Best Computer School?

[Hal Abelson <hal@hal.hpl.hp.com>]

Rick Osborne <osborne@gateway.grumman.com> writes:

   The only thing I didn't have that the next MIT applicant had was money.  I
   made the mistake of letting them know that I was dirt poor and would need
   full aid/grants/etc, and to quote "The Great Escape" it was "Zzzt! To the
   Russian front!"

Just to set the record straight, MIT's admissions is need-blind.  Lots
of things go into our admissions decisions, but whether or not an
applicant needs financial aid is not one of them.  Admissions and
financial aid are handled out of separate offices, and the people
making the admissions decisions don't even see the financial aid
requests.

One exception: We are experimenting with the possibility of
considering the amount of aid needed in the case of a few
international applicants, but even here this is only a minor
consideration for a small number of applicants.  For domestic
applicants, financial aid plays no role at all in the admissions
decision.

-- Hal Abelson