Recently, two people who turned down MIT after being admitted have become quite successful, and I applaud them for it! Let me tell you a bit about Kevin Gillespie and J.R. Hildebrand.

In 1997-98, a student named Kevin Gillespie applied to MIT from a relatively small public school in Georgia. He was the first applicant from his school to MIT in a long time, perhaps the first ever. He was admitted. But he said no. Here's the story, from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

One day, about eight years ago, Kevin Gillespie received an envelope from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Not just any envelope, but the fat one, with a letter of admission addressed to the Henry County High School senior.

Once Gillespie got over his shock, he hid the envelope. Hid it from his parents, friends and college placement counselors so he could rethink his ambition to become a nuclear engineer.

Gillespie eventually 'fessed up and told his parents he didn't want to go to MIT, despite the nice scholarship thrown in for good measure. He wanted to go to the Art Institute of Atlanta and study cooking. His mother — who may be eligible for sainthood — told him it was good that he knew what he was meant to do early in life.

It looks like she was right. Gillespie is now the chef and a partner at Woodfire Grill, the Cheshire Bridge Road restaurant that became an instant leader in Atlanta's nascent farm-to-table movement when Michael Touhy opened it in 2002. Gillespie is also a new television star, playing himself on the Bravo TV reality series "Top Chef."

[read more]

MIT alums have told me of their wonderful meals at Kevin's Woodfire Grill (I'm jealous). MIT is great, but not right for Kevin. By following his culinary gifts, he has made the world better through food.

In 2005-06, a student named J.R. Hildebrand applied to MIT from a strong public high school in the Bay Area of California. He was a bright young man who enjoyed cars and racing. Like Kevin, he was admitted to MIT. In response to the admission offer, he took MIT's offer to do a gap year(s) to focus on his racing career, looking to return to MIT if/when his racing career faltered. The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat has the rest of the story:

For 18 years, Maria and John Hildebrand raised a son, J.R., who was athletic and smart. Very smart.

In fact, J.R. was so intelligent that he graduated from Redwood High School in Larkspur a semester early and was offered a full academic scholarship to the School of Engineering at MIT. Wow, huh?

Maria, a longtime elementary school teacher, was understandably proud. So was John, a CPA in San Francisco. But John, who also has a passion for racing vintage cars, could see something in J.R.'s future that his wife could not.

One day, John told Maria that it was possible J.R. was so brilliant in a race car that he may not attend college. Instead, he might take his 4.12 GPA, his soon-to-be-arriving acceptance letters to MIT, Cal and UCLA, and pursue his dream of becoming a professional race car driver.

Maria, of course, processed this information. And sort of flipped out, "I remember immediately saying 'There's no way he's not going to college.' I thought 'You have got to be kidding me.'"

No joke.

Fast forward about four years and J.R. Hildebrand's dream is a reality. Hildebrand, 22, will make his second career IndyCar Series start Sunday in the Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway, the track where he began developing his skills eight years ago at the Jim Russell Racing School.

Hildebrand, a Sausalito native, has swiftly ascended through racing's minor leagues since bolting for St. Petersburg, Fla., four years ago. In 2006, he won the Formula Ford 2000 championship, setting a series record with 12 wins in 14 races. Two years later, he finished fifth in the Firestone Indy Lights series. Last year, he won the Indy Lights title, joining past champions such as IndyCar megastars Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan.

[read more]

Now, J.R. is a very successful racecar driver (btw, "racecar" is a nice palindrome). Like Kevin, by following his gifts and turning down MIT, J.R. is achieving his dreams.

Finally, before you ask -- the rumor that movie star Will Smith was admitted to MIT is unfortunately not true. He never applied, but if he had, who knows?

On your MyMIT site, you will find the contact information for your MIT interviewer, or Educational Counselor (EC), within a couple days of registering. You should contact your EC as soon as your are ready to schedule the interview, but well before the application deadline. Remember, if you are applying for the November 1 Early Action (EA) deadline, you should set up your interview before October 20th. If you are applying for the January 1 Regular Action (RA) deadline, you should set up your interview before December 10th.

From MyMIT, you should print out personalized teacher recommendation forms. Teachers may use their own forms and format, but please include the personalized teacher recommendation form with each recommendation letter.

You will submit your part of the application online via MyMIT. However, if there are additional materials that you need to mail to us, note that we will read your application online; printed materials that are mailed to us will be scanned. I recommend that you consider things like staples and binding, and ability to be viewed in a 2-D environment, before mailing us any additional materials.

If you need to mail us any additional materials, please include the personalized cover sheet at MyMIT with those materials. If you send us additional materials more than once, please be sure to include the personalized cover sheet each time.

You should be sure to frequently check the email account that you list on your application. If we have any questions or announcements, this will likely be the place for such communications.

Please note that MIT is not a member of the Common Application. MIT has its own application, which is only available at MyMIT.

Also note: if you have in previous years applied to MIT or started an application to MIT, you will not be able to create your new MyMIT account and begin your application until September. Please be patient -- besides, you already know how the app works.

...I think that's it, for now, anyway. As the admissions season progresses, we'll have lots of application updates and tips here on the blogs. It should be an exciting year ahead.

I look forward to reading your application!

The reality is that today's MIT is a warm and friendly community with many support resources. Most people who come to MIT are happy, well-adjusted people, and leave MIT as happy, well-adjusted people. That's not to say that MIT is never hard or stressful; certainly, MIT's rigorous curriculum will lead to some hair-pulling by even the brightest students. But in the rare cases of students taking their own lives at MIT and places like it, the causes -- to the extent they can be determined -- are almost never academically related. Usually, it is related to personal problems or preexisting mental health issues.

I think some people assume that MIT must have a high suicide rate because it is an academically rigorous school where most students study science and engineering. This shows a lack of understanding of suicide. Neither academic rigor nor course of study are among the top risk factors noted for suicide². Also note in the article below:

We also know that elite colleges do not have higher rates of suicide than others. Academic competition and pressures are not frequent precipitants of suicide in undergraduates. More often, suicide is precipitated by family or relationship problems, often in the context of substance use.

The assumption may also come in part from two heavily publicized deaths at MIT nearly ten years ago; most suicides at colleges are not heavily publicized. (See also this year -- a number of suicides at "famous" schools made the news; thousands of other suicides at colleges went mostly unmentioned.) These deaths at MIT occured around the time I was finishing my undergraduate years on campus and beginning as a staff member; many of us were deeply saddened by the loss of our schoolmates. As a result, MIT reexamined its own practices and culture. MIT didn't brush this under the rug; the report was made public. You can read it here.

Earlier this year, the folks at Inside Higher Ed published an important article on suicide on college campuses. It is well worth a read:

Suicide Realities
April 22, 2010
By Victor Schwartz and Jerald Kay

The recent suicides of college students at Yale and Cornell Universities are rightfully cause for shock and sadness, but also a call to action. No doubt, we wonder how young people with so much talent and promise could end their own lives. In struggling to make sense of these tragic events, it is all too appealing – and unhelpful – to resort to simple explanations and casting of blame. In fact, the science of suicide is highly complex, and suicide prediction and prevention present mental health clinicians, and college administrators, with formidable challenges. Even institutions with quality prevention services, like Cornell and Yale, are not immune from these calamities.

Consider that, after accident, suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. It is estimated that in any given year approximately 7.5 suicides occur for every 100,000 college students, a figure that translates into some 1,400 suicides. Nevertheless, while any death of a young person is heartbreaking, suicides are numerically rare.

At the same time, we know from our own work and much other research that each year about 10 to 15 percent of college students seriously think about suicide, and approximately 2 to 4 percent will make an attempt. This means that for every college student who dies by suicide, there are hundreds who have tried and thousands who have thought about it. Yet, we still have no overarching psychological theory to explain exactly what moves someone from thinking about suicide to taking action.

We do know that most young people who die by suicide have a diagnosable, and often treatable, psychiatric condition, and, frequently, they have told someone of their plan. Regrettably, numerous studies have found that less than 50 percent of depressed college students seek help. And not all manifest obvious signs of their depression.

Recent research has shown that the brain continues to mature throughout one’s 20s, with the area most responsible for decision-making developing last. Some young people, therefore, may act impulsively, without fully appreciating the real consequences of their actions. As a result, suicide in young people sometimes occurs without any apparent warning, either in a setting in which the young person -- most often a young man -- has hidden his despair from others, or as the result of an abrupt and intense impulse, often in the context of judgment-blurring intoxication.

Despite this, it is important to keep the issues in perspective. While universities are seeing larger numbers of students with psychiatric difficulties -- in part because improvements in treatment make it possible for more students with such problems to successfully attend college – the number of suicides on campuses has remained stable over the past 10 years. This suggests that we may be doing a better job at identifying and treating the underlying causes of suicide, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and substance abuse.

We also know that elite colleges do not have higher rates of suicide than others. Academic competition and pressures are not frequent precipitants of suicide in undergraduates. More often, suicide is precipitated by family or relationship problems, often in the context of substance use.

Moreover, we have learned quite a bit about college suicide prevention in the past 15 years. We know that keeping the means used for self-harm out of the hands of potentially suicidal people will save lives. College students have about half the rate of suicide of non-college-attending young people, in part, it appears, because few guns are allowed on college campuses. And there are definitive measures that can prevent an impulsive young person from taking tragic action. The securing and alarming of windows and roofs have been helpful deterrents. Actions such as Cornell’s adding barriers on its bridges are therefore prudent and sensible.

Educational outreach programs are also effective in assisting students, faculty and administrators to identify psychological problems and decreasing the stigma often associated with seeking treatment. Preparing entering students with previously treated disorders to establish a system of continuing care while on campus is vital, as is communication with parents on the importance of such care.

Interestingly, we have learned that we don’t prevent suicides by focusing solely or even too intensively on suicide prevention. Rather, it is essential that colleges offer comprehensive, accessible and affordable systems of general physical and mental health care, and that they utilize community and public health approaches to educate parents, students, faculty and administrators about the need to communicate, support and care for each other. Steps such as "gatekeeper training," in which people most likely to have direct contact with troubled students (resident assistants, writing instructors, academic advisers, athletic coaches and chaplains, among others) are taught to identify and refer such students for counseling and peer education programs, have a proven track record. For example, the award-winning Active Minds on Campus, with chapters across the country, provides a forum in which students present programs focused on promoting acceptance and understanding of people with mental illness.

Many colleges employ online surveys to help students identify problems and utilize other technology-based modes of support, including appointment and medication reminders, to engage troubled students in a way they feel comfortable.

Among all key members of the college community, communication focused on the support and care of students in distress, while respecting the students' privacy, is also essential. Finally, we know that whenever possible, it is best for troubled students to remain in school among their friends and working toward a positive future. At the same time, colleges and universities must allow for students who temporarily cannot function to return home for more intensive assistance and treatment.

In fact, it turns out that when it comes to suicide prevention, students, faculty, administrators and parents are all in this together.

Victor Schwartz is university dean of students at Yeshiva University and associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Yeshiva's Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Jerald Kay is professor and chair of the psychiatry at Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine. They are the editors of Mental Health Care in the College Community (Wiley).

Some resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Suicide Prevention
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
The Jed Foundation

Footnotes:
¹ Ellen, E.F. (2005). Suicide prevention on campus. Psychiatric Times, XIX. Retrieved August 8, 2010, from http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/54106
² American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Risk Factors for Suicide. Retrieved August 8, 2010, from http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?page_id=05147440-E24E-E376-BDF4BF8BA6444E76

OK Go has a new video for their song "End Love," and it is directed by two of my MIT classmates, Jeff Lieberman '00 and Eric Gunther '00. Check it out!

One frequent question I get as an admissions officer is, what do MIT people do after graduating? It's hard to give a comprehensive answer to that question, but perhaps this will be helpful.

In anticipation of our 10-year reunion, I emailed all the members of our class (about 1000 people) and asked for "10-year updates." I got a variety of responses (representing about 5% of our class), which I compiled and sent out to the class. Realizing what a resource I had, though, I condensed the responses into a one-line summary of each responding classmate's current job situation. I also listed graduate degrees if they were mentioned (many were not). I did not leave anyone out who responded; I have listed all responses below in the order that the emails show up in my inbox. I think it is very interesting! Check it out...

• In law school
  
• Technical staff at Los Alamos (MIT PhD)
  
• Technical staff at Los Alamos (MIT PhD)
  
• Management consultant at McKinsey (MIT MEng)
  
• Cognitive Science Professor at UCSD (University College London PhD)
  
• Computer programmer
  
• Hosting the Discovery show 'Time Warp;' co-directed the upcoming OK Go music video
  
• Medical device company Business Development Manager (MIT MS)
  
• Real estate agent and mortgage officer
  
• Political Science professor at Pitt (Stanford PhD)
  
• Psychology post-doc (UT-Austin PhD)
  
• Administrator at Duke
  
• VP of technical services company (formerly in the Air Force)
  
• Medical doctor - surgeon
  
• Systems engineer at Linden Labs (Second Life)
  
• International development AAAS fellow at USAID (UMass-Amherst PhD)
  
• PhD student in chemistry (UFlorida)
  
• Lawyer - intellectual property
  
• Mathematician (Duke PhD)
  
• Medical doctor - glaucoma specialist (Harvard MD)
  
• Chemical engineer for ExxonMobil
  
• Computer engineer at Akamai
  
• Biotech industry (Stanford PhD)
  
• Professional skydiver (former consultant)
  
• Professional skydiver (former consultant)
  
• Biotech industry ("a company that runs oncology clinical trials") - Director of Business Development (Columbia PhD)
  
• Economics professor at Cornell; former White House lead energy economist (Stanford PhD)
  
• Med school student (St George's, University of London MBBS)
  
• Medical doctor - physical medicine and rehabilitation (UT-Southwestern MD)
  
• Computer science & physics teacher and Air Force reservist
  
• Medical doctor
  
• Technical lead at Twitter (MIT MEng)
  
• Google - YouTube and TV ads projects
  
• Medical doctor - anesthesiologist (Vanderbilt MD)
  
• Marketing manager - VMware
  
• Biology postdoc at Harvard (UCSF PhD)
  
• Artist, designer, educator, and glassblower (RISD MFA)
  
• Biotech industry - Medtronic
  
• Process engineer at Intel (UCLA PhD)
  
• Amazon.co.jp Senior Manager
  
• Lawyer - derivatives practice at JPMorgan (Columbia JD)
  
• Medical doctor - gastroenterology (UVA MD)
  
• US Environmental Protection Agency
  
• PhD student - materials science, Rice U (former NASA team lead)
  
• Lawyer; former staff to House of Representatives Committee on Science (Georgetown JD)
  
• "I work on quantitative stock trading out of my living room."
  
• Graduate student in Australia (UHawaii MS)
  
• Veterinarian (Tufts DVM)
  
• "A start-up focused on mobile money lending in Africa"
  
• Cirque du Soleil - Artistic Director (will begin Wharton MBA)
  
• IT Director - gift & loyalty card industry
  
• Apple - Senior Manager (iPhone) (MIT MS)
  
• Linguistics Professor at Harvard (MIT PhD)
  
• Medical doctor - soft tissue pathology (Boston U MD/PhD)
  
• Admissions officer - MIT

If you've made up your mind for sure about whether or not to attend MIT, please let us know your decision through the online reply form at MyMIT. You have three choices: tell us you're enrolling this fall (Yay! Welcome officially to the MIT Class of 2014!), that you're declining our offer of admission (it's okay, we know you're making the best choice for yourself), or to request a deferral/gap year(s) before enrolling at MIT (for a gap year, military service, or other reason). Let us know when you've decided, and for sure let us know by May 3.

An important note: MIT has no enrollment deposit. If you say "yes," you don't need to send us money to hold your place.

If you're still on the fence, we're happy to help. One resource we're providing this year is an online event hosted by the famous Mollie (a.k.a. molliebatmit), a 2006 graduate of MIT who majored in Biology and Brain & Cognitive Sciences. Mollie is currently a Ph.D. student at Harvard Medical School. She will be joined by Christina J, a junior from SoCal.

The event (exclusively for students admitted to the MIT Class of 2014, and especially for the Class of 2014 students who are still undecided) will be tomorrow (Thursday) at 8:00pm Boston time (EDT). Check your email for web link and password.

What questions are still on your mind? What can Mollie (or other MIT folks) help you with at this time?

My hope is that you will at least consider, just for a moment, taking a gap year (read on for details). If you are a member of the Class of 2014 and would like to request a one-year (or sometimes two-year) deferral from starting at MIT, it is super easy to do so. On your online reply form on your MyMIT portal, just choose

I will enroll at MIT and I request to defer my enrollment until the term beginning:

And then choose one of

• September, 2011 (1 gap/deferral year)
  
• September, 2012 (2 gap/deferral years)

We will then ask you to write us and tell us what you plan to do. We will grant a deferral for almost any reason (but generally not for continued schooling at a high school or university other than MIT). Come up with somewhat of a plan, and you'll probably be fine. Some MIT students in recent years deferred to spend a year in Israel, others to do intensive music study, others to read the great books. What you do is up to you.

I should also note that if your gap year plans are not certain by the May 3 enrollment deadline, you can instead select the "Enrolling" option on the reply form, and then you can request a deferral any time right up until Registration Day in September (though I strongly suggest you do so well before that). No worries.

And if you already have submitted your reply form telling us you're enrolling, again, no worries: you, too, can request a deferral any time right up until Registration Day in September (though, again, I strongly suggest you do so well before that).

Blogger alum Anthony wrote an excellent post on this very topic:

So you got into one of the best, most stimulating and resource-rich universities in the world. Welcome – MIT’s an amazing place (no matter what you’re here to study), and I bet you’re really eager to come – not just for Campus Preview Weekend, but to start your academic and life voyage as a freshman this fall semester. You’re probably already planning your summer, the changes from home to college ... what to bring, how you’ll spend those last days with friends and family, perhaps visiting your favorite childhood haunts in a last bid to say goodbye. But what if you held off on all that?

Sounds crazy, right? – because you want to get away from your parents as soon as possible, start your own life, and not be told when to go to bed and what not to eat... well, whatever the reason, college is a way to leave home that’s accepted by both your friends and your folks (no matter how conservative), and you’re all ready to GO. It feels like the "right thing to do," because after high school, don’t all good students go to college? And besides, what else would you do to prepare for that promising future you’ve always dreamed of (and, no doubt, the one everyone *expects* you to have)?

Let me ask you something else: if you had an entire year to do anything you want, with unlimited time, no expectations, no SATs or class ranks or gossip or student club presidencies to get in the way... what would you do? Let’s just pretend that after you graduate, instead of just returning to school in the fall, you finally get to work on that dream project, tinker in that lab, or spend a year overseas (all expenses paid) teaching something you know and learning everything you never knew all at the very same time. And you’d wake up every day knowing that MIT’s just down the road.

A few years back, the Associated Press has a nice story about "gap years" that was picked up by news organizations across the country. Since a number of years have passed, you'll have to visit an archive to read the full story, but I've pulled out some choice quotes below for comment.

Many college admissions officers support the idea [of deferring admission for a year or two]. While cautioning that a "gap year" between high school and college isn't for everyone -- and that just goofing off isn't worthwhile -- they say many students who take one return more confident and self-aware. [...]

Generally, schools make students submit a proposal beyond "lying on the beach," but often little more is required. The University of Chicago says it will grant deferrals for almost any reason as long as students don't apply elsewhere.

"It's reached the point where a lot of us in admissions are talking about ways to get students to just kind of relax," said Martha Merrill, dean of admission and financial aid at Connecticut College.

"Gap year" is a bit of a loaded term, I think, with images of British aristocracy vacationing in the south of France coming to mind. But during my years in admissions, I've seen students take some time before starting MIT for many great reasons. For example, one of my favorite students spent a year as an EMT in Israel before his freshman year. This gave him a lot of perspective on the world, and when he got his first bad grade at MIT, he knew that it wasn't a disaster, but rather an indication that he might want to reexamine his study habits and try a little harder next time. No crisis. Ultimately, his impact on MIT and the students around him was great, and his mentorship, with the help of his gap year's perspective, was invaluable to many students here.

The article also addressed the different kinds of gap years:

Gap years need not be a luxury for the rich. Some students use them to earn money for school. Many programs offer scholarships or compensation for labor; AmeriCorps offers a living allowance and education funding. Reardon says anyone would be hard-pressed during a gap year to spend the $30,000 or more many of them would be paying for college.

I'm not writing to say that all students should take some time off before starting college. But I do think that there is a bit of a stigma about such plans in many areas of the country, a stigma that should be eliminated. The AP writes:

In the United States, however, experts say the increasing stress of college admissions makes parents nervous about any kind of unusual path. "These are families that somehow see this as not part of the grand plan," said Gail Reardon, who founded a Boston company, Taking Off, that helps students plan gap years. Adds Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania: "Not wanting to break stride is the American way." [...] "I don't think there's any rational explanation to just run to college," [Gerrit Lansing, a student who took a gap year] said. "There's no reason. It's just what everyone does."

My friend Shaun over at the blog The International Counselor did a gap year entry that I have liked to link to, focusing on an extraordinary gap year tale about a future Stanford student:

Parents often worry about kids taking a year off between high school and college. My parents worried when I announced that I was moving to Australia for a year. They feared I would never go to university (I did) nor return home (I did, at least for a time before itchy feet got me moving). Taking a gap year is a wonderful opportunity to focus on something important to you. Take Samantha Larson. Stanford happily deferred her admission for a year. Her plan: Climb Chomolungma also known as Mt. Everest. And she did. Not only that. She became the youngest person to completed the seven summits challenge–summiting the highest peak on each of the seven continents.

From my years in admissions, the overwhelming sentiment from students who have taken a gap year has been:

No one ever regrets having taken a gap year, but plenty of people regret not having taken one.

The bottom line here is that it is okay to slow down. Life, college, career -- it's not a race. Feel free to write me if you need more information about taking a gap year, I'm happy to help.

Prof. Jonathan Gruber received his Bachelor Of Science in Course 14 (Economics) from MIT in 1987, and his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard in 1992. Since then, he has been a member of the Economics faculty at MIT. Here's an official biography and photograph, followed by the Q&A:

Dr. Jonathan Gruber is a Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught since 1992.  He is also the Director of the Health Care Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he is a Research Associate.  He is a co-editor of the Journal of Public Economics, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Health Economics.

Dr. Gruber received his B.S. in Economics from MIT, and his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard.  He has received an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, a FIRST award from the National Institute on Aging, and the Kenneth Arrow Award for the Best Paper in Health Economics in 1994.  He was also one of 15 scientists nationwide to receive the Presidential Faculty Fellow Award from the National Science Foundation in 1995.  Dr. Gruber was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2005, and in 2006 he received the American Society of Health Economists Inaugural Medal for the best health economist in the nation aged 40 and under.  Dr. Gruber's research focuses on the areas of public finance and health economics.  He has published more than 125 research articles, has edited six research volumes, and is the author of Public Finance and Public Policy, a leading undergraduate text.

During the 1997-1998 academic year, Dr. Gruber was on leave as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department. He was a key architect of Massachusetts' ambitious health reform effort, and in 2006 became an inaugural member of the Health Connector Board, the main implementing body for that effort.  In that year, he was named the 19th most powerful person in health care in the United States by Modern Healthcare Magazine.  During the 2008 he was a consultant to the Clinton, Edwards and Obama Presidential campaigns and was called by the Washington Post, "possibly the [Democratic] party's most influential health-care expert."

Q. Can you tell us about your current research work?

A. My current research focuses primarily on health economics issues. I am undertaking several studies of the Medicare Part D program, which provides prescription drug coverage for elders, looking at how elders are doing making their choice of Part D plans and the impact on their well-being. I am also examining what determines hospital quality, focusing on aspects such as how hospital strikes impact patient outcomes and how patient outcomes vary based on how far they live from a "high quality" hospital. And I am studying an Oregon program which allocated health insurance coverage by lottery!

Q. Can you tell us about an undergraduate course that you teach?

A. I teach both basic introductory microeconomics (14.01) and an undergraduate elective, Public Finance and Public Policy (14.41)

Q. Why did you choose to come to MIT?

A. I chose to come to MIT twice - in 1983 as a student, and again in 1992 as a Professor. In both cases I came here because it was so obviously the best place to be!

Q. What do you remember from when you first stepped on the MIT campus?

A. I don't remember 1983! But for 1992 I remember how weird it was to be back at MIT - I never conceived of coming back as a Professor!

Q. What were you involved with on campus as an undergraduate?

A. I was on the tennis team and worked on the MIT Yearbook my first couple years. Then I got more focused on campus politics. I was the very first student representative to the CAP [Committee on Academic Performance]!

Q. What is exciting about Economics at MIT?

A. What is incredibly exciting is that we have the best faculty in the world along with one of the smallest economics programs of major universities, so that our undergraduates have unparalleled access to leading economics researchers. Combine that with the research possibilities of the UROP program and you end up with a wonderful place to study economics as an undergraduate.

Q. What advice would you give to a student beginning their undergraduate years in Economics?

A. Keep your eyes open! Take a broad interest and don't prejudge what will catch your fancy - you never know....

I'll be one of the people in charge of passing around the microphones after Prof. Gruber's speech on Friday -- what questions might you want to ask?

Prof. Nancy Kanwisher received her Bachelor Of Science in Course 7 (Biology) from MIT in 1980, and her Ph.D. in Course 9 (Brain & Cognitive Sciences), also from MIT, in 1986. Since 1997, she has been a member of the Brain & Cognitive Sciences faculty at MIT. Here's an official biography, followed by an official photograph, followed by the Q&A:

Nancy Kanwisher is the Ellen Swallow Richards Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a founding member of the McGovern Institute. She joined the MIT faculty in 1997, and prior to that was a faculty member at UCLA and Harvard University. In 1999, she received the National Academy of Sciences Troland Research Award. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.

A. In my lab we are tackling one of the most fundamental questions any scientist can ask: What is the nature of the human mind? Much of our work uses a brain imaging method called functional MRI, which enables us to watch small parts of the human brain turn on and off as people think different thoughts. We have already discovered several parts of the brain that are very specialized for particular tasks, like recognizing faces and recognizing places. My colleague Rebecca Saxe has even discovered a brain region that is specialized for thinking about what another person is thinking. We are now trying to better understand each of these brain regions--what exactly they do, how they do it, and how they arise in development--as well as looking for other special-purpose parts of the brain and mind.

Q. Can you tell us about an undergraduate course that you teach?

A. In my undergrad course students go straight to the cutting edge of brain imaging research. They learn not only what is known and what is not about the functional organization of the human brain - they also learn how to understand, critique, and design brain imaging experiments. By the end of the course they can read a recent journal article that uses brain imaging methods, and usually find its flaws and design their own better version of the same experiment. They also learn what kinds of inferences can be drawn from what kind of data. Finally, students also give talks in class, and get lots of individualized feedback to improve their speaking and writing skills.

Q. Why did you choose to come to MIT?

A. MIT is the most intellectually exciting environment I have ever seen. It is also also the closest thing I have ever found to a true meritocracy. At MIT no one cares what you look like, how you dress (to put it mildly), who you know, or whether you are 16 years old or 60. They only care if you have an interesting idea.

Q. What advice would you give to a student beginning their undergraduate years in Brain & Cognitive Sciences?

A. Get involved in research as soon as possible. Lots of universities have good courses. What is most special about MIT is the fact that our undergraduates can become central players in the hottest, most revolutionary, most life-changing research going on anywhere in the world.

I'll be one of the people in charge of passing around the microphones after Prof. Kanwisher's speech on Friday -- what questions might you want to ask?

Check out your MyMIT Portal: Over at MyMIT, you'll find a bunch of stuff only available to admitted students, including:

• Campus Preview Weekend Registration: Please register for CPW by March 25 or when your travel plans are solidified, whichever is sooner. Also, when you fill out your CPW registration form, give us as much specific information as you can; this will help us make your CPW experience as good as possible. Finally, please complete the Medical Release Form.

  Notes to the wise: if you're flying in, book your plane tickets early. If your parents are joining you, have them book their hotel early. I highly recommend hotels that are within walking distance of MIT -- driving and parking in Boston is not a good experience.

• Local Admitted Students Meetings: During MIT Spring Break next week, MIT alumni across the globe will be hosting gathering for the Class of 2014, as nearby campus as Providence, Rhode Island, and as far away as Singapore. There will be meetings in dozens of locales, including New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington (both the state -- in Seattle -- as well as the District of Columbia), Miami, Chicago, and many more. RSVP information is included.

• Class of 2014 Guestbook: Hundreds of your classmates have checked in to introduce themselves. Since only admitted students can enter themselves on the guestbook, it's a good way to share your contact information securely with your future classmates, and to get emails and screennames to be in touch with fellow MIT 2014s!

• The MIT Reply Form: As soon as you've made up your mind for sure about whether or not to attend MIT -- after you've received your financial aid package, come for CPW, or anything else that you need to make your decision -- please let us know your decision through the online reply form. You have three choices: tell us you're enrolling this fall (Yay! Welcome officially to the MIT Class of 2014!), that you're declining our offer of admission (it's okay, we know you're making the best choice for yourself), or to request a deferral/gap year(s) before enrolling at MIT (for a gap year, military service, or other reason). Take as much time as you need to make your decision (and if we can help, please let us know), but be sure to let us know by May 1.

• Overnight Program Registration: If you can't make it for CPW, don't despair, you can still come visit through our Overnight Program. Please register at least two weeks in advance, and we'll do our best to show you MIT.

Join the Facebook Group: Facebook is a great place to meet your future classmates and get questions answered by current students. Here it is: MIT Class of 2014.

Join in a Live Chat!: This Tuesday evening, and again the following Tuesday, we'll have some very cool video chats, with special guests! Watch your email and MyMIT for more information...

Await Financial Aid Info: I know many of you are eagarly awaiting finanial aid information... don't despair! Financiad Aid packages for Early Action students were mailed last week, and packages for Regular Action students were mailed yesterday.

Finally, Class of 2014, what would you like to see us do blog entries on over the coming month or so? How can we be best helpful for you as you make your college decision?