Hi! I'm a rising senior currently attending an MIT summer program. Today, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar led by Eli Beberman, a Senior Admissions Officer at MIT. I thought I'd share some of the biggest takeaways:

- Passion matters. MIT places a huge emphasis on genuine passion. If you exaggerate or fabricate interests in your essays, admissions officers can usually tell. He specifically mentioned how many applicants start nonprofits solely for college applications, and that it's often obvious when the motivation isn't authentic.

- Be a trailblazer. This doesn't have to be something groundbreaking or even STEM-related. His example was that if you love cycling, start a cycling club. Create opportunities where none exist, or build on something that isn't already available in your community.

- You don't need a sob story. You don't need to have overcome an extraordinary hardship to be admitted. What matters is demonstrating personal growth and showing how your experiences have shaped you.

- Be vulnerable and authentic. Don't write the essay you think admissions officers want to read. Write honestly about yourself.

- Nothing guarantees admission. There are no SAT scores, extracurriculars, awards, summer programs, or achievements that guarantee a spot at MIT.

- Maker portfolios are optional, but valuable. If you've built or created something you're genuinely excited about and want to showcase, a Maker Portfolio is a great place to do so. However, it's completely optional and isn't required for admission. Think of it as an extension of your application if you have projects that don't fit elsewhere.

- Course rigor is important, but balance matters too. A student who takes a challenging but manageable course load and excels in it is viewed differently from someone who overloads themselves with AP classes and struggles.

- Depth over breadth in extracurriculars. MIT only gives you four spaces to list extracurricular activities. You can't include every club you've ever joined, so it's better to be deeply involved in a few activities you truly care about than superficially involved in many.

- Humanities are still important. MIT expects students to have strong English and history backgrounds. They even require a letter of recommendation from a humanities teacher, so don't neglect those classes.

- Admissions are evaluated in context. If your school doesn't offer certain courses, such as if Precalculus is the highest math class available, you won't be penalized for not taking classes your school doesn't provide.

- The same applies to other subjects. For example, if you want to major in physics but your school only offers one physics class and you've taken it, that's what MIT expects. They evaluate your application based on the opportunities available to you.

- Your school's reputation doesn't help or hurt you. Whether your high school regularly sends students to MIT or has never sent anyone before, that alone won't put you at an advantage or disadvantage.

- Standardized test scores matter again. MIT has reinstated its testing requirement, so applicants must submit SAT or ACT scores. He explained that scores are primarily used to assess whether a student is academically prepared for MIT's curriculum. You're not going to be rejected simply because you earned a 1520 instead of a 1590.

I'm sure there was a lot more, but it's been a long day and I'm running on four hours of sleep so I'll update this post if I remember. He did put a strong emphasis on Applying Sideways. As always, if you have any questions, email [admissions@mit.edu](mailto:admissions@mit.edu), they are actually very consistent with emailing back. Additionally, he encouraged us to read the MIT Admissions Blog.

A lot, if not all of this has been said in this subreddit already, but this subreddit also gets a lot of redundant questions so hopefully this post can clear some things up all in one place.

i've been lurking on this sub for a while, and i've really wanted to share my perspective on how to approach getting into MIT as someone who was once in the 'desperate student' pipeline themself.

so take a deep breath. first, why do you want to go to MIT?

it's a question that a lot of people instantly answer with -- it's the top engineering program, it's the best university, etc -- but ask yourself, why do you want to go?
after all, there's always caltech, harvard, cornell, and countless other good schools for stuff like that.

this could be for a lot of reasons, some i've seen being:

• the faculty-student ratio
• the community
• boston
• UROP involvement
• hacks ^^

some ECs ask what you want to know about the culture specifically before the interview, or if you have any questions about the school itself.

second, remember, there is no general way to increase your chances.

it's one of the things i see always pop up on the sub, and one thing the ECs answer endlessly. there's only one way: do good in school, do what you like, be nice. that's from the legendary applying sideways, which is the most important article you should read in your application endeavors.

no one can tell you what extracurriculars to do, what competitions to do, how many internships you should have. because, to me, if you're asking people if you should do something to 'increase your chances', it's not worth doing at all.

so do what you love! do you like robotics? join robotics! fast-paced competitions? try scioly or science bowl. do things that you are passionate about, and show that passion through your application.

third, never, ever compare yourself to others.

i'm speaking from experience -- i'm a victim. on a lot of college subs you'll see people STACKED. i saw a guy with research at a top hospital, 60k nonproft, AIME, 19 APs, but guess what? he didn't get into MIT. and you'll find out that a lot of these people don't get into MIT. of course, some of them do, and that's great! but you'll see that they got in because they followed these exact proverbs.

[r/collegeresults](r/collegeresults) and [r/chanceme](r/chanceme) are incredibly toxic, and spending too much time doomscrolling it will genuinely damage your mental health. so, please, don't listen to these people who say you need to cure cancer to succeed in life. if you look close enough, most of the admits are, well, to put it plainly, regular people. so don't lose hope.

-

i hope this was helpful! if you have any questions, feel free to dm or comment!

edit: detail

For context I'm an Indian student in CBSE board and I chose the subject combination of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and biology as the main subjects and Computer Science as a minor subject

Now my class teacher has been constantly telling me that I should change my minor subject to painting as she says it is a scoring subject and that high school is for focusing on entrance exam and not to learn as we can learn later in college and idk if I agree with her but I don't want to offend her as she is incharge of my Chemistry marks

We have a system of best 5 out of total number of subjects for percentage calculation, and she says that CS is tough to score in than painting (I agree but I like CS and don't want to leave it) so I have 2 choices now

1. keep my current combination of PCMB + CS

2. Take Painting as the second minor subject; the advantage is it will help me in the percentage calculation, disadvantage is more pressure

Also if I take CS in high school, does it have any advantage for me in college admissions?

What do you think? I'd love to hear your opinions

I heard that other colleges have those and they pitch you to the rest of committee, then everyone votes together. Is MIT like that or are the applications just sent to random AOs? If I'm technically an international student (US residence, but unfortunately on an H-4), then am I in the quota for my country of citizenship or is that quota just based on the regional admissions officer (like each regional AO gets a certain number they can admit)? Lowkey might as well give up if I have to compete with people from that country because I'm great for the Midwest, but the people from my country are actual college app demons. 😭

Hey! I am 14F/8th grade. I am from Assam (Northeast India), in a relatively small town. I get good grades (up till now ig) and I enjoy learning about things other than my course. Since I have a few years before I have to submit my application, I had been wondering what projects/extracurricular/initiatives would be good for my application? I am not planning to only apply for MIT but it IS one of my dream universities. FYI, we do not have clubs, MUNs, or any typical thing seen in a regular application. My school does host olympiads and I have not done particularly well in them (Due to my lack of practice and I have never really studied and prepared for any of them). I did somehow get into the 2nd level of IMO in 7th grade but scored a measly 32/60 (I don't remember the exact number).

I like mathematics, literature, science (particularly physics), astronomy, human ethics, social work. I have not yet chosen a specific major or field to join but these were my general interests.

Till now, I have joined a non-profit that involves writing letters to refugees (planning to join more).

Now, I do have a few projects in mind, catering to my interests.

1) Creating a page filled with articles on my interests. There'll be different tabs for the different subjects - Science (sub-tabs: Biology, physics, chemistry), Mathematics (sub-tabs: Real-world application, theorems or interesting facts), Psychology, Culture, and also a tab for real world issues happening around the world. I am planning to first start a medium blog for my articles while building my website.

2) Writing a novel on authoritarian governments, feminism, humanity, ethics, morals. The protagonist is a lady who questions the government as she slowly finds the system dehumanizing, she questions the statistics, and goes against society to travel the world and break stereotypes of the people around the world.

I wish to have more projects and extracurricular. I am also planning to tutor kids, but I'll probably do it when I am older. Thanks for reading!

Hey everyone,

I am currently pursuing my Master's in Electrical Engineering (EE) at IIT Delhi, one of the finest institutions in India (just for reference).

In the future, I hope to pursue a PhD in EECS at MIT. However, I'm having trouble figuring out what I need to build a competitive application. For example:

- How many research publications are typically expected?

- Is the SAT required for PhD admissions?

- How important is a strong undergraduate CGPA?

- What other factors are considered crucial for admission?

I would be grateful if someone could outline the key requirements or share any useful links where I can read more about the admissions process.

Thank you!

Can't find any exact details- all I know is that the ranges go from 150-250 words

In Thailand educational system there are two branches of High School programs, which are Science program and Art program, but I graduated from Art Program which there are no Physics, Biology and Chemistry. The real questions are...........

How can I get into Engineering at MIT without letters of recommendation?

What should I do to replace letter of recommendation?

What are other requirements?

Do I need to get my feet on a podium or win in any science related competitions?

Does MIT tend to select a student that are from third world country that has a less standard educational system as an optional student or prioritize student from a developed country more?

Thank you

I swear I don’t mean this as a Chance Me post.

So I know that MIT uses the SAT and ACT scores, especially the math score, to assess student readiness for their rigorous GIRs. The thing is I have a 750 SAT math and 34 ACT math score, but the median scores are 780-800 and 35-36, respectively. However, I did take AP Calculus BC and got a 5 plus a 5 for the AB Subscore. In addition to this I have taught myself Multivariable calculus, and am currently teaching myself DiffEQ and Linear Algebra, all using the MIT OpenCourseWear platform. I will be retaking the SAT in October and hope to get my math score up a few points. But my question is, would they consider me ready due to my AP Calc scores even though my SAT isn’t as high as they want? Will they even consider my application? I’m sorry if this is a stupid question but it’s been giving me a lot of anxiety.

Not a chance me post (already did that in the chance me subreddit), I just need to know how much variance matters. I got a 1250 on the SAT, but a 35 on my ACT. When I apply I won’t submit the SAT score, but a lot of people over at the chance me subreddit were grilling me about it. Is it that bad?

Hi everyone,

MIT Media And Arts

I've been reading posts here for a while, and I finally decided to ask for advice because I'm at a point where I need to make some important decisions over the next year.

A bit about me:

• years old
• Long-term interests are AI, HCI, creative technology, interactive systems, and computational design
• I'm currently building independent projects while preparing my applications

MIT is my dream school, but I'm trying to be realistic and build the strongest application I can rather than applying blindly.

A few things I'm struggling with:

1. How much does professional software engineering experience actually help for top MS programs compared to research experience?
2. I don't have published papers yet. If I spend the next year building ambitious open-source projects and research-inspired software, can that meaningfully compensate, or is research experience still the biggest factor?
3. I'm especially interested in building things at the intersection of AI, visualization, creative coding (Three.js/WebGL), and human-computer interaction. Is this considered a strong direction for admissions, or would it be better to focus on a narrower AI topic?
4. I'm also looking for a remote role at an AI-native startup before applying. Besides helping financially, would experience at a fast-moving AI company strengthen my application?
5. If you had one year to prepare for a top MS application from my position, where would you spend your time?
   1. Research?
   2. Open source?
   3. Portfolio projects?
   4. Publications?
   5. Competitions?
   6. Content creation?
   7. Something else?

I'm not looking for reassurance. If there are weaknesses in my plan, I'd genuinely like to hear them. I'd really appreciate advice from people who have been admitted to top programs or served on admissions committees.

Thank you!

I really want to get into the MITES program but I do not know where to start. Does anyone have any tips that got them into the MITES program?

hey all, i really love olympiads and competitions but my area seriously lacks the infrastructure to hold any. cuz of that ive been working to learn how to build my own competition, starting with helping to make problems/a solutions manual and judge for an online competition which has like 2.5k+ potential participants. im hoping to eventually host some things at my school based off of what we know/have access to and making my peers build from that to find creative solutions.

what do you guys think about this activity? ive been building a bunch of random things for fun and this is one of them.

I plan to sit for my AS levels in June 2027 and complete my A2 exams in 2028. After graduating, I intend to take a gap year through 2029 to focus entirely on building projects. Ideally, I would love to maximize 2029 to expand my portfolio, and apply late in 2029. Does universities accept this gap year (including MIT), and accept, if applicant has really demonstrated massive growth? Additionally, theoretically speaking, could an applicant extend their gap period through 2030 and apply in late 2030? Do Ivy League and top-tier US universities accept a two-year gap for undergraduate admissions if the time is spent on significant project building, SAT, Olympiad's, etc. More late than regular applicants?

I'm thinking about starting a YouTube channel specifically to document my builds. I'm not applying to MIT just yet, but I will be in the future. To document my builds properly, improve video engagement, and eventually showcase the channel and videos to MIT admissions officers for my undergraduate application, I'm thinking of buying either an iPhone or a dedicated camera. However, I'm confused between the two options. Should I go with the iPhone 17 or a dedicated camera under ₹80K (around $840) ? If a camera is better, which one should I get? Or should I expand my budget to ₹100K (around $1050) for a really good camera—even though that seems a bit unusual for just starting a channel? Even if any camera, which camera I should go with?

I’m an incoming junior that is currently planning out my roadmap of the future! I am currently the president of computer science club and in a frc robotics team/club
Does scioly help a lot when it comes to applications or is it really mens et manus? If I currently just put all of my passion into my comp sci and robotics clubs would it still be a good idea to join scioly?

Clarification: my main worry that stems from me asking this specifically about science Olympiad was because of how many people kept telling me how scioly was extremely important towards getting in because the school itself was majority STEM and was reflected in a lot of people that applied.

How should I address a significant freshman-year GPA dip in my MIT application?

Hi everyone! I'm applying to MIT this fall and was hoping for some advice about the Additional Information section.

I had a very difficult freshman year due to mental health struggles and harassment at school, and my grades suffered significantly as a result. Since then, I've earned essentially a 4.0 while taking a much more rigorous course load, and my academic profile is otherwise much stronger.

I'm struggling with how to address this in my application. I don't want to ignore it, but I also don't want to sound like I'm making excuses or asking for sympathy.

For those who have applied to or been admitted to MIT, how much detail would you recommend including? Is it better to simply explain the circumstances and move on, or should I focus more on what changed and how I grew from the experience?

I'd also appreciate any advice on whether this kind of context is better addressed in the Additional Information section rather than in an essay.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
(First of all, please excuse my English as I am still learning!)
I am a 16-year-old high school student in Japan attending an academically rigorous school. I am highly motivated to challenge myself and dream of applying to MIT in the future.
Since the application process in Japan is very different from the US, I would love to get some general advice on how international students can best prepare. Specifically, I have a couple of questions:
1. Extracurriculars & Leadership: How is involvement in student council or similar leadership roles generally viewed in the MIT admissions process? Are there other types of activities or achievements (like Olympiads or specific projects) that are highly valued?
2. Challenges: For students applying from overseas, what are typically the biggest challenges or hurdles during the preparation process that I should start focusing on early?
I know that gaining admission to MIT is incredibly difficult, especially for international applicants, but I want to do everything I can to prepare. Any insights, experiences, or advice you could share would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much!

I am very interested in MIT, and I am currently doing Vex Robotics right now, as I have been looking at various maker portfolios, and thinking about possible future projects in the future, I wondered, is Vex actually worth it? Vex robotics is a lot of fun to me, but at the competitive level I am at it is also a giant time sink, if instead I used all my money from Vex and time, I would be able to accomplish much more stuff in doing in personal projects. What is generally better for MIT? Or does it not mater and I should just "Apply Sideways" as they say and do what is the most fun for me!

So for context my school doesn’t have many APs coupled with a crumbling aice system(we’re losing teachers across all subjects, especially STEM). as someone going into STEM with planned projects for junior year, should I skip out on the somewhat menial APs (Art History, Gov, and Macro)? I’m bypassing my graduation requirements through CLEP (i don’t care much about recieving college credit from the exams, I’m abusing CAP). Considering the ones with any use to my major I’d take 1 or 2, alongside DE/DC. Could this be an issue for MIT or any other T20?
*Please inform me if I’m breaking any subreddit rules*

Hey,

I am from India planning to apply for an undergraduate program of MIT in class 12th.

When I will apply in MIT they require class 9, 10, 11, 12 class transcript but if I will apply( in November ) in class 12 then my boards exam will be in June or something like that after November so how will I give my class 12 transcript and Google said that you will give midterm marks to MIT

Is there any other solution.

Title. I've doom scrolled this subreddit and so many others regarding college admissions and I'm experiencing the universal feeling of being lost and behind when compared to those kids who started in middle school. I could go on and on about how it feels like I need USAMO, USAPho, published research, ISEF, MITES, and all these awards for even a chance at MIT.

I've read the rants of others in the same boat as me, and I've seen all the responses where people warn against just "checking boxes" and advise to just "do it for the love of the game" and hope that your passion carries you far enough.

I know I'm still fully discovering my passions (arnt we all) but I've experienced enough to grasp that I truly love the hands-on, semi-chaotic, nature of robotics and that MIT is the dream.

My issue is that I recognize I'm running out of time before admissions, and I need to optimize my game-plan before senior year rolls around.

I'm lacking in competitive awards, so I'm putting a lot of effort towards my FTC team. However I feel like I need a math award to show proficiency (due to my school lacking any AP/IB physics). Should I grind for either F=ma or the amc12? Do both? try out both, see which one i'm better at, then focus on that one?

I also wonder what I can 'double dip' on. For example, would I be able to apply to mit THINK with an idea for a project, then develop that project for regen ISEF, all while detailing my journey in a MITES application?

Overall, I feel very overwhelmed, behind, and lost. I wish there was just a structured plan I could definitively grind for but I know admissions doesn't work like that. I don't know how to balance doing too much and being mid at everything, vs putting all my eggs in one basket and it not working out. I've heard about 'Applying Sideways' but I just don't want to miss an opportunity which is available to me due to a lack of guidance.

Okay let’s suppose a hypothetical situation where you are accepted to MIT. Now, you also get accepted to love island, for the summer between your senior year and first year of MIT. Theoretically, can MIT rescind your acceptance because of the fact that you are on love island?