30 Nov -1

MIT

MIT Media Lab, Masters (F16)

Interview via E-mail on 30 Nov -1

Note

Hi everyone. I got an interview invitation from Lifelong Kindergarten group in early February and had a skype interview with my POI around mid February. I thought of posting on the Grad Cafe because the posters below asked for suggestions of getting the interview and I think that this could be beneficial for others who are going to apply next year. A little bit about myself, i had my undergrad degree outside of the US with 3.45gpa and currently a grad student here in the US with a good gpa. The thing is... I dont really think that they value the gpa as much as your passion or accomplishment that proves your passion. My website made from wordpress template (not so fancy compare to those who can do css). But the projects on my web are ones that I'm proud of. I went to the MIT media lab openhouse in September 2015 and that was really helpful. I talked to my POI and the students in the lab. They are all awesome people! (I keep contact with 2 students and they really give me good advice on the interview. They said it should be like talking about your interest with likeminded person! And it was true! :D) I only applied to LLK because it's the group that really speaks to my passion. Others may argue that it wasnt a wise decision lowering my chance of getting an interview from 3 to 1. But I think that applying to one lab allowed me to focus on why projects in LLK are important to me and why I want to be a part of the team. I didnt mean that I would suggest you to do like me but I think you should be honest to yourself. From what my POI said, the statement of objective is the most crucial part of your application. Be open to the readers about yourself and answer them why does the work at the lab matters to you. I dont know if I will get in or not but when I was looking through gradcafe for admission advice, I didnt really see that much. I hope that this would be helpful:) Good luck!

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