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MIT is my home. There is no other way to say it. Over the years (let’s just say I’ve been here awhile), this place has gradually morphed from a place…
Inaccurate Prior Probabilities
The day after I committed to MIT for my PhD, a wave of panic set over me. I felt like I was about to repeat a disaster. I’d tried moving…
Teaching as a Graduate Student
When I signed up to be a teaching assistant for MIT’s performance engineering course (6.172) in Fall 2017, multiple people warned me about how much work it would be. Their…
Option B
On November 1st, 2017, I lost my father. He was one of my best friends. And now, instead of my best friend, all I have left is memories and emotions.…
From Neurons to Language
When I was waitlisted for MIT undergraduate admissions, I put together a statement that would serve as an addendum to my application. It included a Venn diagram that depicted my…
Auspicious Boston Snow
As an old Chinese saying goes, “A timely snow promises a good harvest.” In China, it is thought, snow at the New Year always brings some good luck. In early…
The Duality of a Dual Program
Since the dawn of human civilization, we have been fascinated with duality: good and evil, yin and yang, darkness and light. (Oh yeah, light — the epitome of duality in…
To stay in academia or not, that is the question
Should I stay in academia or not after I graduate? It’s a question that most PhD students find themselves asking at some point in their graduate careers. Some have unequivocal…
PhD and a Baby
I wasn’t married when I got to MIT, but I had a boyfriend named Randy who moved up to Boston with me. Two years in, we discover that it is,…
Drawing the Lines of Work-Life Balance
Most mornings, I don’t set an alarm. As a student in cognitive science, when I’m not working with participants, almost all of my work is done on the computer and…
Remember That Undergraduate Internship?
I did not know I was considering graduate school until the beginning of my senior year. During undergrad, I felt like a squirrel in a nut factory jumping at every…
Defense of the Ancients
After losing an 82 minute Dota2 match, maybe it is time for me to step back and write a brief, informative post about competitive video gaming and how it helps…
Are You Alive Still?
“Are you alive still?” the text read. My wife Alex woke up in a panic. 4:41 AM and the bed was still empty next to her. My team and I…
Impostor Syndrome vs. the Scientific Method
I received my acceptance letter to MIT a few days after the 2017 Oscars – shortly after a human error led to the wrong film being announced as Best Picture winner…
What Do I Do with My Spare Change?
I am now at that age (25!) where I have become too old not A) to be fully aware of my financial situation and its grim reality, and B) to…
Dressing Down for Success
What you need to know about me: I am a 25 year old white female, 5’5”, with long legs and a burst of tangled brown curly hair. I have more…
Sticky Little Scientists
The excited squeals of a young child as she bursts into a new place designed just for her to explore can be a magical thing to witness; but multiply that…
Behind on the race towards education
Skimming through current MIT undergraduates’ CVs (for potential UROPs), I realized I probably wouldn’t have gotten into MIT for an undergraduate degree. There wasn’t really anything exciting about me five…
Being very far away…
Dear Friend, I am going to tell you a very personal story that has changed my perspective towards the many challenges that become default as you move forward as an…
Myths Worth Busting to Stay Sane in Grad School
Caricatures by Maria G. (Zoya’s sister) As we approach the middle of the second semester and inch on all-fours towards the summer, we look back at what we’ve gained and…
An Open Letter to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Dear Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, When we first met, I was a chubby fifteen-year-old kid. I had no real experience with martial arts, nor any natural physical ability I could call “athleticism.”…
Let’s Break Down Echo Chambers
“Luckily, we live in a blue, blue state. I mean, if you don’t like living in a blue state… well, too bad.” I shivered. I was at a mandatory ethics…
Undercover Art
Before coming to MIT, I had this idea in my head that it was a super tech focused, STEM-driven institution. And it is, in many ways. But thinking of it…
Turning to the Dark Side
Last semester I Ubered home every night. Often times I got into interesting talks with the drivers. Whenever my PhD study came up in conversations, two of the most typical…
Exploring Options
After arriving at MIT in September, I was excited to begin rotating in labs. I did my research, so I knew what professors I wanted to work with. I was…
Literature Review for Pleasure
Literature review – nothing strikes terror into a graduate student’s heart more than these two words! You can’t live with it, you can’t live without it. Considered an essential part…
Build Bridges, not Walls
When the movie Arrival came out in 2016, I was overjoyed: for the first time, a woman linguist was the main character in a Hollywood movie, not to mention the…
Every Scientist is a Sherlock Holmes
This summer I voluntarily stayed up all night for about nine days to stare at some computer screens and push some buttons. Voluntarily, I became a true night dweller by…
Be Wrong
When I was in college I smacked my head on the same tree branch three times within a single month. A year later, during a particularly hectic period, two glass…
Ayşe, Ali, and Oya
After seventeen years of being a student at three different schools, in three different countries. I have come to the resounding conclusion that students can more or less be placed…
Craving a Lemon Poppyseed Muffin
Five years ago, I ate a red velvet muffin every morning for about six weeks. It was the first semester of my freshman year, and I enjoyed the community of…
Wow, You’re at MIT! You Must be a Genius!
“Wow, you’re at MIT? You must be a genius!” Um. Not sure how to answer that. Look down at my shoes. Nervous laugh. “Uh, thanks?” The random passerby who saw…
Finding My Home
“70 Pacific Street. I guess this is it,” my dad declared as we pulled the minivan to the front entrance. The nine-story brick building loomed over us like Mount Everest.…
Out of the lab, into the Rice Paddy
I’ll pose this question to the MIT and scientific community: how would you identify and separate healthy rice grains from empty or insect-damaged grains to feed to the chickens? As…
Have something to say or share? Then blog about it!
Hi MIT Grads! The MIT Graduate Admissions Blog is excited to announce its second IAP workshop on blog writing. In brief, Attend a 3-day blogging workshop: January 16, 18, and…
