Similar questions and talk invites continuously slide on my direct messages. Since sometimes I donât have the luxury of âtimeâ, I hope this will enlighten those in search of answers.
Q: Whatâs your academic background?
A: I did the first half of college at Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) with a Mechanical Engineering major and decided to transfer for the last half to the University of Maryland (UMD) where I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. I officially dropped out of ITB after the school noticed I took too many leave of absence as I used the time studying at UMD. After graduating from college and 3 years of working experience, I continued my study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for my masterâs degree in Supply Chain Management.
Q: Why did you apply to all these schools you went to?
A: I chose ITB because itâs the closest to my grandparentâs home, itâs the best in the country, I didnât have to take the entrance test, and it ran through my family. I chose UMD because my dad graduated from there, itâs home state, and I was âunofficially adoptedâ or entrusted to stay close with my host family in Maryland. I chose MIT because graduate school would be the largest investment I would ever made in my mid 20s. So I needed to make sure I went to the top 10 schools in the world no matter what.
Q: How did you get into MIT?
A: I honestly think it was pure luck as I was so ready to get rejected. I was not a straight A 4.0 GPA student, my GRE was slightly around the average, my work experience was only 2.5 years by the time I applied while the average was 5 years. If I may guess, maybe itâs because of my cover letter/essay and my vision towards global supply chain. Maybe because of all the improvement and achievement I made from college to professional work. Maybe because of recommendation letters from my providers which I never knew what they wrote about. Maybe itâs because of my overall extracurricular activities beyond the classroom. Maybe because of my leadership experience that fits into MIT culture. Maybe because I insisted that only MIT has resources for me to reach my dreams. To date, I donât know how the school admission office selects admitted students. All I could do was completing all the requirements as best as I could and pray to God to allow me to do so.
Q: What criterias do admission offices look for and what can I do to get accepted?
A: Sadly to say similar like the above answer as Iâve never been an admission officer. They evaluate us as a person holistically through our entire application. There are a couple things I would highly suggest if you are not confident with your application just yet. First is to find that âbalanceâ â if youâre not a straight A student, maybe you can add more work and leadership experience; if youâre not comfortable with your GRE score, maybe put extra attention to your essay; and so on. So if youâre lacking in one criteria, you should be better at least in one other thing. Second, make sure to communicate all your best traits by diversifying your narrative throughout your application. For instance, donât put the same content under both resume and essay. Rather, harness the essay to talk about other details not covered in the resume. Third, think of application as a moment of reflection on what you want to do in life and what kind of academic environment you want to be in. Point out why you think the school has to choose you instead of thousands others? What unique values can you bring in this era of diversity and inclusion? Take as much time as you can to contemplate and ask feedback from recently admitted students to navigate your vision.
Q: Why did you pick your majors?
A: Frankly I am a generalist and it was hard for me to narrow down to specialize just in one thing back then in high school as I enjoyed pretty much everything related to STEM except biology. I was inspired by my grandfather who used to be a mechanical engineer and therefore I followed his path to build a basic engineering foundation. It was not a straightforward passion for me to land in the supply chain field, but I always like to see processes on how things are being made. It began from manufacturing and production but I also like business finance, like how things are valued. So I saw supply chain covers both and I like it by looking from a strategic level.
Q: Why did you transfer from ITB to UMD? ITB is already the best engineering school in Indonesia.
A: I got accepted into ITB in the first place without entrance test at all nor SAT or the like, but rather based on my high school report. It had been my intention to return to the US and after completing sophomore year, I sensed that the urgency was even more vivid. I transferred primarily due to a non-conducive academic and societal environment and the fact that I wanted to work in the US. It was more credible if I was a US graduate while seeking to network in the country.
Q: How did you transfer from ITB to UMD? Was it a program between two campuses?
A: No, there was no such transfer program from Indonesia in general. In the US, itâs really common for students to transfer from one university to the other between sophomore and junior year. So I simply followed all their requirements listed in their website.
The hardest part was transferring all the credits from Indonesia to the US. I was the first student transferring from ITB to UMD. Hence there was no record of one subject at ITB being equal to the one registered at UMD. I even asked my mom to scan all the notes I had to convince the principal at UMD that I had taken the class and negotiated to get tested instead of taking the class again for another semester. Both credit systems are just slightly different i.e. some courses that are divided into two semesters at ITB can be equal to one semester at UMD. I would say 90% of my courses at ITB were successfully transferred over. This excludes physical education, Indonesian language, and religion.
Q: Whatâs the difference between college in Indonesia and the US?
A: In Indonesia, lectures heavily rely on textbooks, you can pretty much not go to school and still be able to do homework and exams. Studentâs profile is generally divided into school, organization, and sleep. Less opportunity for students to have part-time work while in school. Even internships are being âenforcedâ to ensure students get professional experience, otherwise maybe only a handful of them will have one experience before they graduate from college. Hiring process in Indonesiaâs job market is relatively easier compared to the US as you don't have to network with the insider. Indonesians are more communal people and they like to make long lasting friendships. Even though weâve been separated for years, I still have Indonesian close friends separated in many states and countries.Â
In the US, lectures have more hands-on experience, more research based, and critical discussions are highly valued as participation in class. The US education system is also more solid and has well-structured curricula across all courses and majors. The professors have dedicated office hours outside class time for students to ask questions, have discussions with them, and they are very supportive of students' success. Plenty of opportunities for students to get part-time, internship, and research. Hence the studentâs profile is generally divided into school, organization, and work. If youâre serious about academics and career, your social lifestyle is no longer just random chit-chating but more towards networking. The US job market is very competitive and you must network with people to get a job. Because of that âtransactionalâ nature, I would say I have fewer close friends after graduating as we separated into industries.
Q: How did you finance your tuition and living cost?
A: scholarship and grants from the schools, working part-time, personal savings, and family loans. In the US, there are plenty of hidden grants that are not listed in school websites â especially need-based grants from endowment and alumni donations. My strategy is always about getting in first, proof that I got accepted in the first place, then think about how to pay it later. Once you get in, ask the finance department of all their grant resources in detail.
Q: Did you have language barriers or experienced culture shock while transitioning?
A: It was pretty smooth and I didnât have issues in making new friends in both countries despite the fact that I'm a woman of color wearing a hijab. I tend to have stammer and I cannot switch between languages in a split of time. For instance, if I have a long day full of English, it takes a couple minutes to speak Indonesian â and vice versa. I cannot do what Jaksel people can do by mixing English and Indonesian in a sentence. Thatâs way more confusing to me.
Q: Whatâs the most challenging part of being an MIT student?
A: Machine Learning. Even though I was majoring in supply chain, machine learning course was mandatory. I think machine learning may become the new English -- youâre left behind if you donât use it. There were two options: taking it from supply chain major (related to supply chain practice) or computer science major (6.482 modelling with machine learning). I picked 6.482 from computer science major because it was taught by Tommi Jaakkola and Regina Barzilay -- a world-renowned genius. and maaan, that was wild!
If you have more questions not answered above, please feel free to let me know. Thanks!
