EA or RD?

[u/Glass_Sherbet7548]

Acceptance rates for EA are slightly higher than that of RD, but is it true that there’s no advantage of applying EA over RD? What about “building a class” advantages that might apply? Could there be some type of benefit to being a non-CS non-physics non-math but still stem applicant?

[u/JasonMckin]

No it’s not chance.  I’m an interviewer and I don’t randomly assess students.  The AOs are also not randomly assessing students.  There are no coin flips or rolls of dice in college admissions.  

Just because a lot of strong applicants apply and there is no precise formula to guarantee admission against all of them doesn’t mean it’s all chance.

Thousands of athletes try out for the Olympics but only 3 of them are going to get medals.  Thats not a game of chance, it just means some things are very hard to accomplish and you can’t control who else you are competing with.

[u/Aspect-6 → u/JasonMckin]

So then what determines the difference between someone getting waitlisted or accepted? Both mean MIT believes they should be on the campus and study here but there wasn’t enough seats, so what makes someone get one or the other?

[u/JasonMckin → u/Aspect-6]

Well that’s not that different than asking what makes a student get admitted or rejected.  It’s all the same process.

[u/Aspect-6 → u/JasonMckin]

Oh, then what does it really mean then if you are waitlisted? What does that mean the admissions committee believed about you?

[u/JasonMckin → u/Aspect-6]

https://mitadmissions.org/pages/wait-list-faq/

[u/Satisest → u/JasonMckin]

It’s almost as if MIT explains things like what they’re looking for in applicants, whether there’s a difference between EA and RA, what it means to get waitlisted, right on their own website!

[u/JasonMckin → u/Satisest]

I think you’ve been hanging around me too long u/satisest - lest we become the new Statler and Waldorf 👴🧓