Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is a small private research university in Boston. Well, not in Boston but near Boston, a.k.a., Cambridge. MIT has about 5,000 undergrads total and is known for, you guessed it, STEM degrees. But being a math and science whiz isn’t all you need to get in, because MIT expects their students to be well-rounded, engaged with their communities, and have a variety of interests. This is reflected in their acceptance rate, 3.96%, which makes it more selective than almost every Ivy and only .01% less selective than Stanford.
MIT does not use the Common App, instead favoring their own portal. They also have a wealth of knowledge on their admissions blog, and they literally tell you to read it before applying. They also offer this advice before going into their essay questions:
You should certainly be thoughtful about your essays, but if you’re thinking too much—spending a lot of time stressing or strategizing about what makes you “look best,” as opposed to the answers that are honest and easy—you’re doing it wrong.
Ok, so true bestie. Look, if you’re applying to MIT, you already know that you need perfect grades and scores. If you didn’t know that, we’re so sorry to break it to you, but like, come on. MIT is giving you a gift with this, and it falls in line with the advice we give our clients all the time. Essays might seem designed to inspire fear in every high school senior’s heart but in reality, the school is trying to get to know you as a person. MIT knows you’re smart. Have some fun with these.
We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (200 words)
Absolutely do not write anything here that is already in your application. The MIT activities section is a lot smaller than the Common App one (4 activities versus 10), so there’s really no excuse for overlap on this one. However, we also strongly advise you not to write about something academic or that you think sounds impressive (read their preface again), but instead something that you actually like to do. Do you go on long walks every day? Do you paint, draw, sing, dance, perform, create, etc.? Fix cars? Make stop-motion movies? Is there a hobby you have that others might find unique? Is there a simple routine you do, like making your coffee with a French press instead of buying it, that adds some calm to your morning? Tell us the story of that. Use as much detail as 200 words allow, and really bring us into the moment with you while you do the thing you enjoy. Have fun with this one, please, we’re begging you.
Describe the world you come from (for example, your family, school, community, city, or town). How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? (200 words)
What feels like home to you? Where do you feel safest to be yourself? That’s what you should think of when you start this question. Also, we get that there’s a very big question in this prompt, but it’s also prefaced by a pretty simple sentence. They’re looking more for you to drop them into your world rather than say, “My family shaped my dreams by…”
We would avoid ‘school’ for this one, simply because they already see and know your academic prowess. Instead, think of community in a more unorthodox way. Community can be the 5 friends that meet up for kickball every week, the family dinner table, or the people you see on your walk to school. It can be a book club, friends from camp, or anywhere you feel like you belong. For this essay, just bring us into that space with you. Tell us a story! What does it feel like to walk into this space or be with these people? And don’t forget the details.
MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds and experiences together to better the lives of others. Our students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way you have collaborated with people who are different from you to contribute to your community. (200 words)
Okay, this one seems daunting, but look at this part specifically: “from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend.” You don’t have to have already solved a major technical problem (although… if you have, definitely write about that here) to write a good essay for this prompt. For this one, try to identify a time you a) helped someone and/or b) learned something from someone who was different from you. We’ll be real, this question was reworded slightly from last year’s and we think it makes it a little harder to answer and feels a lot like pandering to us, too.
The best way to tackle this is through the helped someone track, especially if you don’t have a story that addresses both. Don’t pick an example that makes you seem the most important, but rather a time that was actually really important to you. Like the above, it should read like a story and it should feel natural. Don’t give all the credit to your secondary characters, either. Use them to shine a light on what you contributed.
Tell us about a significant challenge you’ve faced (that you feel comfortable sharing) or something that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (200 words)
We’re glad they included “that you feel comfortable sharing” in this prompt because we think too many kids feel like they have to talk about the worst things that have happened to them to gain admission to college, even if they don’t want to. Thankfully, they’ve given you an opportunity to talk about literally anything else if you want to avoid the significant challenge. What they’re asking here is how you managed a situation that got out of hand. It doesn’t necessarily have to be big and dramatic — maybe you accidentally used salt instead of sugar in a recipe or your hiking trip turned into a comedy of errors. How did you solve the problem, or maybe even better, not solve the problem but make it through to the other side? Start with what went wrong and the steps you took after the mistake. You don’t need to reflect too much on “what you learned,” definitely don’t make it half the essay, and make sure you spend most of it on the things you did to fix or remedy the situation.
There you have it, the MIT supplement. They also have an open-ended box for additional information, which will function like the additional information section of the Common App. You don’t have to fill it out if you don’t have anything to add. Good luck!
If you need help with your MIT application, Common App essay, or any other school supplement, reach out to us today.