students in 2007. (A&M-Commerce photo/Jared Horn)

COMMERCE, Texas - Cory Ward of Yantis and Scott Landers of Cooper, Project STEEM mentors at Texas A&M University-Commerce, are headed to Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall.

Ward, 2009 valedictorian of Yantis High School in Wood County, and Landers, 2009 valedictorian of Chisum High School in Lamar County near Paris, have been awarded the scholarships* needed to attend this elite Northeastern university.

Ward and Landers, who attended the 2007 Project STEEM camp on math, science, technology, and engineering to Northeast Texas rural middle school and high school students and teachers, became friends and will be roommates at MIT.

In addition to helping with the Infinity camp in June, which is for high achieving high school students from rural schools, the two are enrolled in an independent studies math class at A&M-Commerce taught by department head Rick Kreminski.

Ward and Landers have both taken college courses as high school students. Landers is now a graduate of Paris Junior College.

Both students said they learned a great deal attending the Project STEEM camp. "It was really neat. It showed us stuff we hadn't seen and won't see until college," Landers commented.

Funded in 2007 by a $1.5 million grant from the Greater Texas Foundation, Project STEEM is geared to exposing students in rural Northeast Texas to technical fields and encouraging them to attend college.

"We are very proud of Cory Ward and Scott Landers for being accepted to MIT," said Project STEEM director Kerri O'Connor.

A graduate of MIT, Kreminski is also proud of Cory and Scott.

"They are both good-natured, friendly, helpful, smart, talented, mature, highly motivated and very focused individuals with a great deal of determination and a good sense of humor," he said.

"I was very happy to write letters of recommendation for them for MIT, and I know that they will do well. They both seem to have a genuine hunger for math and science that runs a little deeper than in many of the other kids that I have interviewed for MIT, and I wish them the best of luck and hope that they stay in touch," Kreminski continued.

New to the US, he blazed a path
MIT-bound math whiz is latest triumph for O'Bryant
By James Vaznis
Globe Staff / June 7, 2009

Edner Paul, a Haitian immigrant and John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science student, has a full scholarship* to MIT. Edner Paul, a Haitian immigrant and John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science student, has a full scholarship to MIT. (David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

He arrived in Boston barely able to speak or write in English, but Edner Paul did not allow that to stand in his way.

In his four short years in the United States, this 16-year-old whiz kid from Haiti accomplished one feat after another. He mastered the English language within months and soon after passed a rigorous admission exam to the John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science. On Friday, he will graduate as valedictorian with a full scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

His success is as much a story about new immigrants as it is a tale about the re-emergence of the O'Bryant. Paul's admission to MIT follows that of two O'Bryant graduates last year. They are the first crop of students from that school to attend MIT in recent memory, said MIT and Boston school officials.

While O'Bryant is one of three public exam schools in Boston, it often has existed in the shadows of the better known and tradition-steeped Boston Latin School and Boston Latin Academy. Some consider Boston Latin School - the most highly-coveted exam school by students, founded almost 400 years ago - the "Harvard" of Boston schools. About two dozen Boston Latin School graduates each year head to Harvard.

"It would be fun if O'Bryant became the MIT of the Boston schools," said Ed Moriarty, an instructor at MIT's Edgerton Center who has worked with the O'Bryant since 2003.

"Edner will become part of the inspiration," he said, "for other O'Bryant students to pursue MIT."

Paul said he did not even know MIT existed when he arrived here four years ago.

"In ninth grade, I only heard about Harvard because we took a field trip there," said Paul, who spent his freshman year at Madison Park High School, where a little more than half the students earn diplomas within four years.

While growing up in St. Marc, a port city in Haiti, Paul decided as a fourth-grader to devote himself to school. At that time, he didn't crack the top 20 percent of his class. It bothered him when teachers rewarded the top students with prizes, feeling he was letting his mother down. She never graduated from high school and wanted better for her children. So Paul hit the books.

He hasn't stopped studying since.

When Paul arrived here in March 2005 as an eighth-grader, Boston school officials didn't know what to expect. They placed him in a special program that teaches new immigrants how to speak English. In his spare time, he would listen to cassette tapes on pronunciations.

A teacher at Madison Park High discovered his gift for math and science in the fall of ninth grade. He had been placed in an algebra class but could handle precalculus. Paul soon began studying for the O'Bryant admission exam.

Entering O'Bryant at the start of his 10th-grade year marked a major turning point for Paul's education. He arrived as the school was ramping up the academic rigor, including the cementing of stronger relationships with MIT and other institutions such as the Wentworth Institute of Technology and the Longwood Medical and Academic Area.

At the school, which is located on Malcolm X Boulevard in Roxbury near Madison Park High, Paul has impressed teachers, not just in math and science, but in English, too.

"He's kind of like a renaissance man," said Crystal Coy-Gonfa, his English teacher, who taught Paul this year in her Advanced Placement literature and composition course and was surprised to find out he was also a poet. "Someone pointed him out as a brilliant scientist, but I didn't know he had this other side to him.

"He definitely has a flair for figurative language and the presentation of the spoken word," she added. "He has sort of a romantic style."

When Paul needs a break from school work, he recharges his batteries writing poetry. (He also plays soccer.)

"Most of them are love poems," Paul explained to a visitor at his Hyde Park home last week while showing a poem titled "My Angel."

"People think it's about a lady," he said. "It's really about nature."

Paul's creative side fits nicely with the revamping of O'Bryant's math and science programs, which emphasizes learning by doing projects and solving problems, school staff said. For instance, in an Advanced Placement physics class this year, Paul converted a computer document scanner into a camera.

Outside the O'Bryant, Paul took advantage of other educational programs, such as spending a summer two years ago at Georgetown University and last summer at MIT. He also participated in a special program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

"He's hard-working, very conscientious," said Steve Fernandez, his AP physics teacher and an MIT graduate. "He's concerned about understanding the material - not just getting the right answer, but understanding how to do it."

MIT was Paul's first choice. His scholarship is valued at $50,000 a year. Paul, who applied and was accepted to three other colleges, tapped a competitive national nonprofit program, QuestBridge, which helps bright low-income students get into top-tier colleges.

Paul credits some of his success to O'Bryant, hard work, and his mother. "I can't give up," Paul said. "I just have to keep working hard."

His mother, taking a break from housework one morning last week, smiled proudly when asked about her son's journey to MIT. She then spoke in Creole to Paul, who then translated for her. "It's a pleasure for her because not everyone gets an opportunity to go," Paul said.

Joel Stembridge, O'Bryant headmaster, predicts more students will get into MIT in the coming years, especially as they advance through the school's new engineering program. He hopes it will help attract younger students in the district to O'Bryant.

"If you ask most students now, they probably didn't select the O'Bryant as their first choice or they didn't come here for the math and science programs," Stembridge said. "The goal is that students will eventually choose us first because they are interested in math and science. We are not there yet but getting there."

For now many are savoring the victory of students like Paul. "It's good when we have a success story like Edner's," Fernandez said. "It shows we are doing something right."

Gilman Graduate Earns Full Scholarship to M.I.T.
By USBE
Jun 8, 2009, 19:29

Jeremy Dalcin is setting quite an example for his siblings. The oldest of five children, Jeremy will graduate from Gilman School (an independent day school in Baltimore, MD) this month and head off to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) in Cambridge on a full academic scholarship, worth more than $52,000 a year*.

M.I.T. was the computer-guru's top choice for college. He also applied to Princeton, Cornell, Haverford College, Carnegie Mellon, Brown, University of Maryland-Baltimore County and The Johns Hopkins University, among others. All would have been great schools, he says, but he held out hope for M.I.T.

"When the acceptance from UMBC came really early I was like, 'That's a good sign,'" says Jeremy, 18. "Then when Cornell came, I said 'OK, I'm probably going here.' So when M.I.T.'s letter came, that was groundbreaking."

As an adolescent at his neighborhood public school, Pikesville Middle, Jeremy never imagined himself attending such a prestigious college. In fact, he never imagined himself going to Gilman. "I never really thought about private schools because I knewGilman Graduate Earns Full Scholarship to M.I.T. how few scholarships they give out," he says. "Without B.E.S.T.,[Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust] I would have not gone to a private school."

At Gilman, Jeremy was able to "to find what really challenged me and try my best to excel in it. I was given lots of opportunities to find my passion at Gilman." His passions, he discovered, are math and science - and more specifically, computer science. "Programming is extremely fun," Jeremy says. "Creating your own software and testing that out against other creations is really fun."

Jeremy leaves June 28th for a summer program at M.I.T, where he will begin early his journey into the high-tech world of programming. His mother, Rahel Mamo, will miss him not only because he was a good student and a friend to her, but also because Jeremy was always so helpful with his four siblings.

"I'm just so proud of him. He's such a nice kid," says Mamo. "I just hope the others follow his example."

The B.E.S.T. annual fund - which raises money to help support Scholars, programs, member schools and the organization's operating expenses - wraps up June 30th.

If you are interested in supporting B.E.S.T., please click here or go to www.besttrust.org to donate online.

No laughing matter
East grad hard at work at MIT
By Charles Menchaca
Wausau Daily Herald
August 18, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Bee Vang decided to apply to Massachusetts Institute of Technology last year as a joke, saying he didn't expect to be offered admission.
Advertisement

He was wrong.

Vang, 19, not only was accepted to MIT, he received enough scholarships to cover the $37,000 annual tuition*. The Wausau East High School graduate has spent most of his summer at the school in a pre-freshman program.

Vang said his summer program is much more rigorous than he expected -- so much so that he has spent two to three hours on homework five nights a week since June 28.

Despite the time commitment, Vang said he is ready to give it his all so he can pursue a career in robotics. Studying at one of the top schools in the country can only help, he said.

"It's an international name -- you can say (MIT) anywhere in the world and people know what you are talking about," Vang said. "It will also bring more job opportunities."

Vang had his sights set on Milwaukee School of Engineering before he learned more about MIT's academic programs. Vang's two older brothers, Kong and Vai, attended college in Milwaukee.

Vang's father, Nhia Vang, said he doesn't mind the physical distance between himself and his son as long as it's in the name of education.

Nhia Vang, 45, said he is proud of everything Bee has accomplished. Bee serves as a role model for his five younger siblings, his father said.

Bee Vang plans to keep part of his life in Wisconsin alive. During his senior year at East he wrestled at 125 pounds and finished with a 26-8 record. He also competed during his freshman, sophomore and juniors years. He will wrestle competitively or with a campus wrestling club while in Massachusetts.

Vang's involvement with athletics taught him discipline and focus, said Tom Rocheleau, a retired Wausau East math teacher.

"The thing that impressed me the most about him was that he really was kind of immune to the peer pressure," Rocheleau said. "He set his goals and he was very strict with himself."

• Henrique '13
  
• Chika '13
  
• Qinxuan '13
  
• Trevor '13
  
• Chandler '13 and Taylor '13
  
• Jonte '13
  
• Sean '13
  
• Terence '13
  
• Christy '13
  

Brazilian Student Wins Gold Medal in International Mathematical Olympiad.
In August, he will move to the United States, where he will attend MIT.
He won gold medals in all national math competitions in which he participated.

Bags packed to the United States, where he will study at the renowned MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Henrique de Oliveira Pinto Pondé takes with him a gold medal that he recently won in the International Mathematical Olympiad, which took place in July in Bremen, Germany.

To achieve such a result in this competition, which is considered by UNESCO the most important in the field, Henrique had to undergo two intensive exams. Each exam was composed of three problems that should be solved in four and a half hours. There were two problems on geometry, two on algebra, one on theory of numbers, and one on combinatorics. Each problem was worth seven points, totaling 42.

"It's really challenging. None of the problems is given in context. But, all problems have simple solutions because the leaders and coordinators, who grade the problems, do not require any absurd theory that nobody knows. We only need to practice," he says. Henrique obtained 35 points in the exam. Other contestants, who obtained similar points also won gold medals. "I do not know the minimum score required, but it is high."

At eighteen, Henrique is a veteran in this type of competition. He has participated in national Olympiads since 5th grade and won gold in all of them. This was his third participation in the International Mathematical Olympiad, and his first gold medal. In the two previous editions of the competition, Henrique won silver medals.

His interest in math comes from his father's influence. "My father has always liked math; he used to show math logic challenges to me and my brother, who has just majored in Applied Math at Unicamp (University of Campinas in Sao Paulo, Brazil). I think it runs in our blood."

His moving to the United States does not make Henrique insecure. "Of course I will miss my family very much, but, since I have been through an intermediate stage, I believe I will adapt well," he says referring to his moving from Salvador, where he was born, to Sao Paulo in 2008. "I moved to Sao Paulo early in my last year of high school because I would have more opportunities to train and be better prepared for the Olympiads," Henrique tells.

Laurel High graduate follows in sister's footsteps
Student named recipient of scholarship program her sibling received
by Timmy Gelles | Staff Writer
Thursday, June 4, 2009

Laurel High School principal Dwayne A. Jones presents graduate Chika Ugboh, 18, with her diploma Tuesday at her school's graduation ceremony, held at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Ugboh was selected as a Gates Millennium Scholar.

A friendly sibling rivalry drives Laurel High School graduate Chika Ugboh and her five brothers and sisters.

"Everyone is doing something so I have to do something, and my brother has to follow me behind that," said Ugboh, 18.

Ugboh and her family immigrated to the U.S. from their native Nigeria in 2001, settling in New Carrolton before moving to Laurel in 2007, when Ugboh entered Laurel High School as a junior.

Last month Ugboh received the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, a nationwide scholarship for minorities that began in 1999.

The program awards minority students with financial need and who want to study in the fields of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health and the sciences.

Ugboh, who will be attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology majoring in chemical engineering, is among seven Prince George's 2009 Gates recipients and just the second Laurel High recipient in at least the past 6 years.

The award will help pay for Ugboh's studies at M.I.T., which after attending an engineering program there last summer she labeled her "dream school."

"When I got the Gates [scholarship] I knew MIT was where I going to go," she said.

She is the second in her family to receive the award, as her sister, Florence, won the award in 2005 at Parkdale High School in Riverdale.

"Our parents told us to work hard and it was going to pay off," said Florence Ugboh, 21, who recently graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park. "I feel like she's reaching more than I would reach, and that makes me more proud of her."

Ugboh said she wrote eight different essays as part of the application. Florence Ugboh said she reviewed some of her sister's application essays for the scholarship, but said her sister didn't need much coaching.

"Whatever you can give her she excels in," Florence Ugboh said.

Proving her sister's point, Chika Ugboh was captain of the girls soccer team, a Student Government Association senator and National Honor and French Honors societies member. She was also involved with the school's mock trial team and bible study.

While at Parkdale, she won the 2007 county North District and Region III girls' doubles tennis titles.

Outside of school, Ugboh volunteers at Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly.

Monique Graves, Ugboh's guidance counselor, said she couldn't be more proud of Ugboh.

"She's very, very driven. I don't know of a student in my career that's been as focused as she has been, but as pleasant to do it with," she said.

Although the county requires students to record 36 hours of community service to graduate, Graves said Ugboh has logged more than 800 hours.

Principal Dwayne Jones said Ugboh has made a name for herself.

"Anybody and everybody she comes into touch with realize she is a genuine lady," he said. "She's accomplished a whole lot in the two years she's been here. You hope all the kids can be as successful."

Piano Student Qinxuan Pan Shows it’s Never Too Late to Play
By: Solia Kem

In the music room of Strathmore Mansion on June 5, eighteen year old Qinxuan Pan is seated at a black piano, glossy in the soft yellow light.

He leans into the piano as though pulled by some magnetic force of the keys while releasing the works of Bach and Brahms, Liszt and Schubert, Bach-Busoni and Shchedrin.

His eyebrows furrow sporadically in concentration, his head nods in fervent agreement to the swelling harmonies, and, on occasion, his eyes lift slowly to the ceiling as though watching the notes rise like clouds of steam through the air.

A recent graduate of Wooton High School, this is Pan’s senior concert. For Pan, it is both a showcase and celebration of how much he has accomplished in the past three years.

Pan’s musical journey, under the direction of Dr. Dmitri Nazarenko, has culminated in awards from regional piano competitions including the Maryland Spring Festival, Gottlieb Piano Competition, the Doris Chase Sonata Competition, and the Maryland Piano Concerto Competition, among others.

Hard to imagine that three years ago, Pan emigrated from Shanghai and decided to pick up a beginners guide to piano playing.

Why the piano?

Pan answers with relative ease. "I think maybe because it was only instrument my grandfather introduced me when I was eight years old and I never had any experience with other instrument. But I also think with piano you have more range."

What is it about the act of playing the piano that gave you the passion to learn seriously at what might be considered a late age?

After momentarily grappling with his own thoughts he says simply, "Music allows you express emotion more than words."

Is that when it comes to English because it is your second language or would you be able to express emotion better in Chinese?

"Even for Chinese," Pan continues, "Maybe express a little more but still can not express everything."

For ten months, upon arriving in the United States in June 2006, Pan spent his time "learning the basics," he says. Pan's grandparents were baffled by his sudden interest in learning piano.

"My grandparents at first thought it would be big distraction for me," he said, "and my father also but not as much. I agree with their concern because when you emigrate from another country it is very hard. I have to worry about school work and college and we are still learning English as well. So, it is very unusual to begin piano this late," he admits.

With his mother's support, Pan looked for a tutor to further his ability although with little experience, Pan's application was rejected by tutors several times until he came across an advertisement for Dr. Nazarenko in a local Chinese newspaper.

Pan played pieces by Beethoven and Chopin from memory during his audition with remarkable accuracy for a self-taught student, according to Nazarenko.

"When I asked him how he was able to stay in such good performing form without a piano, he told me that for the last 3 months he had been practicing on a table! That was what made me immediately recognize his amazing determination," says Nazarenko who usually doesn't accept late beginners.

During his first year with Nazarenko, Pan explains that he focused primarily on the movement of his fingers.

"I thought my hands were rather big and slow," he says, "Like most people, I think that your fingers must be long and dexterous to play well. But Dr. Dmitri surprised me very much," Pan continues, "He tell me that it was not a big deal. I did not believe him."

Nazerenko agrees that Pan's first year was the hardest because of his deep concern for correctness, evenness, and cleanness of the notes.

"Right away I realized that this young man has amazing potential and I tried to develop his imagination to go beyond a correct but boring performance." Nazarenko says, "It took me years when I was young to realize that the fingers have to follow overall design - the emotional image of the piece. Without that clear image even the most precise performance will feel flat and unimpressive. With the clear image though, the performance can be so exciting that some small mistakes will go unnoticed."

Pan says that halfway through his second year, something happened, and he began to listen to the music.

It is why, tonight, the wooden floor of the music room becomes the stage for a delicate waltz to Brahms Intermezzo in A Major Op. or why the gloomy gray skies just beyond the window panes become an ominous backdrop for a sailor doomed to life at sea in Liszt's Ballade No. 2 in B minor.

Pan stands, bows, and smiles shyly at the end, his forehead shiny in perspiration. This is perhaps one of his last few concerts before attending M.I.T. in the fall. With a career in mind that will allow him to use his skills as a gifted math student, Pan still hopes to further his music studies.

"I hope he can find a very good and nurturing piano teacher, who will not only help him with his school, but help him to develop into a true artist," said Nazarenko, "I hope that his equal passion for math and music will not contradict but help him to find a healthy balance in life. I hope he'll get many chances in performing in public."

• Trevor '13
  
• Chandler '13 and Taylor '13
  
• Jonte '13
  
• Sean '13
  
• Terence '13
  
• Christy '13

Franklin High 'regular guy' bound for MIT
by Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian
Monday June 08, 2009, 8:53 PM

Bruce Ely/The Oregonian: Franklin High valedictorian Trevor Zinser reacts as an impromptu tower of paper cups collapses during a class barbecue to celebrate the success of their woodworking venture, which he helped direct. Zinser likes to work in the wood shop, lift weights, play football and help his dad with construction. But he's brainy, too, with a penchant for chess and crossword puzzles. He's headed to MIT with scholarships that pay nearly the total $50,000 cost of freshman year.

Portland high school senior Trevor Zinser has long excelled where muscle matters: playing football, heaving a shot put, framing a house, lifting weights.

A working-class kid raised just off Foster Road in Southeast Portland, the 6-foot-2, 240-pound teen is a leader in the school wood shop, set a school record lifting 600 pounds in the squats and counts his football coach as the teacher who knows him best.

But Zinser also quietly stacked up an academic record prompting Harvard, Stanford and MIT to court him for his brains. Few local graduates in the class of 2009 were as sought after by top colleges -- a remarkable achievement for any teen, and particularly one who will be the first in his family to attend college full time.

Zinser will graduate tonight having aced every college-level Advanced Placement course Franklin High offered, from physics and calculus to English and psychology -- 10 in all.

His straight-A record made him one of six Franklin valedictorians. But his performance on AP tests and the college-entrance ACT exam put him in the stratosphere, above the 99th percentile, among college-going students nationally.

The MIT-bound teen insists he is "a regular guy" and "not naturally intelligent." He wears inexpensive jeans and tank T-shirts that show his strapping arms and shoulders. He says he "hates doing homework" and calls himself "one of the worst procrastinators in the world."

Money has always been tight at home, especially after his parents each got laid off in recent years. Dad Scott Zinser is now a home remodeler, and as a result, his son knows his way around roof trusses, glue-lam beams, 10/12 pitch and compound angles -- places where math meets the real world.

Still, Trevor Zinser says he was unsure he could get into MIT, and was floored when the university flew him to Boston to sway him to choose MIT over Harvard or Stanford.

He says a scholarly turning point came when he got A's in his AP classes as a sophomore but scored only 3's on the national exams -- decent results, but not great, on the tests' five-point scale.

His take-away: Don't be a grade-grubber; work to maximize deep understanding.

Ever since, "I focus on trying to retain the material and really learn it," he says, "not so much on getting an A."

His mother, Kami, says his academic drive and talent surfaced early. As a 2-year-old, he potty-trained himself in a week when she told him that was a prerequisite for going to elementary school. At 3, he made a game of adding the numerals he saw on houses -- 349 S.E. Main Street was a 16, for instance.

At Woodstock Elementary, his second-grade teacher let him take math with fifth-graders. His third-grade teacher steered him toward Winterhaven, a math and science magnet, for middle school.

At Franklin High, Zinser took physics, chemistry and junior-level math his freshman year, then opted for four college-level classes as a sophomore.

He says exceptional teachers, particularly science teacher Dave Sherden, worked hard to make classes deep and engaging.

Zinser took weight training or another PE class every year, too. "I enjoy it," he says. "It gives me a place to release a lot of aggressive energy."

Two pivotal summer experiences -- an engineering camp at New Mexico Tech and a trip to see sustainable agriculture in Thailand -- helped him figure out what he wants to do with his life.

The camp convinced him that chemical engineering is the field for him. Chemical engineers get to draw on math and science to test the limits of speed, temperature and other boundaries. Launching projectiles, blowing things up and propelling vehicles to top speed -- all feats of engineering he tried at camp -- were very much his style.

Studying global economics and witnessing extreme poverty in Thailand helped cement his desire to help low-income people by working to develop affordable renewable energy.

"The biggest problem with renewable energy systems right now is that efficiencies are low," Zinser says. "I'm one of those people who enjoys puzzles, and figuring out how to improve renewable energy is one of the ultimate puzzles."

Trevor Zinser

High school: Straight A's, including in every Advanced Placement class Franklin High offers. Took seven AP exams junior year, earning top scores in biology, statistics, English.
College: Accepted by Harvard, Stanford, MIT and others. Will attend MIT on $47,000 in scholarships.*
Family: Parents Scott and Kami Zinser; sister, Gabryelle; brother, Krys.
Likes to: Lift weights, play chess, hike, camp, play football, square-dance, procrastinate, hang out with people older than he is.
Doesn't like to: Lose.
Tough side: First-team all-league offensive lineman. Former heavyweight wrestler. Third at districts in the shot put. School record for weightlifting in squats: 600 pounds.
Tender side: Found and raised an abandoned kitten.
Career plans: Wants to be a chemical engineer working to make breakthroughs in renewable energy.
Wants to: Get a good-paying job so he can afford to "do the really cool things" such as sky diving, bungee jumping and owning a motor boat.

• Chandler '13 and Taylor '13
• Jonte '13
• Sean '13
  
• Terence '13
  
• Christy '13

Twin co-valedictorians set for MIT
Originally posted on: Friday, May 29, 2009
by Adam Freeman

COLLIER COUNTY: A set of twin girls in Collier County have a lot more in common than just their looks. They're also graduating at the top of their class as co-valedictorians.

Out of 75 students graduating from the Community School of Naples, what are the chances of two tying as valedictorians? If you knew anything about the Burfield twins, it would have been a sure bet from the beginning.

Like many twins, Chandler and Taylor Burfield play the same sports and share the same friends.

But unlike most twins, they each carry a 4.76 GPA.

"We both worked so hard throughout high school, so it's just wonderful that we're able to do this together and share this honor," said Chandler.

The girls are also co-captains of the track team as well as members of the swim team and the National Honor Society.

But they are far from heated rivals.

"We definitely don't let the other one win, but I think it's a healthy competition," said Taylor.

Their mom, Elise Burfield, is one person who has no person telling the two apart. She pointed out Taylor is one inch taller and one minute older.

"We don't even think they're twins. They don't look alike to us. Their personalities are totally different," she said.

Both girls plan to attend MIT in the fall. They say it's not because they want to be together, but because MIT is such a great school.

"When we were deciding where to go to college, we weren't deciding together. We each made our own decision, but it happened to be the same decision," Chandler said,

When we asked the twins what they plan to major in this fall, the both said the same thing - math and economics.

Great minds think alike: Twins at Community School share valedictorian title
Posted May 28, 2009 at 7:57 p.m.

NAPLES — Community School of Naples seniors Taylor and Chandler Burfield share many things.

The same last name, the same birthday, the same grade point average and, tonight, the same stage.

The twin sisters will share the valedictorian title at The Community School’s graduation Friday evening.

"It’s nice to be able to share this with her," said Taylor, 18, who is one minute older than Chandler.

As for competition between the two? It was friendly, they both said.

"I think we push each other and that is a positive thing," said Taylor.

Chandler agreed.

"We are competing, but we are both happy for each other's successes," she said.

Case in point, Chandler cheered her sister on last week when Taylor was named Collier County's Winged Foot winner.

The Burfield sisters are the daughters of Elise and Mark Burfield. They have one younger sister, Tristan, 13. At the Community School of Naples, both were on the Mu Alpha Theta team, were co-captains of cross country and track and swam for the Seahawks, among other things.

This fall, both sisters are headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chandler is leaning toward majoring in mathematics or economics. Taylor is thinking about mathematics, engineering or economics.

Both, however, are planning to continue their running careers at MIT.

"This is a great new opportunity. We will be exposed to so many new things," said Taylor. "We are going to a school with the best academics and a really great, dedicated team to run with."

But the more immediate concern is what to say in their graduation speeches. When asked about the advice they would give to their fellow classmates, Taylor immediately piped up.

"I would tell them to have confidence in themselves and to push themselves," she said. "They have great potential."

Chandler looked at her sister.

"I was going to say the same thing," she said.

Taylor laughed.

"This is why we have to work to make sure our speeches are different," she said.

Chandler, thinking for a moment, said she would tell her classmates not to be afraid to try new things.

"You should explore all of the things you want to do," she said.

Friend and fellow graduate Mary Kate Murphy knows they will be fine graduation night.

"Everyone at this school is talented in a different way," she said. "Some, like the Burfields, are good in everything."

The Community School of Naples graduation will be held at 4:30 p.m. today in the Community School of Naples' Field House, 13275 Livingston Road.