Roommate Matching Completed! (& International Admissions @ MIT)

So, this is the first of a (hopeful) abundance of blog entries detailing the life of a cheerful student MIT at MIT.

Aha! You had to stop for a second because you didn’t get the acronym, huh?

# The first MIT = Made in Taiwan (which, by the way, is NOT a Province of China, because Taiwanese people do not, in fact, hold *red passports*.  We are happily entitled to green, biometric passports.)  

# The second MIT = Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  “Oh Yeahhh…” you might be thinking, “isn’t it THAT Institute that’s just down the street from THAT Mediocre Community College?”  Yep, you’re absolutely right! =p

The story began on March 14, 2011, when I, along with 4 (FOUR!) other Chen’s in Taiwan, came to discover this lovely message on our respective computer screens which -- (a) starts with this line:

On behalf of the Admissions Committee, it is my pleasure to offer you admission to the MIT Class of 2015.

. . . and (b) ends with this line:
        Now stop reading this and go celebrate. :-)

It is impossible for me to describe in words both the surprise and elation I felt after reading the electronic letter.  As an international applicant to MIT, I was up against a ~97% chance of non-acceptance, and yet I somehow, quite miraculously, got in.

And that’s one of the main reasons why I am starting this blog -- to create an informal yet informative platform to entertain, encourage, and (hopefully) enlighten the annual 4,000 international applicants to MIT, as well as their (your) parents, counselors, and teachers/recommenders.

# A side note for U.S. applicants: stay tuned as well if you’re interested in learning about: a) life at MIT (Oh yes I do plan to have a life!); and b) admissions process at MIT.  Keep in mind that your application process is essentially the same as international admissions, except that: a) you can elect to apply early if you feel confident to present all your credentials in October; and b) you have a statistically higher chance of getting in (the domestic acceptance rate this year was 11.5%), although this doesn't automatically mean it's much easier.  As someone who concluded his high school career in the U.S., I’m sufficiently familiar with the American HS system. 

Yes, international admissions at MIT is competitive—brutal, if you will—but some international students do get into MIT every year.  Remember that “international students,” by which the Admissions mean those who don’t hold either an American passport or a green card, account for roughly 8-10% of the student body at MIT.  That is, you will never find out if YOU stand a chance unless you actually apply (plenty more application tips and recommendations to come in future entries).

Now, I'd like to share with you one of my happiest moments since Pi Day: the afternoon when Kevin, a fellow MIT '15er, and I agreed to room together in Next House at MIT.

There is actually a competition going on as I blog right now, on "let's see who can get the MOST AWESOME roommate," and believe it or not, I am leading it, by far. \o/

I personally believe that, when looking for a potential roommate, you need to make sure that your similarities greatly outweigh your differences.  (Psychological research has shown that similar people get along way better than contrasted types -- despite many people’s claim: "but my boyfriend/girlfriend is TOTALLY the opposite of me." <-- If you’re one of these people, by the way, leading psychologists will tell you: “Good luck!”)  To that end, I am glad to say that my roommate matching was wonderfully done. To be more specific, both Kevin and I are:

a) into community service -- he has done 800+ hours of service as a leader of an organization dedicated to making a difference in the world through such service projects as fund raisers for charity, blood donations, cancer awareness, Special Games for special ed. athletes, etc; and teaching/tutoring as a volunteer has been my main extracurricular involvement for several years, both in Taiwan and in Cambridge/Boston (You heard that right. My main extracurricular wasn't building nuclear reactors or scoring perfectly on AMC12 and AIME);

b) Taiwanese -- although he is 1/2 Hong Kongnese as well;

c) planning to do bio and interested in biomedical research -- Kevin has engaged in a bioinformatics internship, and I have interned at THE COOLEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE ON EARTH, working on a genomics project;
# Side note: The leader of the Broad Institute, Eric Lander, also teaches freshman biology at MIT, chairs the U.S. President's Science & Technology Council (i.e. he advises Obama!!!), co-directed the Human Genome Project, and received an impossible rating of 6.6 out of 7.0 by 231 MIT students who took his class in fall 2010 (the 2009 number was 6.7). 

d) looking forward to playing badminton (perhaps on an intramural team) and recreational tennis at MIT;

and last but not least: e) attributing our MIT acceptance to an amazing combination of hard work and luck -- I do not want to say this on behalf anybody else, but I know for a fact that I am by no means one of the smartest people in the 17,909-person applicant pool (from which 1,742 happy kids gained acceptance); instead, I believe that I am an ordinary student with above-average intelligence who, very fortunately, has been exposed to resources and opportunities--which I then pursued. I am fairly confident that many of my Class of 2015 classmates will make similar claims. 
# Last side note: MIT is interested in applicants who have taken full (or close to full) advantage of the resources available to them and are a match for the Institute. They are not actively searching for high school seniors who have understood all Einstein's equations and decided that some of them are wrong (although, I have to admit, wouldn't it be SO nice to meet and make friends with that person? =D)

So yep. Here I come, MIT and Next House!

PS. Holy cow it's 3AM already! Here I come, My Comfy Bed! See you all until next time.