The return of Questions Omnibus

The return of Questions Omnibus Its time to answer your questions - Jasmine wrote, how do you register for CPW? I cant find any information about that on the packet i received. And Andie wrote, wheres the registration form for CPW? You can register for CPW in your MyMIT Portal. Just click on the Registration link in the big red CPW box in the lower right hand corner. - Debbie wrote, wow im really excited for CPW!! I really cant wait to come up and meet all of the other prospective freshmen. the only question i have is, since my parents are pretty much set on going to CPW with me, how is that going to work in terms of balancing time b/w them and with my host at CPW? I know there are probably more details to come later, but I was just wondering how CPW worked. bonbon wrote, Im with debbie are we staying mostly with our parents at CPW or mostly with our hosts? any way I guess it truly doesnt matter who Im with cause its freakn MIT!!!!! Nadia wrote, If one of our parents is coming with us to CPW, is it okay for us to stay in a hotel with them so that they arent alone? Or do we need to stay with a host? And Connie wrote, This might have been answered somewhere else, but Ive heard a lot of different things about parents activities at CPWdo their activities span all 3/4 days? or do most parents generally go home after the first day? Ah, a classic question: the role of parents at CPW. Before I answer, Ill repost a comment from a real-live MIT parent: As a mom of a current MIT student and the mom of a newly admitted student (yeah!) I would recommend you stay with a host for at least part of the weekend. Youll get a much better feel for MIT. There are generally separate activities for students and parents, but Im sure there are some you can do together. Im also sure someone from admissions will provide more information soon. Are there other parents or students who can share their CPW experiences? My thoughts: I would recommend you stay with a host. Each year a handful (maybe half a dozen) students stay with their parents, and my sense is that it makes for a worse experience for both the student and the parents. Parent activities are almost as numerous as student activities over CPW. Most parents Ive met at CPW are happy running their own schedule, going to the events theyre interested in, doing a little exploring of Boston, and meeting up maybe once a day with their daughter/son for a check-in. And theres a big event every day that makes it convenient for a check-in. I should also provide an update about hotels for CPW: because CPW falls this year on the same weekend as the Boston Marathon, hotels in Boston are in limited supply and even more expensive than usual. Our room block for the [emailprotected] is sold out; they may have a few more rooms available at a non-discounted rate (call for details). The Marriott Cambridge is sold out for Wednesday (the night before CPW begins) but does have fewer than 20 rooms in the room block remaining for Thursday-Saturday nights. More hotel listing are available on the Visiting MIT website. Please remember that you must also arrange your own transportation to and from your hotel. - Jillian wrote, Are you calling those admitted EA as well? And Milena 11 wrote, I have the same question as Jillian!!!! are you calling us EA students too??? Alas, the EA telethons have passed, but if youd like a phone call, let me know and I can probably arrange one - Susan wrote, Will international students receive a call from current MIT students? And Anonymous wrote, Hi! Im an admitted international student! I still cant believe it! wow!!! Could someone please tell me if and when youll be phoning international students? The students from the International Students Association (ISA) will be contacting international students over the coming weeks. If youre super excited to talk to someone, you can contact the ISA now (email available on their website). - Melissa wrote, Not a question to Matt, but can one of the bloggers write about the college transition? Leaving friends, going to a school worrying about being the least intelligent one, etc? Im worried about that stuff =) Several student bloggers have volunteered to write about this topic, so keep your eyes peeled. - Melissa also wrote, For the sake of argument, what will happen if MIT recieves over the expected yield? Say, 1200 accept instead of the expected 1020. What happens? [Unlikely, I know, but Im just curious =).] Weve never been off by that much in our predictions well cross that bridge if we come to it. Dont worry, we wont revoke your admission! - And finally, Melissa wrote, Just wondering how does one become a blogger? As a mom posted in the comments, this entry described last years blogger selection process. Look for more information from Ben about this years process sometime this summer. - Nabla wrote, So I skimmed the financial booklet in the admissions packet and glanced over the words merit scholarship. Help out here, Im somewhat confused. I was under the impression that MIT only gives financial aid, not merit stuff. Is this true? Surely some people get merit scholarships from MITmaybe? Many MIT students receive merit scholarships from non-MIT sources (which is probably why it is mentioned in the financial aid booklet), but no MIT students receive merit scholarships from MIT. MIT is committed to need based financial aid; this commitment was perhaps best articulated by now-President Emeritus Charles Vest in 1999. I hope this clarifies things. - Susan wrote, Because I live far away from MIT, I cannot afford the costs of the travel, should I inform I cannot go to CPW? And since I cannot make it, what should I do in order to know MIT better? You do need to tell us if you are coming to CPW, but you dont need to tell us if youre not. As for how you can get to know MIT better a great starting point are these very blogs. Actually, Blogger Emeritus Mollie (who actually posted an entry while I was writing this!) posted this helpful and interesting post to a discussion board recently; it is such a good start to answering your question that Im reposting it here: So as youre probably aware, MIT has a dedicated group of student bloggers who have spilled huge amounts of virtual ink on every MIT-related topic under the sun. You may not be aware that this has been happening since 2004, and that there are, in fact, about 1800 blog entries in the archives. You have probably not read anything before the summer of 2006, which makes me incredibly sad why did I go back and fix the code for 1300 entires last summer if you are not going to read them? So Ive compiled a list of blog entries that may be particularly helpful as youre making your college decision. A bunch of them are mine, which has less to do with me being amazing and more to do with the fact that I know my own entries the best. If you know of a particularly trenchant entry written by an MIT blogger, by all means link to it below. Academics Mind and hand (Jessie): Engineers becoming scientists and vice versa http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/and_hand.shtml MIT students do it all night (Sam): Sams five favorite all-nighters http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/ll_night.shtml Answering my own questions (Mollie): How hard is the hard work? http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/uestions.shtml The most wonderful time of the year (Mollie): IAP. Also some stuff on time management. http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/e_of_the.shtml Play hard, and then work hard (Melis) http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/ork_hard.shtml I think I can, I think I can (Bryan): How do you have time to have fun? http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/nk_i_can.shtml Standing out (Mollie): Its okay not to be the best http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/ding_out.shtml The first step (Mollie): Asking for help at MIT http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/rst_step.shtml Its bigger than you, and you are not me (Sam): MITs culture, like a parfait http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/d_you_ar.shtml Let it bleed (Sam): GIRs http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/it_bleed.shtml Culture, Life, Activities Choice and the MIT lifestyle (Mollie): http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/ifestyle.shtml What MIT students do on Friday nights (Laura) http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/n_friday.shtml Power of suggestion (Sam): One way to tell if you belong at MIT http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/ggestion.shtml Yay, a hack! (Laura): Mario hack http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/y_a_hack.shtml As though we werent hosed enough (Jessie): Firetruck on the dome hack http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/sed_enou.shtml Why does my kid have to move again? (Jessie): Housing process http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/o_move_a.shtml Who we are (Mollie): http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/o_we_are.shtml Activities midway (Matt): A few of the five zillion student activities available at MIT http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/s_midway.shtml College Choice Why I came to MIT (Mollie): http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/e_to_mit.shtml Making your college decision (Melis): Why Melis chose MIT http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/decision.shtml - Ginny wrote, Our entire family is thrilled for our oldest to have been accepted at MIT! Now, as the master scheduler in our house, where do I find information on any summer or fall orientation dates. So sorry we cant come in April! Do you webcast any of that weekends events? Like everyone, I imagine, we have had many nervous moments regarding this application processfor many different reasons. Thanks for providing such great communication through your website. Thanks for inspiring our kids to dreamand to work for their dreams! Thanks for the compliment. Optional orientation programs begin as early as August 20, and all freshmen must be on campus by August 25. Dont book your plane tickets yet until your daughter/son has decided whether or not to do one of the pre-orientation programs (theyre quite awesome, actually). All of the important information is available at the Class of 2011 Orientation website. Keep the questions coming