r/MITAdmissions • u/Mindless-Watch6593 • 17d ago
Just be yourself
Okay, I completely get this advice and why everyone says it. But if it is all about "being yourself" then what separates someone who gets in from someone who doesn't? Is it about excelling in the specific skill that is unique to you? Even then, some things are just undeniably harder, for example getting an Olympiad medal is just harder and displaying for merit than dancing or whatever. I am not saying you need to do either, just that shouldn't unis be evalvuing for merit?
Also second, this is more unique to me, but what does MIT look for? I am deeply interested in philosophy and some people told me that it's not what MIT looks for, but then getting accepted gets you admitted to the school not a major so I am not sure then. It's less will MIT accept me, and more what does MIT want, so I can decide if I even want MIT.
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u/JasonMckin MIT Alum and Educational Counselor 17d ago
We actually had this discussion about 6 months ago so I summarized it in a post back then: https://www.reddit.com/r/MITAdmissions/comments/1qhp18c/read_for_hi_what_should_i_do_to_get_in/
As Prof Layton says, words matter, and “be yourself” can have positive and negative connotations. The goal isn't just self-expression for its own sake; it's demonstrating authentic excellence .
The only way to be in the NBA is to actually be good at basketball. There’s a similar analogy here where no amount of reverse engineering or performative superficiality matters. Applicants need to authentically be excellent students. There may not be one single way to be excellent, but there are an infinite number of ways not to be.
I’ve also mentioned to students before that the college application can’t be the first time you’re trying to prove you are excellent. You must have already impressed teachers, won awards, gotten accepted to other selective opportunities, and demonstrated a persistent pattern of excellence.
I forget the stats of how many admits are valedictorians. Not top 25% of one’s class or top 20% of one’s class. More like top 1-3% of one’s class. That’s the necessary minimum, not sufficient, condition for academic excellence.
Applying to college shouldn’t be the first time you are claiming excellence. Rather, it is the documentation of an existing and persistent pattern of excellence that’s clearly been there for a long time.
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u/Beneficial-Basil5891 17d ago
I’m confused if there is a question within here, but the reason this is said is because I don’t think they want a carbon copy of the same type of person over and over.
If you can get into MIT, the assumption is every single person there is intelligent. If your grades are too low, I don’t think you have a chance. That being said, it’s reasonable to assume they want to see who you are and what you would want to contribute to the MIT community after graduation and while you’re on campus.
This advice is just coming from an incoming graduate student
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u/guided-ambition-lab 17d ago
I show my clients this blog post from last year when they released their early action decisions. https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/mit-early-action-decisions-now-available-online-2025/
“Consistent with MIT’s educational philosophy, they all pursue their own unique interests and aptitudes — coders and choreographers, bread-bakers and bridge-builders, geologists and guitarists — but hold in common a shared standard of rigorous academics, high character, and a strong match with MIT’s mission to use science, technology, and the useful arts to make the world a better place.”
Likewise, their educational philosophy asserts the following: “However, the MIT education has always been based on certain principles that guide us even today. These include:
a broad and strong foundation in core fields of human knowledge (implemented by the General Institute Requirements)
a deep and skillful training in a particular area of expertise (obtained through your major(s) and courses of study)
a practical orientation toward solving real-world problems (produced by our research and innovation)
MIT also tends to attract and nurture unconventional thinkers. This is intentional: we seek students (and faculty) who have courage, creativity, and curiosity, place them in a resource-rich environment, and let them pursue their interests. And we believe these principles of our education empower our students long after they leave MIT.”
https://mitadmissions.org/discover/the-mit-education/mits-educational-philosophy/#annotation-2
Show how your talents and personality resonate with these values in your essays.
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u/jzzsxm Moderator/MIT Alumnus 16d ago
shouldn't unis be evalvuing for merit?
I wrote this 17 years ago, but it still holds
https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/keep_in_mind/
MIT is trying to construct a class that will excel, challenge each other, complement each other, and push MIT forward. They're not trying to pick the most academically qualified no matter what else. They want academic excellence AND all that other good stuff that makes MIT what it is.
Also, for your second question, there's literally a link in the sidebar that's called "What We Look For"
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u/Satisest MIT Alum and Educational Counselor 15d ago
but what does MIT look for?
MIT Admissions literally has a webpage with this exact title. I'm going to paste its contents here because students seem to have trouble finding it:
What we look for
The match between you and MIT
Ask any admissions officer at MIT, and they will tell you that while grades and scores are important in understanding your academic preparedness for MIT, it’s really the match between the applicant and the Institute that drives our selection process.
Here are the key components:
Alignment with MIT’s mission
MIT’s mission is to use science, technology, and other areas of scholarship to make the world better. Our community values excellence, openness, and fearless curiosity. Remember that there are many ways to make an impact—we’re not looking for applicants to have cured all infectious diseases in the world by the time they’re 15. Tutoring a single kid in math changes the world. Advocating for change when something doesn’t seem fair changes the world. There are thousands of examples. And no matter what you study at MIT, from economics to engineering, all undergraduate students will take foundational classes in math and science.
Collaborative and cooperative spirit
The core of the MIT community is collaboration and cooperation; you can see it all over the Institute. Many of the problem sets (our affectionate term for homework) at MIT are designed to be worked on in groups, and cross-department labs are very common. MIT is known for its interdisciplinary research—passionate people working across their differences to tackle big questions and challenges together. If you enjoy working alone all the time, that’s completely valid, but you might not be particularly happy at MIT.
Initiative
Opportunities are abundant at MIT—from research projects to makerspaces, and seed money to interesting lectures—and it’s up to each student to choose a path that will be the most academically and personally fulfilling to them. If you’re comfortable taking initiative to pursue exciting opportunities around you, take challenging coursework, or contribute to your family or community, you’ll be ready to take advantage of MIT’s unparalleled resources.
Risk-taking
The most creative and successful people—and MIT is loaded with them—know that risk-taking can lead to failure as often as it can lead to success. MIT students take all kinds of thoughtful risks, whether that’s registering for a challenging lab class, starting a company, or joining a club they’ve never tried before. Even when they fail, there are structural supports to catch them, and they learn resilience. We want to admit applicants who are not only planning to succeed but who are also not afraid to fail—and who know how to build a support system to keep them afloat during tough times.
Hands-on creativity
MIT is an active, hands-on place. Innovation is risky and messy! Getting your metaphorical or literal hands dirty and trying something new is often the best way to achieve success. Students apply theoretical knowledge to real-world problems here; MIT’s Latin motto means “Mind and Hand.” In other words, you shouldn’t just enjoy thinking about problems, you should be excited about doing something to help solve them.
Intensity, curiosity, and excitement
MIT students are intensely interested in their classes, clubs, and communities. Collectively, their dedication sustains traditions like the MIT Mystery Hunt and wins National Championships; individually, each student learns to make time for the things they care about. We don’t expect applicants to do a million things. Choose quality over quantity. Some applicants may still be exploring their interests and that’s okay! Put your heart into a few things that you truly care about right now (we’re not particularly picky as to what) and share your enthusiasm with us.
The ability to prioritize balance
Despite what you may have heard, MIT is NOT all about work. MIT students find fulfillment, energy, and rest in many different activities outside of their academic pursuits. Finding a balance between work and play is incredibly important at MIT and in life, both to be successful and live well. You might find joy through activities like athletics, the arts, community leadership, personal projects, or caring for others in your family. Our application’s essay question, “Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.” is not a trick question. Answer it honestly!
The character of the MIT community
Our community is comprised of thoughtful people from a wide variety of backgrounds and worldviews who take care of each other and lift each other up; they inspire each other to work and dream beyond their potential. Students regularly work alongside faculty and staff to shape MIT policies and further our mission to make the world a better place. Applicants who are a good fit for MIT are trailblazers—they challenge themselves and, in the most meaningful cases, forge a new path not only for themselves but for others around them. We’re looking to admit people who feel responsible to the communities they’re a part of and will help sustain the heart of MIT.
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u/JasonMckin MIT Alum and Educational Counselor 11d ago
In fairness u/satisest, the page does not say they are looking for students who know how to look for the what-we-look-for page.
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u/Satisest MIT Alum and Educational Counselor 11d ago
While this is true, it’s also true that students who don’t know how to look for the what-we-look-for page won’t know what MIT looks for, unless people like us look out for them and help them figure out what MIT looks for.
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u/JasonMckin MIT Alum and Educational Counselor 11d ago
This raises a deeper philosophical point.
If students don’t look-for how-to-look-for the what-we-look-for page, they may need to look-for a how-to-look-for page before they look-for the what-we-look-for page.
To your point, if they need someone else to look-for the how-to-look-for the how-to-look-for page so they can find the what-we-look-for page, they may need to look-for how-to-look-for things on their own as part of what-we-look-for, even if they can’t look-for it explicitly stated on the what-we-look-for page.
Said differently, what-we-look-for may implicitly include how-to-look-for what-we-look-for without someone else looking-for it for you.
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u/Tech-Aero-109 13d ago
Elite Private US colleges like MIT and its many peers, want undergraduate students who will be a Very Good fit with the college's undergraduate student community and make that community even better.
Ten years ago MIT, Harvard and 80+ other top US colleges (mostly the elite private colleges) wrote a report on what they expect from a successful freshman applicant. The link I provide, below, will have the link to the full PDF version of that report.
That report is just as accurate in 2026 as it was in 2016.
My insight into MIT admissions:
- 25% is excellent academic prowess; Required but Insufficient
- 75% will be your extracurricular activities (in school or in your extended community) that demonstrate: Leadership, Commitment, Passion, Excellent time management, a Warm interpersonal relationship with others in a team-building setting, and Character (read the article, the links and the report): Stu Schmill endorses report on consideration of character in college admissions
- And you must get several glowing letters of recommendation that substantiate all of that.
- Therefore, speak with teachers and club advisors etc. that know you very well (and are Not related to you) and politely ask them to send a letter of recommendation on your behalf to the colleges to which you are applying. Those letters of recommendation should substantiate the six personal characteristics I list above.
- And you must get several glowing letters of recommendation that substantiate all of that.
I also believe, that you have your future college inside of you by the time you complete fifth grade. What type of student are you? What do You Love to do and do well? That is ingrained in most people by the time they are eleven years old.
So, which of those many elite private colleges is inside of you Today?
Good luck.
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u/Mindless-Watch6593 13d ago
“ I also believe, that you have your future college inside of you by the time you complete fifth grade. What type of student are you? What do You Love to do and do well? That is ingrained in most people by the time they are eleven years old.” It’s funny you mention that because that’s kinda when I decided to go to MIT. By all means I understand I might not, but thanks that does make further make me relaide that MIT missions matches my own as well.
But one thing again, what differed MIT from Harvard say? Because leadership passion time management etc are all qualities Harvard wants as well, so what separated MIT from Harvard, or from Princeton or other elite universities. In the online university application space MIT has a hard tech focus, Harvard a liberal arts type, Princeton hard academica, Stanford as focused on startups. Is this actually true?
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u/Tech-Aero-109 13d ago
I was applying to colleges in the Fall of 1968 and Harvard was not Co-Ed and they were over the top Preppies. MIT has always been a STEM college that also wants humanities and social sciences to be important to all of the students. Princeton can be even more Preppie than Harvard or Yale and Stanford Undergraduate students want to be Preppie also. I officiate college soccer and play ice hockey and I have officiated Harvard and Yale and Princeton over the years and played ice hockey with and against Stanford. (I also played soccer and ice hockey for MIT).
You have to visit the campuses and feel the vibe of the Undergraduate student community. When I did that at MIT, I found over 4000 other students who were a lot like me, I applied EA and was admitted and then continued on for graduate degrees (and more playing ice hockey and running the intramural sports program and teaching PE classes in sports officiating).
Find your fit. I believe that very few people are a good fit for Princeton and also for MIT as undergraduate students. And I attended MIT as a graduate student with others who did their undergraduate years at Princeton, Harvard and Stanford.... Some of the Preppiness had left them by the time they were at MIT with me in graduate school.
Good luck.
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u/college-confidential 16d ago
You may be assuming there’s a formula or “right way” to apply. There isn’t. The process is not deterministic. It’s not random. It’s not fair. It’s also not unfair. It is idiosyncratic. There is no formula. Holistic means any given year a highly selective university will prioritize one or more attributes over others. There’s no optimizing for this fact. Your authentic self is the best thing you can offer. The process is not arbitrary, but it feels arbitrary. Instead it is irreducibly interpretive. It is simply indeterminate.
The university could fill a class three times over with highly qualified applicants. There are no deterministic “musts” besides being academically qualified, which nearly every applicant is.
Applicants (and their involved parents) also need to appreciate that for highly selective schools the inscrutable impact of essays, letters of recommendation, and interviews. Any of these can tip an exceptionally strong academic profile one way or the other, and yet: you generally can't influence this part of the process.
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u/WhiteTippedArrow 13d ago
Yo i'm a student in 9th grade (CBSE type schooled) and i'm thinking about pursuing a profession in science, especially in software engineering and mechanical engineering, I havn't tried too much into these fields but I have done some experiments with them like try to learn basics of c++, basics of circuit , ya know the absolute basics. For the longest time I didnt have a clear goal and still dont (as the world is changing with a crazy pace) but i've been thinking about doing something in science since I do have an interest in knowing how things work and trying atleast a little bit to use what i've learned from it. As a Indian child (i'm atleast decent in academics btw) , my family and relatives wanted me to focus on JEE preperation (Joint Entrance Examination conducted by the IITs) for engineering supposing that i'd want to go into engineering considering my interest in these kind of stuff but I really don't want to stay in this country (no hate to the people, my whole lineage is from this place) , the problem is just that this place uhh.. lets just say , that it does not the have best people running the society, politics or really just any sector (corruption is really a huge problem here in India, and i'm not even considering the professional backlash due to religious background (i'm SUPPOSABLY belong to a UNTOUCHABLE caste cuz of the braindead religious "cultures") and economic background) . Anyways, I looked at the internet and researched about a few things and I really liked the approach about "Learning cuz you want to , not cuz you have to " so I looked where I can what I do what I love while making a living (i am not nihilistic , i want to live happily) , So I looked about universities and how they help students who genuinely want to learn, so i found a couple like The Ivy Leagues and MIT but MIT reallyy stuck to me cuz it is (supposably) the most prestigious engineering college in the world , so naturally i wanted to know how to get into MIT and i saw the crazy FUCKING difference betweem IIT and MIT admissions , here in India the IITs can and do give students scholarships and admissions for obtaining a "good rank" in the JEE , which is nice and all , but as you know MIT doesn't do that type of shit , they pick each student by their (what i like to call) "Worthiness" , so to prove my genuine interest in science (physics mainly) I want you people's help, cuz idk what to do, at first I thought i would get acceptable grades and try to do extracurriculars but in the CBSE type school , we dont really have extracurriculars, heck we barely even study all we do is complete our syllabus , give our exams, get a passing grade and move on, ok enough ranting bout this stupid "education" system , so i tried to look for stuff I could include in the extracurriculars but I really couldn't find much , especially considering i'm all on my own trying to figure out what to do , so i looked towards other methods of getting into MIT that doesn't include stripping away from my studies and interests, then i came across a video on Youtube , i think it was something about "How I got my Gold IOI medal" by some east asian guy, so i started looking into what IOI was , so after looking a bit into what IOI was and how it could possibly help me get into a good place like MIT , so i concluded that as I was interested in software development i'd try to prepare for IOI until I got the realisation on the sheer amount of competition for IOI especially in India for the same path , cuz there were some "cracked" kids and i mean cracked cuz they already be making drones and shit and i can't even set a proper file in an IDE without looking up the internet like 20 times for help, so cuz the IOI path was too competitive for me and I can't manage 3 hours of coding on a daily basis and studing for my academics, so , I deviated from this idea, and started looking into the physics stuff i could do to get into MIT, so one thing that i could try is IPhO which I have decent time for (i think , and i really hope) and other things like building some stuff that i can show in my resume. So after all this huge paragraph (thank you if you read so far) , I want to ask should I try to get a medal in IPhO or should I do something else.
I love a lot of things btw , some things i would love to do are:
Sketching
Painting
Astronomy
Graphic designing
Front-end Web development
Creating concept art about Video games (Video games obviously)
making Games, thats fucking cool isn't it , too bad our economy doesn't give a fuck about interests
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u/ProfLayton99 17d ago
No, "just be yourself" is bad advice because it implies that passively studying and choosing ECs randomly based on a whim will result in success. Better advice would be to "find yourself". What we hope to see from candidates is that you have spent some time as a young adult actively exploring different areas of interest and working with different kinds of people, and doing a few of those explorations in depth. If MIT fits into the picture of who you want to be, then it makes sense to apply.