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ComMITted

On the twenty first of April 2017, I turned nineteen. I also accepted the offer of admission to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I had received the acceptance letter four months ago, on the fifteenth of December at Tau time. I had put in a lot of efforts and energy in my application. I loved  joking that I will put so many amazing things in my application that the admission officers would have no other choice but  to accept me. I had taken multiple videos to submit with my portfolio- which I ended up not adding to the portfolio. I wrote a poem putting together my love of science and fashion. I secretly think it was one of the reasons I was admitted.

On pie day, the regular admissions decisions were released, and consequently the platform to respond to the admission decision was opened. I didn't respond right away, even though I knew my answer would be yes anyways. After being admitted to MIT, I never bothered to apply to any other college or university. For one,it was expensive  and time consuming. In addition, MIT was- and still is- my one and only dream school. The love for other schools was just a defense mechanism. I didn't want to be too hurt if I got rejected. I usually don't like thinking about things I have no control over, so I never gauged my chances of admission. Instead, I poured all my energy in a comeback plan. I told myself that applying early action gave me the freedom to apply to other schools, and so I started working on the essays. The day before the decisions came out, I wrote outlines to all the other college essays I had to write.

After being admitted, I was elated, but one problem remained. I had not yet submitted my financial aid application. I knew well enough that it would be impossible for me to go to MIT, if I didn't get a significant amount of financial aid. Delaying the submission seemed like wrong a move, so I pressured my counselor to no avail. He had lots of stuff to do, and apparently my financial aid application was not a priority for the deadline was in February. The CSS profile was finally sent in mid-January, and I had to struggle with finding some documents for the application to be finalized. Everything was sent in a little more than a week before the deadline. On the sixteenth of February, I received the financial aid package. I had a full ride! To make things better, the national exams result had come out earlier in the day, and I had a perfect score.

There was nothing else stopping me from going to MIT. I had been admitted, and gotten great financial aid. Unlike other cross adMITs who had to choose between multiple top ranking Universities, MIT was my only choice. Accepting the offer of admission seemed like a mere formality until I decided that it wasn't. It meant letting​ it be my home for the next four years. I would immerse myself in the culture to the point of diluting my own. I would meet amazing people, and I would form relationships that last a lifetime. By accepting​ to be part of the MIT class of 2021, I would be creating a new path in my life. It had to count.

A little after midnight, I logged into MyMIT, and started filling out the six page survey. I had answered most of the questions before, so it was just sliding by. I was overjoyed when I saw the welcome message to the class of 2021. I almost shed a tear- or two- of happiness. This was the day I had decided to start a new path in the journey that was my life. It was also the day I turned nineteen. Every year I shall celebrate my birthday, knowing that it was the day I made a decision that would open up multiple doors for me.

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