The College Admissions

Arab Mentorship Program

CAAMP - 2015
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Who are we?

MIT Arab Students Organization
o Yara Azouni
Ramallah Friends School Graduate 2014
MIT Chemical Engineering Student 2018

Outline
o Why U.S. Colleges?
o How to prepare for and apply to college
o Paying for college
o VISA
o Student life
o How CAAMP can help you
o Q&A

Think about Why You Want to Study

in the U.S
o Diversity of Educational Opportunities
n More than 600 major fields of study offered at more
than 3,000 colleges and universities.

o Research Opportunities
o Diverse Student Body
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Step 1: Research College

Opportunities
Answer questions about your needs and preferences, such as:
o What do I want to study?
o Where do I want to live?
o How is the student life at a particular institution?
o How competitive is the admission process?
Create a list of U.S. colleges that meet these needs.
n Collegeboard.com
n Collegeconfidential.com

Step 2: Seek Advice

o CAAMP mentorship
o School Counselors
o Current Students/Alumni
o Family/Friends

Step 3: Apply to Colleges

Major Components of the Application:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Academics (GPA, Standardized Exams)

Extracurricular Activities
Personal Essay
Interview
Recommendation Letters

MIT MSA mentorship website is a great resource

Msametorship.com
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Applying to College
o Academics
o Extracurricular Activities
o Personal Essay
o Interview
o Recommendation Letters

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1. Academics
o Grade Point Average (GPA)
o Necessary Exams: TOEFL, SAT I, SAT Subject
Exams
o Additional Exams: AP (earn college credit, exhibit
college level academic achievement), IB, ALevels
o TIP: Start preparing during sophomore year (10th
Grade)

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Minimum Scores:
At MIT, test scores are not the only factor
We admit people, not numbers
English proficiency is crucial, therefore minimum TOEFL
score
TOEFL

Minimum

Recommended

Paper Based Test (PBT) 577

600+

Internet Based Test

(iBT)

100+

90

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Middle 50% score range of admitted

students in the fall of 2014

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Distribution of Math subject test

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2. Extracurricular Activities
o Activities outside your academic curriculum
o Give colleges a better sense of who you really are and
what you are passionate about outside the classroom
o Important activities are ones that demonstrate your
leadership, commitment, team-building, and
community building qualities
o Illustrates that you can balance multiple tasks
o Pursue a passion
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Extracurricular Activities
What do you do during your free time?

o
o
o
o

High school sports, Music/Performing Arts

Summer Activities/University Summer Programs
Community-wide events
Founder/Leader of a group inside or outside of school

o Demonstrate your leadership, commitment, teamwork, and

community building qualities

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The Common App

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3. Personal Essay
o Who are you? Why this university?
o Geared towards your personal life
o Important to convey strong self-motivation,
passion, and sense of direction
o Focus on how this college fits in with your goals
o Specificity, clarity and brevity
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The Personal Essay in the Common App

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Sample Essay Questions

Range in broadness
o "Please complete a one-page personal statement and submit
it with your application." (James Madison University)
o What quality do you like best in yourself and what do you
like least? What quality would you most like to see flourish
and which would you like to see wither?" (Bates College)
o Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you
have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its
impact on you." (Stanford University)
o Tell us about a person who has influenced you in a
significant way." (Princeton University)

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The MIT Application

o
o
o
o

MIT does not use the Common App

It uses its own application at the MyMIT website
It does not require a long personal essay
It requires short (100-250 word) answers to five
questions

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MIT Essay Questions

o Tell us about the most significant challenge you
have faced or something important that did not go
according to plan. How did you manage the
situation?
o Describe the world you come from, for example
your family, clubs, community, city, or town. How
has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?
o Tell us about something you do for fun.

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4. Interview
Puts life to the application
o Optional but recommended.
o Can be anywhere (e.g. Starbucks, Alums office, Skype)
o Do not be nervous. Its an informal conversation (30 min2hrs)
o Talk about anything not conveyed in the application:
background, personal endeavors, etc.
o Ask questions about their MIT experience
Most importantly, BE YOURSELF! J

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The MIT interview

o Interviews are strongly recommended
o last year, of eligible applicants, they
admitted 10.8% of those who had an
interview but only 1% of those who chose
not to interview

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5. Recommendation Letters
o Usually 2 or 3 are required
n
n
n
n

Teacher (Math/Science and Language/Humanities)

Counselor/Administrator
(optional) Other (coaches, employers, etc.)
Friends (Peer Recommendation Letter)
Dartmouth, Davidson College, others

o Give your teachers plenty of time!

n Give them a summary of what you ve
accomplished i.e. brag sheet or resume
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Admissions statistics for those entering in the

fall of 2014

International Students

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Financial Aid for Students

o Breakdown of Annual Expenses
o Cost & Financial Aid Examples
o Some Options for Financial Aid
o Websites for Additional Research

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Breakdown of Expenses at MIT

Tuition and Fees

$45,016

Housing and Dining

$13,224

Books and Personal Expenses

$2,790

Total price for MIT undergraduates

$61,030

Average MIT scholarship

$34,551

Percentage of those receiving financial aid

91%

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Universities offering need-blind & fullneed admissions to international students

o Amherst
o Dartmouth
o Harvard
o MIT
o Princeton
o Yale

Annual Cost & Aid for

International Students for 2014-2015
Institution

Cost to Attend

Average Aid Awarded

Cost to You & Your Family

Harvard College

$68,050

$46,000

$22,050

Yale University

$63,250

$41,250

$22,000

Princeton University

$58,965

$44,700

$14,265

MIT

$61,030

$34,551

$26,479

Ohio State University:

Columbus

$42,711

$13,070

$29,641

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Some Options for Financial Aid

*Scholarships for Palestinians
- The Hope Fund
International Organizations
- UN, AMIDEAST, Red Cross, Soros Foundation,
Jameel Foundation
US Government
- US Department of State, US Information Agency,
Agency for International Development
Educational Institutions
Private US Organizations and Scholarships (eg. Fastweb.com)
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Obtaining a Visa
o F-1 Student Visa Application requirements vary
by country, but usually include:
Current, valid passport
I-20 form
Evidence of financial support for the period of
time and amount indicated on the I-20 form
A non-immigrant Visa application
Photos
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The Visa process

o Have all documents ready
o Apply online and pay fees
o Get an interview appointment (online)
o Get interviewed and submit your passport and
I-20
o Wait!

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Campus Life:
o Activities
o Advising and Counseling
o Athletics
o Residential Life
o Medical Services
o Off-campus

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Campus Life
Activities
o More than 400 co-curricular activities and clubs at MIT
n EXAMPLES
o MIT Shawarma Club, MIT Energy Club, Sloan business club,
Outing Club, MIT Laboratory for Chocolate Science Club, the
Solar Car Team, the Arab Students Organization, Model UN,
Debate club, Palestine@MIT
o About 30 active and long-standing student religious organizations
on campus which have dedicated facilities (Musalla, Chapel)
o Over 30 international student groups
o MIT is also known for popular pranks, known as Hacks, such as
placing a police car on top of a building, and inflating an MIT
balloon at Havard-Yale game.
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Campus Life
Advising and Counseling
o Variety of resources for advising, counseling, and personal
support.
i.e. Faculty advisors, associate advisors, GRTs (Graduate
Residence Tutor), S^3 (Student Support Services), students!

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Campus Life
Athletics
o Approximately 900 men and women are active in more than
40 varsity sports
o We also have many participants in the intramural program,
as well as over 40 club sports
o There is a mandatory swim test which has to be completed
prior to graduation / it requires you to swim 100 yards
continuously
o There is a mandatory boat test for sailing and rowing/ it
requires you to tread in water for 10 minutes right after the
swim test

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Campus Life
Undergraduate Residential Life
o MIT is essentially a residential university 95%
o With the exception of McCormick Hall (all female), the
Institute residence halls have coeducational living facilities.
Most of the coed residence halls also have single-gender
living areas
o MIT recognizes 36 fraternities, sororities, and independent
living groups. There are also five living groups, four of which
are coed and one is for women only.

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How can I help you?

o Feel free to contact me personally at
yazouni@mit.edu
Email Subject: CAAMP Follow-up

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