Decisions, Decisions..

Decisions, Decisions….. Ahh Pi day. Its an important day for nerds worldwide, but its perhaps most important for some future nerds here at MIT (not to be confused with nerds from the future here at MIT). As Im sure you already know, decisions day (D-Day from here on out) is upon us and for the prospective students that means sweaty palms, quickened paces, and anxiety that WebMD cant explain (the likes of which you wont see again until prom) and bandwidth-crippling refreshes of https://decisions.mit.edu/verify.php. If this sounds like you, then you are who Im talking to right now. Theres just one thing you need to do between now and tomorrow: Dont Panic (and remember your towel) You see, MIT is a great many wonderful things, and its the place I love being at the most (a good thing since I spend most of my waking hours here â€" most of my sleeping is done when Im on vacation =] ). It is not however the end-all deciding factor of whether or not youll be happy for the rest of your life though. Somehow I missed that when I was applying so I hope you guys dont. D-day is a day of extremes, lots of people will be ecstatic to get their decision; many more will be disappointed. If you dont get it, dont sweat it. Really. The admissions office is a well-greased machine that is incredibly efficient at figuring out whos gonna be happy to be here or not. Their job is in some ways to look out for you. Theres a certain relationship the two of you have: Admissions knows MIT very well, but you not so much. You know yourself pretty well (at least I hope you do you live with you!), but you dont really know how MIT is. You might think to yourself oh but I know so much about MIT! and that might be true, but you dont know about being at MIT. And thats what Admissions knows about. MIT is hard. Almost anyone knows that, but the way its hard is a bit more transient. Its tough now even to explain, but I distinctly remember my first week real week here I thought, I get it, I know why people wouldnt want to come here. Its not for everyone. So in short, if you dont get in, dont worry. It doesnt mean youre not destined to do great things, nor that youre forced to be unhappy at some other college because youre not good enough. On the contrary, if you dont get in its a good indication that this probably wasnt the best choice for you. From here on out, changes in your life are dramatic and fast. It doesnt seem like two years ago that I was driving home from the bank thinking about what the computer screen would tell me Id do for the next four years of my life. Before you know it, it will be you guys wholl be amazed by how far away just two years ago seems (and Ill be graduatingEEP!). But no matter where you end up going to school, take it by the horns. Carve out a niche for yourself, join clubs, talk to professors, explore and think. Those are the qualities that will make your life as an intellectual enjoyable no matter where you go, and those are the qualities you already haveâ€" just dont forget about them. MIT is a tool you can use for your education, but there many others that can do the job as well. Youre in charge though; its your life. Make something of it. (also feel free to read what I wrote before decisions last year: http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/about_tomorrow.shtml) Good luck, so say we all!