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/sci/ - Science & Math

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4467119 No.4467119 [Reply] [Original]

Got my rejection today. Does this make me a dumbass?

Someone convince me that it's not that bad

I still have Harvey Mudd right?

>> No.4467142

cry more

>> No.4467148

>Harvey Mudd
>a respectable university
>a university
>even a college
>even an education institution
pick none

>> No.4467160

Just schank 'em Larry.

>> No.4467176
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4467176

>Someone convince me that it's not that bad

>> No.4467186

That sucks, bro. I'll be getting my rejection soon as well

>> No.4467188 [DELETED] 

Yes, your an dumbass.

>> No.4467191

you would have likely dropped out, they just saved you the trouble.

>> No.4467197

>The Admissions Committee has completed its review of your application, and I am so sorry to tell you that we are unable to offer you admission to MIT.

>Please understand that this is in no way a judgment of you as a student or as a person, since our decision has more to do with the applicant pool than anything else - many of our applicants are not offered admission simply because we don't have enough space in our entering class. This year we had more than 18,000 candidates for fewer than 1,800 offers of admission, from which will come our 1,100 freshmen. Since all of our decisions are made at one time and all available spaces have been committed, all decisions are final.

>I am very sorry to bring you this news, and I wish you the very best as you continue with your education.

>Sincerely,

>Stuart Schmill
>Dean of Admissions

actually numbers are, 18109 applicants, 1620 accepted.

>> No.4467201

What does it look like? What do they say on it?

>> No.4467212

>>4467197

<10% acceptance rate. Damn. Any idea what it looks like for the graduate school?

>> No.4467220

they wanted to reject everyone on Pi day.

>> No.4467222
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4467222

>you will never go to MIT

>> No.4467225

anyone know how Lehigh University is for a chemE major?

>> No.4467238

>>4467225
>Lehigh University

Did you just make that up?

>> No.4467239
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4467239

>>4467222

>just watched good will hunting
>see this thread
>see that comment
>cry

>> No.4467241

>>4467191
97% graduation rate

>> No.4467245

Is it even possible to get into this fucking place?

Or do you have to be a jew/win a Nobel prize?

>> No.4467246
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4467246

>MIT
>not Caltech

>> No.4467247

>>4467241
and 90% rejection rate, for a reason.

>> No.4467251

>>4467241
The 3 percent committed suicide...

>> No.4467263

>>4467246
>IT crowd
>a good comedy

>> No.4467288

What were your academic "stats", OP?

ie: Ap classes and exam results, IB, SAT scores, GPA, etc etc etc.

>> No.4467300

>>4467288
Not OP but was deferred to regular admission, then rejected last year.

4.0 GPA(all A's and A+'s)
33 act, 36 and 35 subscores
AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP Physics C: Mechanics and Electronics, all 5's, although I didn't have them all when I applied... :/
Also had published paper with loads of research experience

>> No.4467301

Dont sweat it OP. You'll realize that many of the students that get into MIT are just high school tryhards and many of them will end up getting shit on by their 2nd and 3rd year.

Not to say that there isn't a large majority that will go on to get their PhDs and pretty much rape everything academia has to offer, but there are still alarge majority of 'high school' tryhard types

>> No.4467304

>>4467288
Valedictorian, 13 AP classes throughout high school, 4.0 UW, 2220 SAT (this is probably one of my weaker stats), 4 years of band, bikes, clubs, etc.

oh and also I'm asian...

>> No.4467309

>>4467300
>Also had published paper
What. What journal? Were you a coauthor?

>> No.4467310
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4467310

>>4467148
did you get rejected or something? I wonder why you're so buttmad.

pic related

>> No.4467311

>>4467300

0/10

>> No.4467317

Getting into MIT is like having sex with a girl not on birth control without a condom.

You're happy to get in, but you're awfully sad once you come.

>> No.4467321

>>4467300
i applied early, got deferred, then rejected.

honestly, the wait sucks. it's like they're teasing you. hey we already read your application and we don't like it, but here's some hope for you - we'll read it again.

>> No.4467323

hehehehe don't worry. current 3rd year math student with near 4.0 gpa from one of the better state schools around.

HS gpa: 2.2, 20 act.

fuck MIT, beat the world.

>> No.4467327

>>4467310
No, quite the opposite. Harvey Mudd spammed my mailbox begging me to come there every month during high school. I had a good 15-20 letters from them alone by the time I graduated.

I'm in Caltech, currently.

>> No.4467329

>>4467300
Probably lying. 5/10 for the possibility of you being a genius child who just so happens to visit 4chan.

>>4467304
Why did you even comment?...

>> No.4467339

>>4467329
dont have to be a genius and get a 5 on AP test

>> No.4467340

>>4467327
how do you like it there at Caltech?

Did you apply MIT too?

>> No.4467342

>>4467323
i can understand the low gpa, but how do you fuck up on the ACT that bad? my school consistently scores below the national average (19-20) and i still managed to get a 29 with a pretty awful high school education.

the first semester of college was a terrible experience for me, i was completely unprepared.

>> No.4467350

>>4467340
It's a pretty cool university.

>Did you apply MIT too?
Yes. Rejected, of course.

>> No.4467355

>>4467304
>>4467300
fucking nerds i swear to god.
I hate highschool kids like you so fucking much. Do you do anything besides study?
inb4 typical asian stupid shit like karaoke, tapioca, nerding out.
do you play any sports?
inb4 tennis( i played tennis) table tennis

Fucking nerds.

>> No.4467356

OP, If you truly believed you were academically capable of being admitted into MIT, there are quite a few other world class universities here in the US (assuming you are from here) that you could easily be admitted to and have the time of your life at.

Cheer up faggot.

>> No.4467367

>>4467355
it's high school. you don't spend all day studying.

>> No.4467369

>>4467355

The person saying they took 13 AP classes, was valedictorian, etc etc is full of shit. I bet he cannot even name 13 AP classes without looking at the College Board website.

The other person sounds believable. I'm giving them the benefit of doubt.

>> No.4467370
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4467370

>>4467327
>>4467350
>Caltech
>good
LOL NOPE

>http://features.caltech.edu/features/335
Enjoy cooking Stephen Hawking's breakfast shit tier peasant.

>> No.4467372
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4467372

>>4467355
>>4467355
Holy shit so much analdevastation. Frustrated you won't aspire to half of what those kids have done already in their lives?

>> No.4467376

>>4467369
Who the fuck gets published in high school? Fuck, this board is too gullible.

>> No.4467380

>>4467376
Im in highschool and my friend got published atleast she's an idiot

>> No.4467381

>>4467369
euro, music theory, compsci, chem, japanese, ush, english language, calc b/c, physics c, gov, econ, art history, english literature.

of the top of my head

inb4 those are all the easy ones.

taking a bunch of ap classes doesn't mean shit when you're trying to get into a top tier university. like more than half of the applicants have taken more than 10 ap classes. i'm probably the bottom percentile out everyone accepted, excluding minorities

>> No.4467382

>>4467376
fucking this. if anything, the guy who claimed to have had 13 AP classes is more believable just because he didn't claim to have been published.

>> No.4467386

>>4467370

>Implying that's your diploma

>> No.4467388

>>4467369
Why thank you. Also, for all of you asking, it was Journal of Structural Chemistry, and yes, just a coauthor. But it sounds much more impressive if I leave out the co part? ^_^

>> No.4467389

>>4467380
the high school newspaper doesn't count, bro.

>> No.4467390
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4467390

>>4467370
>BS
>Worth anything

>> No.4467392

>>4467380
What journal? I'm >>4467370 and >>4467376 . I've never heard of anyone authoring a paper in high school without making world news.

>> No.4467398

>>4467370
>Afterward, the iconic scientist signed a few books, posed for pictures, and mingled with students.
>signed a few books
wat.

and wow they cook for hawking what does that have to do with teaching standards and research.

>> No.4467403

>>4467398
what about it being specifically indian food? fucking curry niggers pushing their curry shit down everyones throat.

>> No.4467414

>>4467392
Not the high school newspaper
It was some book with poems in it
all she talks about too

>> No.4467419
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4467419

>>4467370
>And since 2000, it's been a tradition for Caltech students to cook an Indian feast for Hawking

>> No.4467422

>>4467212
>Any idea what it looks like for the graduate school?
10% is about the average acceptance rate for graduate programs. For any university. For MIT you're looking at less than that. Grad school isn't like undergrad, they can only take a paltry amount of students each year since each one has to have a doctoral adviser. As a result, grad programs typically have about 5-20 spots for hundreds of applicants.

Look on the bright side though, at least you're not applying to med school or god forbid an MD/PhD degree. For those programs an acceptance rate of 10% is considered to be "insanely high".

>> No.4467424

>>4467414
That isn't publishing you fucking idiot.

>>4467388
Are you kidding me? What did you do? What sort of chemistry did you teach yourself in high school?

>> No.4467426

>>4467414

What it scientific research related?

The fact that you said poems makes me think she is one of those tryhard outcasts who writes short stories and novels to express their feelings.

>> No.4467431

OP, I got rejected too bro. I wouldn't let it get to you; if you have the qualifications to even apply to MIT, chances are you have been/will be accepted to numerous other schools which are just as good, or will get some big bucks from state schools.

As much bullshit as the MIT blogs spew out, they are 100% right about the type of people who attend MIT making it the school it is. So with 18,000 people applying, I am sure you will find somewhere else to go where you will find an experience which is just as good.

>> No.4467433

This thread makes me wish I had tried just a tad bit harder in high school...

>> No.4467440

>>4467424
No kidding involved. Now that I know a lot more chemistry, it was pretty simple shit. I just solved the structures using X-ray diffraction for like 3 inclusion compounds that I made. That was summer after junior year at the technion.

Now I'm a freshman in university in orgo and loving it

>> No.4467441

>>4467431
>or will get some big bucks from state schools.
not unless you're black or jewish.

>> No.4467442

>>4467426
Yep exactly one of those tryhards
not an outcast because most of her friends are in the same classes and im stuck with them annoying fucks

>> No.4467448

>>4467403
Hawking is British and an academic of course he likes curry.

>> No.4467452

>>4467300
I was believing you until
>published paper

Bullshit. That's rare to find even in grad school applicants. If you had a published paper in undergrad admissions you would have been granted admission to the university even if the rest of your application was pure shit.

Seriously, to put this in perspective, authorship on a published paper (especially first author) will get you an interview just by itself even at ivy league grad schools (assuming the rest of your application is up to snuff obviously). It's that impressive.

>> No.4467456 [DELETED] 

why would anyone want to go to MIT

just get a load of this

http://isawyou.mit.edu/post.php?id=6682
http://isawyou.mit.edu/post.php?id=5271
http://isawyou.mit.edu/post.php?id=6058

>> No.4467458

>>4467452

Third author, so not that impressive.

>> No.4467461

why would anyone want to go to MIT

just get a load of this

http://isawyou.mit.edu/post.php?id=6682
http://isawyou.mit.edu/post.php?id=5271
http://isawyou.mit.edu/post.php?id=6058

>> No.4467472

>>4467329
You don't have to be a genius to take those clases or get those ap scores. It's the research that's impressing

>> No.4467487

>>4467458
Even third author is good. Yeah, it's not the home-run that first author is, but even in grad admissions it's still pretty good (probably inbetween a poster and thesis I'd imagine). At the undergrad level it's way beyond anything anyone else would be bringing to the table.

Granted this is coming from a guy who plans to publish 3-4 first authored papers and present 2-3 posters (two as first author) this year alone, but that's only because I got insanely lucky and got myself into a position where I have three different labs that threw/are throwing projects at me, and it also helps that I'm a full time scientist.

>> No.4467495

>>4467487
Well tell the colleges that. Rejected from many(MIT, Yale, Columbia). Things have changed recently. But lets be honest here, I only got published like a week after I sent in my application, so I sent in a supplement, but who the fuck knows if they looked at it?

>> No.4467503
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4467503

>>4467422

>all grad schools 10% acceptance rate
>want to go to grad school for math, go to mediocre uni right now
>hopes dashed.jpeg

>> No.4467509

>>4467495


>Was sad for a while, but now am happily enrolled at a great university and found a position in a research lab.

>> No.4467511

>>4467461

Ew. What the fuck? Those people are pathetic as fuck.

>> No.4467536

writing papers in high school is pretty normal for STEM school applicants. there's a spot on the caltech app that asks if you have any papers you want to send them.

>> No.4467546

>>4467495
The only reason I can think of is that your application lacked any "interesting" things like building a school for AIDS ridden orphans in Africa or being 1st chair at some prestigious concert. Granted I would think "published research in high school" would make an applicant more interesting than any of those things, but then again undergrad admissions has always been about looking for future politicians and activists rather than scientists.

>>4467503
School prestige doesn't mean much in grad school admissions. All they give a fuck about is your research experience, letters of recommendation, your research experience, and your GPA (also your research experience). They also care about GRE scores, but only for screening people out.

Grad programs are great in the respect that unlike undergrad and professional school admissions, they don't have any bullshit. They only care about how much potential you have as a scientist. Everything else (volunteer experience, special talents, extracurriculars, etc) can go fuck themselves (most applications don't even offer you any space to list that stuff).

>> No.4467558
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4467558

>>4467461
>mfw that website

http://isawyou.mit.edu/post.php?id=6505

Oh god, what the actual fuck. Yep, good thing I was rejected when I applied. I would've killed myself.

>> No.4467562

>>4467119

hard to get into that place, bro
don't take it personally
they really reject only the cream of the crop

>> No.4467567

>>4467119
Man I was coming here to make the exact same post. Fuck that we don't need them

>> No.4467570

> dat feel when you don't sign and 'accept' your financial aid offer and send it back in to your school

I fucked up bad, hopefully they'll still send me my financial aid packet since it was just an estimate. If they don't I'm basically out 36k. So it could be worse OP.

>> No.4467572

if I don't get into a big name school, can I still be Neil Tyson when I grow up?

>> No.4467577

>>4467536
http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/documents/61-2012packetfy_download.pdf

I don't see anything.

>> No.4467586

>>4467577
I did not say the original comment, but that pdf does not include the supplement questions. Most likely the space for the research is there

>> No.4467599
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4467599

Hey /sci/,

Do you have any advice for someone (may or may not be me) still in high school? I'm looking over what I need to do to start preparing to apply, and I'm ready to kill myself based on who I am competing with. What do I need to do to get into a respectable university for a STEM field?

>> No.4467605

>>4467572

most scientific revolutions came on the heels of innovators that processed iconoclastically

this usually won't be taught in school

>> No.4467613

If you want to be smart all you really need is books and someone smarter than you to talk to occasionally. I honestly don't get this competition, I get it when you are talking about research or prestige but as far as undergrad education goes, does it really make a huge difference?

>> No.4467626

>>4467599
Don't sweat it man. To be honest, if you are planning on grad school, it probably isn't worth all of the extra effort to get into a first tier school. You can attend a state school with a solid program in whatever the hell you're interested in and still get into a first tier school for grad school, provided you have research experience etc.

However, if you are not going to go to grad school, it may be better to bust your ass to get into an Ivy plus school. Maybe.

>> No.4467635

I got rejected by MIT phd program while most of my American friends are getting multiple interviews from MIT Caltech Harvard etc.

Such is life being an international student.

>> No.4467640

>tfw MIT has been sending me spam email since I took the GRE

>> No.4467642

>>4467613
its for their ego. they want to be introduced as "the guy who goes to stanford [etc]"

>> No.4467644

>>4467640
you don't get spam email from MIT just by taking GRE.

in fact GRE doesn't mean shit in top programs. it's all about your recommendation and research.

>> No.4467645

>>4467640
what was your score?

>> No.4467646

>>4467626
I'm very interested in a doctoral program, but I want to have a challenging/fun undergraduate experience. The state schools I've looked over do not seem to offer that, and they always seem to be riddled with general eds and crappy research opportunities.

>> No.4467647

>>4467613
>If you want to be smart all you really need is books and someone smarter than you to talk to occasionally.

You forgot dedication...

Anyway half the point is that you're in an environment filled with people smarter than you. You don't tend to meet those people at Best Buy or whatever. Don't underestimate the value of that, that's how companies get started...

>> No.4467654

>>4467645

640/780, I think. It was the old test.

Anyway I ended up finding a decent job so I haven't applied anywhere.

>> No.4467657

>>4467599
Not a whole lot, above average ACT/SAT score, decent GPA ~3.0, no need for financial aid also helps.

>> No.4467668

>>4467572
To be Neil Tyson you just need to have charisma and a pretty face fit for TV. TV scientists don't get their jobs because they're great scientists, they get their jobs because they're great TV personalities. Now if you want to be a famous scientist, give up that hope right now. It's extraordinarily rare to get the kind of attention just from pure science that scientists like Einstein and Hawking get. Usually if you're a famous scientist, you're only famous in your very specific subfield of research. The REALLY famous ones though are at least well known in their branch of science (for example, I doubt you know who Eric Kandel is, unless you're a neuroscientist in which case you know all about him including the one rumor where the nobel prize committee took him to a strip club to celebrate).

Anyway, if you are hoping to be some sort of super-famous game changer in science, then you should have what it takes to get into a top tier school.

>>4467599
Coming from a guy who first went to an average state school and then transferred to a top 20 university, don't worry about school prestige. In fact, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to avoid top schools altogether even if you could get in.

Just go to a school that focuses on research. That's the most important thing. Even if your choice is attending a mediocre public university that focuses on research vs. a small liberal arts college that focuses on education, attend the research university.

>> No.4467801

>>4467668
if I were given the choice of say UCLA (public state university) vs. Harvey Mudd (small liberal arts college, but I guess this is a special case), which would you recommend?

and is it better to transfer or get into grad school of a top tier uni?

>> No.4467816

>>4467801
Harvey Mudd due to vastly superior research opportunities (and mandatory research via senior thesis). Plus CA public system has gone to shit

>> No.4467830

>>4467801
UCLA is a really good school for science. I've never heard of Harvey Mudd before this thread to be honest with you, although from the way people are talking about it in here maybe I should have.

Anyway, the reason you want a research university is because it will be next to impossible to get into grad school without at least 1 year of solid research experience culminating in at least a poster. That's easy to get at a research university, but very difficult at a college that has little to no research faculty. True, there are summer research programs that universities offer to students across the country and that is what you would have to do in order to get research experience at a small college. Problem is, those programs can be very competitive and they only last for a couple months.

Meanwhile research universities make it easy to get years of research experience and a thesis. If you get lucky you can also get a publication or maybe even several (make no mistake though, at the undergrad level it really is up to luck; there are so many things that can screw you out of a paper it would take several posts just to go through them all). And when it comes to graduate admissions, you really do want at least 2 years of research experience and a thesis.

>> No.4467863

Funny to see harvey mudd talked about ITT because I never heard of it before a few days ago either. They have youtube vids for analysis up. I google the school and find its a small elite school for math/science.