<p>It feels like the stigma is that for MIT you need to invent something or discover something lol? So anyone have any stats for closer to regular people that got in?</p>
<p>Lol I feel the same way like you gotta have won science fairs/olympiads and score 2300+ to get in.</p>
<p>Please read the myriad of comments in CC and the MIT Admissions website on this topic! You don't have to be an International Math or Science award winner, an inventor, an Intel winner, or a cancer researcher. An average of 700 or higher on each SAT/SAT-II test makes you competitive. Generally, though, successful applicants are accomplished in some way beyond the limits of your local high school, either in an academic field or an extracurricular interest. By all means, consider applying if you're in the top 10% of your class, have a high GPA and competitive standardized test scores, have taken a challenging course load throughout high school, like Cambridge MA, and have been passionate about an extracurricular interest for awhile. A long list of clubs and accumulated community service hours, a costly summer in another country paid for by your parents, and other application-padding will not be helpful.</p>
<p>If you want to see the types of stats and activities that MIT admits have, check out last year's results</a> thread. There are many accepted students with outstanding math and science activities, but there are many without those activities also.</p>
<p>i know of one guy who got accepted even though the patent on his fusion reactor only cleared in three countries... he was black though.</p>