Mit

[Morxjez]

Did anyone on the waitlist talk to Peter Hoagland today?

I talked to him today. He said that there is nothing you can do to improve your chance. You will just have to be patient and wait it out. We can't tell anything right now until the first week of April. That is exactly what he has told me.

[wobuffet]

I talked to him today. He said that there is nothing you can do to improve your chance. You will just have to be patient and wait it out. We can't tell anything right now until the first week of April. That is exactly what he has told me.

The problem, of course, is that this information isn't credible if you're on the waitlist too (if anybody's that cynical ).

edit: this was supposed to be a joke, sorry if I confused anybody.

[testacct]

I am on the waitlist and did not apply for the NSF. Does anyone else get the feeling that MIT decided to waitlist practically everyone?

[kimbanator]

I am on the waitlist and did not apply for the NSF. Does anyone else get the feeling that MIT decided to waitlist practically everyone?

They probably expect that many people on their waitlist have other attractive funded offers (like wobuffet, for example), so relatively few would be likely to take an unfunded offer... hence the need for a large waitlist. Since MIT is clearly my best option at this point, I would strongly consider going year one unfunded.

[Chicunomics]

You'll want to be clear with them about what 'unfunded' means. For me it was made clear I was going to have to fund myself for 2 years, not 1. Whether that might have changed once I was actually in the program, who knows, but that's what I was told...

[Mr.Stochastic]

Im waitlisted and also accepted at LSE EME, where I will likely go if I dont get an offer from MIT. It seems unplausible, but is it in any way possible to strike down a deal with MIT to admit me now, but to defer the admit conditional on me completing the EME with decent marks?

[kimbanator]

I just re-read their FAQ and it says they defer admission on a case-by-case basis but will not defer funding.

[kimbanator]

Yeah, I called today, too. They're not giving out details about the waitlist, where you stand, etc. except that it's not strictly conditional on the NSF decision. Good luck, everyone!

[2010app9357]

Yeah, I called today, too. They're not giving out details about the waitlist, where you stand, etc. except that it's not strictly conditional on the NSF decision. Good luck, everyone!

Thanks for biting the bullet on this one. I 100% do not have the spine to call up MIT asking for specifics.

[jeeves0923]

So now that I've emerged from my finals, I want to say a couple of things.

First, know that I'm mostly speculating and don't have any private information other than how the process worked last year.

With that said, I think the wait list is likely not ordered. That is, they don't anticipate a spot opening up at all. If one does, they will re-evaluate all of the applicants on the wait list and take into account any new information (i.e. outside funding, NSF) at that time. As it gets closer to April 15th, they will let people know when they no longer have a chance. It is possible that they know the yield will be good before April 15th and put everyone out of their misery earlier, but you wait list people should hope to have to wait. If you do get admitted, it could be all the way down to the wire. I was admitted last year 1 minute before the deadline on April 15th.

All of this is to say, don't pester Peter too much. He's very busy this time of year, and you don't want to annoy someone who touches your file daily Also, be patient. If it gets on April 14th or 15th and you are still on the wait list, ask your next choice school for an extension (you'd be surprised how willing some places are to do this). My next choice school last year gave me a 1 week extension so I could visit MIT and make a fully informed decision if I so chose.

There probably aren't any more details on the wait list than that... It's not that they are trying to keep anything from you. Your chances are small, but greater than zero. They won't know more about your status until people start giving decisions and they know how many more places they need to fill.

Best of luck guys and gals!

-jeeves