[Petey]

Originally Posted by Jacob Bendicksen

Hi Chris! A few questions...
How much does it benefit students to have an activity like FRC on their college app, as opposed to something less intense?

Having it "on" the college app isn't worth much. We care about what you're doing with it. If you're really involved w/ FIRST then that can be good; if you're peripherally involved with FIRST, but in some kind of positive support capacity and also involved in other stuff, that can also be good.

Sometimes students ask me if MIT wants students who are well-rounded. I usually say I don't care as much if you're well-rounded or pointy, what I care about is evaluating the space enclosed by the shape.

What's the best way to show the impact of my FIRST experience on an application to colleges that may not be as familiar with FIRST as MIT is?

Letters of rec. Find the teacher or mentor who can advocate most compellingly on your behalf and have them write a letter supporting your candidacy. If the school you're applying to is unfamiliar with FIRST, have the first paragraph of the letter be a short but detailed description of what FIRST is, what the team must do, all of the time requirements (when your team meets, during what time of the year), and have the next paragraph be your specific role in the team.

Most admissions officers don't know just how much of a time-sink FIRST is; no one does, unless you've lived it. That's ok, you just need to find someone who can describe it on your behalf.

I'm not sure if you're allowed to disclose this, but I'll ask anyway - what percentage of recent MIT freshman classes has had FIRST on their resumé?

A few years ago we manually tabulated involvement with FIRST on every enrolling student's application and I think came up with something like 10% of the class that we allowed FIRST to quote publicly. To be honest, I'm not sure how meaningful that number was or is.

Originally Posted by jbott

Hi Chris,

I applied to MIT Early Action this year, and had my application deferred. It has always been my dream to go to MIT, so I am looking to give the February updates my best shot. Do you have any tips on what to include in this? Is there anything that really stands out in admissions?

Thanks!

I'd include a few specific sentences about what you're doing for this year's build season, since you can submit the FUN form after kickoff.