Mites '12 Alumnus to Study Abroad in Germany for a Year

As he jets off to Germany for a year through the prestigious CBYX Scholars Program, Yhan, '12, is going to be blogging about his once in a lifetime gap-year opportunity to study abroad on his new blog: Nur Alle Jubeljahre. Let's just hope that he doesn't only post 'once in a blue moon', as Germany seems like such an exciting place and we want to hear about it! Good luck, Yhan! He'll be heading to Columbia University in the fall of 2014.

Click here to read this article in La Prensa, a Floridian Spanish newspaper that features Yhan.

Destiny, maybe?

des·ti·ny  

/ˈdestinē/

Noun 1.      2. The hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future; fate.

1)      Takes a plane to the U.S., alone. Leaves family behind. Doesn’t even know proper English. Starts school at one of the top 3 worst cities of MA. Gets straight A’s the first term of school (regardless of mild depression for being far from home and not knowing English).

2)      Applies to MITES. Doesn’t submit PSAT/SAT scores. Hasn’t even heard of AP classes. Gets in. Summer’s successful.

3)      Tries to get an Internship for the following summer (money is an important fact). Finds an open application but work site is at Boston. Gets the job. Doesn’t even live in Boston. Thinks of denying the job. Gets informed that expenses and internship are paid. Plus a free trip to DC.

4)      Applies to dream school with the hope of leaving MA. Doesn’t get in. Applies to safety schools in MA. Gets in with full rides. Match schools (3 out of 4 located outside of MA) don’t seem to reply on time, except for one, which she hates (Funnily enough, the one located in MA). Starts to feel lost and thinks of taking a gap year.

5)      Decides to go to one of the safety schools. Feels miserable. Applies to scholarships regardless of full ride. Goes to visit previously  mentioned hated school which is beyond expensive. Falls in love with campus and students. Still not enough money to pay for it. Gets a scholarship that covers full cost for the next 4 years.  Commits to the no longer hated school (in MA). 

6)      Receives 3 acceptance letters 2 days after committing. All the other reach schools that seemed to be lost in space (and are locate outside of MA). Starts doubting if committing was a good choice. Receives financial award letters. None of them offered nearly as much money as the no longer hated school. Wise decision.

7)      Starts off with no friends.  Ends up with a new family. Very loved by the way. Most of the new friends are moving to the Boston area. No longer hated school is within an hour from them. 

So, should I believe in destiny? I think yes.

From Expectation to Reality: A Rude Awakening

Good morning all! After all my hard work this school year, I've gotten accepted by all my reach schools with a ton of scholarships and absurdly high honors. See you next fall! ;)

And Happy April Fools Day to all of you too!

So after the MITES program, when it came to applying to colleges, I was the cockiest kid in school this year. Thinking my good grades were inherited, I transitioned form taking zero AP classes junior year to three senior year. Since I had just taken the courses at MITES, I was on top of the game in my math and science classes. I became very proud, and in turn, very lazy. The CE² program added to the flame. Additionally, despite turning in everything while approaching the deadline, I became a QuestBridge finalist. While I doubted that I would be matched to a college, I knew MIT would accept me early action, and if they didn't, then there was always regular decision. I knew I could pull through.

Suddenly, as early action approached, I became very nervous alongside everyone else. Would I really be accepted to a school like this? I was treated sweetly by the admissions committee by mail numerous times. After a nerve-wracking hour of waiting for decisions and refreshing, I found out I had been rejected. It was then that I went to bed in tears in the middle of the afternoon. Maybe transfer admissions or graduate school could work, I said to myself. I thought about getting into a local school just so I could transfer over and make myself look better from a simple school. Eventually, I stopped and moved on.

While I applied to many of the big-name top-tier schools, I hastily completed my main Common App application and lazily completed the supplements. In some cases, I worked on supplements depending on how close each deadline was approaching. I cringed at having to pay about $70 total for sending additional CSS profiles and SAT score reports to the schools I applied. Meanwhile, my grades dropped first semester from a lack of focus at home and wildly changing sleep habits.

After finishing applications for some safety schools of my choice, I received my first acceptance letter from BYU-Idaho exactly two weeks after applying. That next week I received my acceptance letters from BYU and Drexel. These things uplifted my mood during February. The next thing to put a grin on my face happened at my dual-credit program's Saturday Academy, when I was told I would be guaranteed an acceptance at Rowan University if I applied. I received the letter about a week ago along with a $15,000 merit scholarship from the school if I applied, not including the $10,000 state grant money on the table. The offer was very tempting.

After all the good fortune I received from these schools, I waited patiently on Ivy Day for my college decisions. After scrolling through anxiety over college decisions on my newsfeeds, the time finally arrived! After an hour of madness, I found out that I was rejected by all of my applied schools except for Columbia, where I was waitlisted. For having Columbia as my third choice this year, I thought I did pretty well. I felt pretty bad for those school friends of mine who also applied to a few Ivy League schools and did not make it at all.

Here I am about to head off on a train to another city to spend time with friends there. I am really hoping to go to Columbia from my position on the waitlist. For now, I am simply deciding between two BYU campuses, Rowan, and Drexel. Wherever I go, I want to be able to go not only for myself, but also also on behalf of my friends and family who also go through struggles sometimes worse than my own. I want to ignite inspiration in others within my community to reach beyond the stereotypes of "one of the poorest, most dangerous cities in America."

Disappointments, Expectations, and Reality.

Hello, Liliana here!

I thought that it would be appropriate for me to follow up with the promise I made in my last post. It has been more than a month, and I’m pretty much set with my college decisions. (Go to my last post so you don’t feel lost.)

Well, first things first. Sadly, I wasn’t admitted into MIT. Apparently those dreams didn't have a hidden message. Hold on to your tears tho! I’m more than satisfied with the things that I accomplished at MIT and am well aware of the high amount of applicants every year. I knew how unlikely it would be for me to get in (I remember confessing my terrible low SAT scores and lack of academics) but I don’t regret giving it a shot.

I think my topic for this post will be disappointments, expectations, and reality.  To start off, let me tell you what a difficult month this has been for me. I applied to 12 colleges/universities this year, and have only been admitted to 6. That’s half of my list (This is the part where disappointment comes).  I have been offered admission to most of my state schools and some good private schools in MA. You may want to know that Purdue University (one of the top schools for Engineering in the country) is also among the list. GO BOILER MAKERS WOHO!

Now you may think, “Wow, I’m so happy for her. Her dream of going to a good college came true.” Well, not really. But I didn't know that at the moment. You see, when I got my acceptance letter I was elated. Beyond shocked. Excited enough to start packing my bags to move to Indiana (not really lol). When I decided to come to the U.S., I had big expectations for myself. I dreamed about being successful, being able to provide for my family, and receiving the best education out there.  Purdue definitely represented all of those things and I couldn't wish for anything else.

However, not everything is as it seems. All of my plans changed when I received my financial aid package and realized that not even in a million years could I afford Purdue. (This is where reality comes to play). No matter how much I begged, how many times I called their offices, how many scholarships I applied to, I couldn't pay for my dream school. Of course, taking loans came to my mind right away. But after thinking about it non-stop, and having crazy dreams about counting money, I came up with a decision.  

Why worry so much about something so simple? Education is education, no matter where you go. It doesn't matter if you go to a community college, a state school, or an Ivy League. You will get an education! What matters is what you do with it. That’s what’s gonna define how your life is going to be.

Short story short, I denied my Purdue offer. I’m actually thinking of attending to a state school during freshman year. But my story doesn't end here, no no! This is only the beginning for me. I hope to find my true passions, draft a plan to pursue them, and then set the plan in motion. After that is done, I plan to transfer out. To where? I don’t know yet. Ask me next year and I’ll tell you.

I’m really excited for the fall. I can already see amazing things happening. Being positive always helps even in the worst situations. We don’t always get what we want, but we can keep trying until we get something similar to it. That is what I’m planning to do. I’m gonna keep trying, keep applying, keep studying, and (of course) keep being positive. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up on the top of the world one day.

It is not that cold in MA anymore. The sun is actually out even though it is 6:00pm. Summer is approaching, and with it comes the start of an amazing internship opportunity I was offered (will explain in other post). Life is great. Hope yours is as good. Keep dreaming big. Best wishes and good luck to all of you who are trying to pursue something big. (Wish me luck, too).

Shades on,

Lily-

The Six Months Post

So I have been postponing this blogpost for quite some time now (6 months to be exact) , but  I think it's rather appropriate that I write a few words to describe this amazing and life changing experience, specially now that I have been accepted into MIT. I will try to provide an account that focuses on exploring how this experience truly ignited inspiration in me and how my life has changed as a result. It will be long though so you have been warned!

It's midnight in what has to be one of the most unremarkable (up to that point) days in my life. I'm laying down on my bed listening to some combination of Queen and Boston ,  just moments away from a complete shutdown to rest , and my calm and peace is just completely desecrated by the cold, loud, and obnoxious alert sound of an incoming email. I lift my phone look at It and find myself in utter disbelief to find a letter of admission to the 2012 MITES program. I ran upstairs woke up my family and told them the good news. This is where the journey began.

Fast forward two or so months and I find myself at the door of Simmons hall. Buzz, click, open, and I'm in to meet with my MITES T.A's. I'm informed that I'm in a cluster and that Alex will be the man in charge of keeping tabs on us for the next six weeks (an effort that resulted in records worthy of a Carmen San Diego adventure). I placed all my belongings in my room and went downstairs to await the remaining group to arrive, and there they were, the BLOCKS! Little congruent pieces of wood that captivated my imagination and led me to configure them into structures that deftly defied physics. Soon the rest of MITES arrived and by the end of the day we had built a metropolis, we had skyscrapers, bridges, convention centers, etc; all built by people that had never ever met before.In this manner these bricks became the first step in building (excuse the pun) our MITES family and consequently Igniting Inspiration in all of us.From that point on I soon realized that this program would be more than a glorified six week torture test for my academic skills.

It's week two going on three and I'm absolutely struggling to keep up with all the work that I'm given,  I can't seem to wrap my head around this way of thinking and problem solving, and frustration is reaching peak levels. Midterms come and I do well, but not great. It may seem weird to talk about failure as a good thing but thats MITES for you. looking back on this time when I was at my lowest I can see that it was necessary to truly ignite inspiration in me. Up to this point  I had been trying to do everything on my own, the work, studying, etc; and it wasn't working. So in order to become succesful I had to let go. I began to work with others and ensure that I asked for help when I needed it and I quickly found out that my MITES family had my back.

The following weeks were not easier, but they were the most important. I learned like never before and I finally began to realize my potential ( Electronics class FTW!) , I didn't get perfect grades but I was learning and being fascinated by everything and that made me happy. I had my cluster, my shenanigans , Ohm's Law , the Bohemian Rhapsody club, etc; all of which came together to form the MITES family, the spark.

I can't say when or where exactly MITES Ignited inspiration in me, It's like trying to identify the match that lit a forest, impossible, and in the long run irrelevant. What I can say however is what It left me with. Igniting inspiration has simply told me to be a role model it doesn't matter if it be by working hard towards my dreams, helping others, or which ever other means I find appropriate ; the point is to simply be one,  for by inspiring others we not only create change in them, but also in ourselves, and ultimately in all. I will leave you my dear reader with this quote to summarize this post  and the message it carries, “If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.