How to Get Into MIT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af_-shtZ-XY

Part 1: Introduction

Dartmouth wants outdoors-y adventurers. UPenn wants business-minded pre-professionals. But what about MIT?

In today’s video, I’ll be breaking down what MIT admissions officers are really looking for, advice from MIT students and alums, as well as free resources you can use to skyrocket your chances of being accepted to MIT.

“Part 2: What MIT looks for”

Product, produce, production. These are three words you need to keep in mind while crafting your application to MIT. 

Don’t believe me? Take a look at this excerpt from the MIT admissions website:

“MIT is an active, hands-on place. Innovation is risky and messy! Getting your hands dirty and trying something new is often the best way to achieve success. We apply theoretical knowledge to real-world problems here; our Latin motto means “Mind and Hand.” In other words, you shouldn’t just enjoy thinking, you should also enjoy doing.”

So, MIT is not looking for philosophical thinkers or people who just do hardcore research. If you’re into that, apply to Princeton or Yale– those places love theory. MIT wants students who learn, do and aren’t afraid to take risks in the process.”

Take Cody for example: Cody loves producing designs on SolidWorks and has a passion for 3D printing. And as someone who lives in Florida, Cody’s favorite animal is the manatee– she loves environmental conservation just as much as CAD! 

So, her sophomore year, Cody decided to apply her skills by organizing a local beach cleanup. But with a twist! To make the project more fun and exciting, she 3D designed and printed out litter pickers. 

Quick note: Production is an extremely broad word, and it could entail anything from designing a clothing product, to coding a tech product, to producing a short film. In an ideal world, you would do all of the above, but I know as high schoolers, I know you guys are spread a little thin, so what this really means is that you should be a little picky and choosy with the projects you come up with. Spend an hour writing down a couple dozen ideas, then identify the top 3 you’re genuinely most interested in. Consider: how will I grow from this project? What skills can I gain? And most importantly, do I honestly care? Will I enjoy the process? 

The reason I’m so adamant about these projects is because it’s going to be incredibly hard, if not impossible to get into a school like MIT without one. They even ask for a Maker Portfolio, which, if you’re running low on ideas, feel free to check out some successful examples here.

Another word of advice: if you’ve ever tried producing something and it sucked, remember that failures are part of the production process. Don’t be scared to talk about any risks you took that didn’t pay off. Look here: did you know there’s an MIT essay question that asks just that?

How did you manage a situation or challenge you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?

MIT knows engineering means doing, and doing means failing. Just focus on your growth! That’s even more important than your achievements. Honestly, some of the best essays I’ve seen are about failure as opposed to success. 

Moving onto Part 2: What do MIT students a.k.a Beavers say?

Despite all the diversity in interests, demographics, and cultures at MIT, most Beavers would agree on one thing: pranks are amazing.

MIT students don’t just learn to code so they can be software engineers at Google. They also do it so they can hack into the light systems of campus buildings and play Tetris. 

And did you know that in 2009, MIT students built an upside-down room, which even featured an upside-down cat???

Or that Beavers once put a fire truck and snowman on top of the Great Dome, MIT’s signature building? Why? Well, honestly to just say that they did! 

Now, you might be thinking, “Kev, this is cool and all, but what in the world does this have to do with my application?” Well, it’s because these pranks prove that MIT isn’t a cold, dark prison where all you do is study engineering until your mind explodes. In fact, these days it’s known as a huge party school. 

So this means that in your application, don’t try to appear overly smart. MIT admission officers can figure that out by taking one glance at your transcript, activities list, honors, awards. Instead, in those 5 200 word essays, focus on all the fun, quirky things you’re genuinely unashamed of, whether that’s building costumes that take cosplay to the next level, learning to eat fire, or building Ninja Warrior Courses for squirrels. 

Resources

Ok friends! Hope you enjoyed that quick break! Moving onto free MIT Resources– check this out guys: MIT has a YouTube channel called OpenCourseWare which has recordings of hundreds of lectures taught by dozens of MIT professors on every subject imaginable.

Returning to our imaginary friend, Cody. If Cody wants to get into MIT, Cody better watch the recordings on OpenCourseWare about 3D modeling and environmental engineering/conversation, then mention this detail somewhere in her MIT application. A really good place to talk about this would be in her response to this MIT essay question: 

What field of study appeals to you the most right now? Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you.

Now when it comes to this prompt, too many students fail to pass the school-specific test. They mention generic details. They don’t add proper nouns. Then the students who do add proper nouns tend to fall into another trap– they don’t connect the courses they hope to study or professors they aspire to perform research with to their previous experiences.

Here’s how you fix that. Pretend you’re Cody. Start by watching OpenCourseWare lectures, then apply the concepts you learn in the YouTube video course to your environmental projects. Some particular videos that might be helpful for someone like Cody are “Modeling Environmental Complexity” and “Digital Design Fabrication.”

Again, it’s all about the application of knowledge, not the mere absorption of consumption of knowledge. It’s about using the information you gain and producing something with it. Just imagine if Cody wrote about how she used concepts she learned from MIT professors to create a litter picker that was – wait for it – made from the trash she collected on the beach! Like a litter picker made from recycled plastic, or glass, or silicone. 

But wait - there’s more! Another free resource you can use to improve your application are these MIT blogs. I spent a couple hours perusing these articles and honestly, they are so random. Like take a look at this article written in January by Anika H. called Uncanny Valley: I’m gonna make you poop your pants where she talks about using art to power chaos. Or this article written by Amber about ripping shirts and other clothing mods. These are the types of one-of-a-kind details you want to mention in that Why MIT question from earlier! The cool thing is that they’re all written by undergrads in their own voice – it’s not overly sterile or formal, something I often see from other school newspapers. It’s authentic. Weird. Quirky. A perfect representation of MIT. 

These days it’s not enough to be a great engineer. That’s like having a good GPA. Shrug. Instead, I’d focus more on emphasizing how you’ve applied the knowledge you’ve gained in funky and funny ways. Talk about your failures more than your successes. Sprinkle in MIT-specific details. And honestly, don’t worry if it all comes across as a little bizarre or offbeat, since that, my friends, is exactly what MIT is looking for. 

Best,

Kevin Zhen