Get into MIT: My Story, Advice, and How I can Help

You may find my background surprisingly unexceptional, but I got into MIT. I'm a non-minority male who is not a legacy or first-generation college student and comes from a middle class family. I ranked around the 25th percentile of my high school class, never took an AP science class, never played a varsity sport, and while my SAT scores were pretty good, they were on the low end of MIT's range. I didn't have crazy talents, connections, or secrets that helped me pull strings behind the scenes.

However, I was determined. I would stop at nothing to get into MIT.  I knew it was the place for me and that failure was not an option. I entirely devoted myself to this goal for years - researched the process inside out and put my heart and soul into creating my own MIT Admissions strategy.  Using this, I put my life together in a coherent, meaningful, and touching application package. Along the way, I reflected tirelessly on my past, learned a lot about myself, and studied everything possible about the admissions process.  In the end, I was fortunate enough to get in. Many extremely talented applicants -- chess champions, national science fair winners, and perfect scoring SAT test-takers amongst them, did not.

The day I received my MIT acceptance letter kicked off a new chapter of life, full of exceptional education, people, and opportunities.  I've taken mind-blowing courses, programmed robots, designed car parts, done game-changing research sponsored by a major corporation, met billionaire entrepreneurs, and made lifelong friends who share my goals and outlook.  

If you really want to get into MIT and are willing to commit to it,  you must harness your ambition and determination. If you dream big enough to set your sights on this goal -- putting in the time & effort, and accepting the risk of failure -- congratulations.  You have made the first step towards incredible advancement in your life. To improve your chances of being accepted, realize you must make an outstanding case for yourself, even if you are the smartest or most talented applicant out there. 

I believe one of the keys to the MIT Admissions Strategy is the art of self promotion.  This can be difficult and awkward for many of us. I worked hard in high school, but so did everyone else in the applicant pool. I was a well qualified student, but most rejected applicants had academic qualifications similar to, or better than I did.  Rather than being a genius, having unusual talents, or checking weird boxes, I believe my best asset in the MIT admissions process was the ability to sell myself, putting together experiences in a well-crafted, persuasive, and complete application.  I heavily emphasized the intangibles, adding personality & going beyond numbers, lists, and boring essay responses. In such a competitive applicant pool, this is absolutely necessary to separate the next class at MIT from everyone else. 

After spending time at MIT, I've realized that the student body is not comprised of the most talented people by any tangible measure like academic achievements, extracurricular activities, or athletic accomplishments.  Instead, I found persistence, the right attitude, and good story telling as the most common attributes of the accepted MIT students I met.  MIT rejects thousands of incredible students every year in favor of those who present themselves best on their applications. As an applicant, it is vital that you understand this as you make a case for yourself.  

Your application “sales skills” provide one of the truest measures of the determination and passion that can help you get into MIT.  I believe it's critical to remember this -- in the end, the application you create, how it reads, and how you reflect upon your experiences on it, is the only thing that will be evaluated as you try to get into MIT.  It's a very human process.

Putting together the right, relevant experiences in a convincing document that tells a story is an important art. Thousands of otherwise extraordinary students are rejected every year because they neglect the importance of this difficult task. This is what I prioritized and is where think I can help.