What do you get if you divide the circumference of a jack-o’-lantern by its diameter? Pumpkin π.

The joke quipped by comedian John Evans may be funny, but for many math enthusiasts pi is no laughing patter.

March 14 — the third month and 14th day — is celebrated every year to commemorate the mathematical constant pi due to its similarity to the figures of the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter — approximately 3.14.

For St. Aloysius High School Senior Jacob Kitchens, pi day could change his life.

Kitchens applied to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he will find out Saturday if he is accepted.

Kitchens said normally MIT announces its decisions at 1:59 p.m. to continue the number for pi, but with this year being 2015, the numbers continued through the year — 3/14/15 — so the decision will be announced at 9:26 a.m. to extend the seemingly infinite number a few more decimal points.

“MIT is one of the leading engineering schools in the country and in the world,” he said. “I’m pretty much assured I will have a job right out of college if I go to MIT.”

Kitchens said he likes that there are a lot of research opportunities for students.

“They have a giant machine shop, and that’s one of the things I’ve come to really love is building things,” he said. “My friend who is going there basically described it as a little kid in a candy store is how it is for him at MIT.”

Kitchens said he likes that the fraternities there aren’t like normal ones, though he’s not sure if he’ll join one.

“Most of the ones at MIT are academic-based, and they do fun, weird, nerdy stuff,” he said. “They froze oranges with liquid nitrogen and saw how high they would bounce.”

Kitchens said he has narrowed his college decision down to MIT or Mississippi State University.

“I haven’t been thinking about it too much because if I don’t get in I won’t have to stress out over which one to go to,” he said. “Hopefully I get in and I have to make that decision.”

Kitchens said he’s anxious to hear from MIT.

“If I do get in I’ll be really excited,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

Pi has been calculated to more than one trillion digits beyond its decimal point, according to piday.org, a website devoted to the mathematical celebration.

“As an irrational and transcendental number, it will continue indefinitely without repetition or pattern,” according to the website. “While only a handful of digits are needed for typical calculations, pi’s indefinite nature makes it a fun challenge to memorize and to computationally calculate more and more digits.”