Not sure what to think about this

[solairne]

So I got a packet today in the mail from MIT with a bunch of descriptions of textbooks and such and an order form for them. I haven't gotten an acceptance or rejection letter from MIT. Is this just something that is mass mailed out to all applicants or something else? I don't have my hopes too high, but I figured it was worth asking here since the grad offices are closed this weekend.

Thanks

Edited January 17, 2010 by solairne

[johndiligent]

For your own sanity, I'd assume it's a general mailing, at least until you get something more formal. You don't want to get your hopes up for nothing.

[solairne]

For your own sanity, I'd assume it's a general mailing, at least until you get something more formal. You don't want to get your hopes up for nothing.

I'm not really as MIT isn't my first choice. I'm just curious about what this is.

[fuzzylogician]

Sounds like general mailing. MIT ling announce admissions via phone, not mail. Anyway, as far as I know, the adcomm still hasn't finished making its decisions (at least as of Jan 7).

[solairne]

Sounds like general mailing. MIT ling announce admissions via phone, not mail. Anyway, as far as I know, the adcomm still hasn't finished making its decisions (at least as of Jan 7).

So they call if you're accepted and mail if you're not?

[fuzzylogician]

They call if you're accepted. According to the results search they either mail or email if you're rejected. They do all this in late February or March.

[solairne]

They call if you're accepted. According to the results search they either mail or email if you're rejected. They do all this in late February or March.

Right, I saw about all of the rejections via mail, but I thought MIT notified acceptances as early as January. I might be wrong, though.

[fuzzylogician]

I guess it's possible. I actually haven't been in Cambridge for a few weeks so I don't really know what's going on, except what they tell us in emails. Will know more when I get back there next week. But at least last year everyone I talked to said they were notified around the same time - the last few days of February. I met those people on the school-tour in March, so I guess it's possible that someone who was admitted much earlier also visited much earlier.

[LifeIsGood]

This could be totally wrong, but this sounds like the catalogs I get all the time from university presses trying to sell me new books in my field. Are they from MIT Press? Could it just be a coincidence that you applied and got on their press mailing list at the same time? Or maybe they put applicants on the mailing list?

[solairne]

This could be totally wrong, but this sounds like the catalogs I get all the time from university presses trying to sell me new books in my field. Are they from MIT Press? Could it just be a coincidence that you applied and got on their press mailing list at the same time? Or maybe they put applicants on the mailing list?

No idea, really. It is from MIT Press, but I've never received anything like that before. It is totally possible, though, that they are just mailing people who applied. That seems sort of weird, and a waste of resources, though.