Average guy get accepted into MIT - anyone believes this is possible ?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>Okay, so I discovered this website, which is actually a book advertisement:</p>

<p>How</a> I Got into MIT- the Winning Strategy of a Current Student </p>

<p>On which, the guy said that despite his EXTREMELY AVERAGE background, he still got accepted into MIT. I'll quote him:</p>

<ul>
<li>Non-minority male (effective acceptance rate of about 4%)</li>
<li>Not a first-generation college student</li>
<li><p>Don't come from a wealthy family (parents' income is $50K/year)</p></li>
<li><p>SAT I Score of 1380/1600 (about 2100 I'd say)</p></li>
<li><p>Never took an AP Science Class</p></li>
<li><p>Ranked 22nd percentile of high school class</p></li>
<li><p>Never played a varsity sport</p></li>
<li><p>No “ground-breaking” special talents or abilities</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Ok, so the not-legacy and not-wealthy things are acceptable, since MIT doesn't care much about that. And I'd forgive the 1380 SAT and never took AP science class, if his school doesn't offer that (this might be misleading, as he might took all the AP social class). But HOW CAN A GUY with NO SPORT, ranked 22% OF HIS SCHOOL, NO TALENTS/ABILITY (which I assumed not much leadership/awards/devotion much into anything...) and get accepted into MIT? Furthermore, he even mentioned "teachers giving discerning looks when [he] told them their letters were being sent to MIT" and counselors "warned me that even applying was setting myself up for a huge disappointment.” so probably the recommendations would not be that good as well. With those excluded, I'd say he only has few things left: 1/Essay and 2/Interview. Anyway, reading those stats, I imagined that he is just an average high school guy that you can find anywhere. A stunning essay and good interview cannot help that much in my belief.</p>

<p>So do you believe this is possible, or this guy just fake it up to sell the books.</p>

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<p>Simple. Even if this was made up, I would think this is possible. MIT thought that this kid was a good match for MIT and its goals, and thought he could handle the academic rigor and stress, and ultimately the kid was worth bringing to MIT so that he could go on to become someone special. People often overlook the match b/w mit and the student.</p>

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<p>The original post will probably be deleted because it will be considered an advertisement.</p>

<p>However, I did take a look at it and it appears the guy that wrote it was in the top 10 in the country in a sport (not a varsity sport, but it was like snowboarding or something like that). This was not listed in the website but I managed to figure it out. Now being in the top 10 in a sport in itself is a pretty big hook. So the guy was not without any hooks, and I can easily see how that guy would be an automatic for Harvard and have a strong chance at MIT.</p>

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<p>@WritersBlues So he got into Harvard as well.
I’m kind of average as well so I wonder if I’ll get accepted. :)</p>

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<p>The thing is, everyone sees objective factors not his essays or recommendation letters. It’s not that hard to believe that a person like that can get into MIT. But I recommend you do not buy that book.</p>

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<p>I know some people at MIT with no major awards or stellar test scores. The truth is that test scores (and even AP classes to an extent) don’t always predict college success.</p>

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<p>I would think this would help his application, since $50K is on the lower end of things.</p>

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</p>

<p>No, No, No. This completely misunderstands MIT admissions. When they say that admissions is need-blind, that really, truly means that it is not a factor. MIT (like most highly competitive schools) is interested in the decisions that you make about how you fill your time. You do not have a choice as to whether you are born rich or poor. Therefore, it should not have a direct impact on your getting in. </p>

<p>That being said, being born rich gives you certain other advantages. One of the things that MIT is looking for is trying to admit students who will make full use of the advantages that MIT offers, so if you are born extremely rich, and are able to afford to implement anything that you can conceive, then it is completely relevant to see what you have done with that option. </p>

<p>Flip side of the coin, if you have no participation in any sport or activity outside of your classes, then that is usually quite negative. But consider someone who has to work 25 hours per week while at school because the family needs the money to make ends meet. For such an applicant, the lack of extracurriculars would not be seen the same way. Again, MIT is interested in the choices that you make. If you do not have a choice, then it is not a key factor in any admissions decision.</p>

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<p>I knew an MIT student who had
SAT: 1060
GPA: 3.3 / 4.0
No AP classes
No sports
No clubs
Caucasian
Female
Not wealthy family
No legacy
Not 1st generation college applicant</p>

<p>What did she have? I can think of 2 things…</p>

<p>1.) She worked part-time during high school. She also worked part-time while at MIT.
2.) Her grades in high school improved year over year.</p>

<p>At MIT, she was not a “genius”. She studied and struggled to get thru problem sets and exams.</p>

<p>Now, she has her PhD from UC Berkeley in Biology.</p>

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<p>Very few people are geniuses at MIT.</p>

<p>After a quick skim, this person’s story could be true, but that website is slimy regardless.</p>

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<p>Digging around the site revealed:
<a href=“http://www.mediafire.com/view/?73eiwf9n925pjej”>http://www.mediafire.com/view/?73eiwf9n925pjej&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It says it’s by Justin C Colt, who apparently graduated last June.</p>

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<p>Even if it’s true - be wary of people who try to sell you on the belief that what happened for them can happen for the vast majority of applicants. With an acceptance rate south of 8%, it’s just not realistic.</p>

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</p>

<p>More digging around reveals that this guy was like in the top 10 in the U.S. juniors in snowboarding–to advertise himself as a regular guy without a hook is completely disingenuous. If he doesn’t know that being a great athletes increases your odds, then you shouldn’t be paying for his advice.</p>

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<p>He went to Deerfield Academy (a highly selective boarding school in MA, to quote Google) as well. Not sure how one manages a prestigious private school and the national snowboard circuit on the said income of 50,000 a year. </p>

<p>His entrepreneurial spirit is certainly impressive, but claiming he’s a “regular” or “ordinary” student in order to make the sale, not so much. </p>

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<p>Whether or not he was admitted, I trust anyone intelligent enough to be a competitive applicant to MIT is also intelligent enough to not waste money on this snake oil. </p>

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<p>That is a pretty disingenuous piece! He says “Arriving on campus last fall, by far
the biggest surprise I faced was realizing that most of my classmates were truly not
super-humans or geniuses, but just like me.” My son’s been there a few years. I have met many MIT students Every last one of them says the opposite. A challenge for most students is to avoid being blown away by the achievements of other MIT students! There are no students who would be discouraged by the idea distribution requirements including 2 calculus classes (not math 101!), 2 physics classes, Chem, and Bio). There are no students bringing down the curve because they got in on daddy’s money. It is a remarkably accomplished group of people. They have not all won international science awards but they all have remarkable backgrounds-in at least one thing if not many. </p>

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<p>^ It’s… a balance. MIT students are very clever, but people seem to assume it’s a natural-genius-absorption-superman thing when we’re relatively normal and very hard workers in things we’re interested in :)</p>

<p>(To be clear, I definitely agree that this guy’s advice is probably not worthwhile, and he’s definitely misrepresented himself.)</p>

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<p>A lot of MIT students are not geniuses with photographic memories (though I have met some like that).</p>

<p>Case in point: </p>

<p>When I first came to MIT, I did not do very well academically. I had a mindset of not showing weakness, not asking for help, and not studying with others. Solve everything yourself. That mentality that worked for me in high school was not cutting it once I got to MIT. I received a CAP (Committee on Academic Performance) warning.</p>

<p>My second semester, I changed my approach. I attended TA and professor-run office hours and exam-reviews religiously. I visited associate deans Mthembu at S^3 (Student Support Services) and Friedman (Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming) regularly to make sure I was being monitored and not fall back into my lone-wolf mindset.</p>

<p>I wish I were a genius. I am a slow reader (I read about as fast as I talk) and my memory sucks bananas. </p>

<p>Because I felt like an average person surrounded by smarter classmates, I thought I had to devote every waking moment in class, at my 20-hour per week job, or studying. For me, a 60 unit course load translated to spending 60 hours studying outside of lectures, labs, and recitations. </p>

<p>I regret that I did not have much of a social life at MIT. But I did manage to improve my academic performance from like a 2.5/5.0 that first sememster to graduating with a 4.6/5.0 GPA.</p>

<p>I think some MIT students are brilliant. I am not one of them.</p>

<p>Some at MIT come in trained and disciplined to tackle any academic challenge from the onset. I was not one of these either.</p>

<p>I think I belong to the subset that gets overwhelmed and fails miserable at MIT, realizing that they are no longer big fish in a small pond like they were in high school. You have to work and sacrifice for every victory.</p>

<p>Yay for the mere mortals! Some day, we may end up working for the geniuses!</p>

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<p>^ And that is precisely how P/NR is supposed to work. Glad things worked out for you :slight_smile: I’ll note that very few people go beyond “mere mortal” level – they just happen to be the ones that talk about their courseloads most. </p>

<p>Do you take 60-unit terms? Most majors should be complete-able with 48 units/term (plus one IAP of 12 units in some cases). You could distribute the load more by taking other classes during IAP. I never did take more than 48 units/term. Might be the balance you’re looking for, might not be. Just don’t feel you have to take 60 units or double up on tougher classes :)</p>

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<p>I so love MIT’s pass/no record policy for the 1st semester. I don’t know if I could have gotten into Johns Hopkins for grad school if that 1st term was on my record.</p>

<p>I usually took 60 unit terms, in part because I was trying to make up for lost units from my first semester.</p>

<p>Also, due to certain family circumstances, I had a fixed budget to cover my undergraduate education. So, I was trying to graduate as quickly as possible in order to save money.</p>

<p>It was also why I took summer classes at BU and Harvard, since the cost per MIT transferred credit was a lot cheaper than taking those classes at MIT. (Diff Eq at BU cost me $2000. A class at MIT is about $5000, if you take 4 classes a term… $4000 if you take 5 classes a term)</p>

<p>Also why I had a 20 hour per week job. At $40/hour, my job was also a big priority for me.</p>