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Some schools are known as being "harder to get into than to stay at."
MIT is quite the opposite. While it is true that the application
process is very competitive, students who have shown they have
attempted to challenged themselves and to rise above what is expected
of them will surely have a good chance of being accepted. You do NOT
need an admissions consultant to get in here. Surviving four years is a
different story: a professional therapist may come in handy down the
line.
Just to illustrate: I came from one of the poorest states in the U.S.,
from a public school. Also, I was not accepted into any Ivy school--I
don't mean to say that Ivy's acceptance criteria are bad per se, but
they are different indeed. In high school, I tried to pursue options
which were not the norm, to take classes at the local college, and to
go deep into extracurricular activities.
MIT seems to look for depth as opposed to breadth. If you dive
intensely into a particular project and then excel at it, you have a
very good chance of being looked at with enthusiasm by the admissions
committee. Also, current students may take on roles in the admissions
process, working at the admissions office, making it more reality-based
and current than other processes which have no student input at all.
Nonetheless, to have a competitive chance, they do recommend SAT scores
of 670+ for Verbal, and 730+ for Math. This is only a rule of thumb and
not a formal cut-off. Be not afraid: my scores were lower than that!
SAT IIs are required. What they look for though, is that if you say in
your transcript that you took ??Chemistry For Geniuses 4000,?? you score
well. On the other hand, if your high school did not offer advanced
courses, that you show you tried your hardest to prepare for the test
outside of a teacher-supervised environment.
In addition, a good essay is one that is creative and gives insight as
to what the student strives for; it is not simply a regurgitation of
past achievements and an account of "how awesome I am and why you
should pick me me me." Save that for an application to participate on
Donald Trump's reality show.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology Admission & Application Surveys
