How important are the MIT essays?

Is it a tipping factor for your application? What do they look for in essays?

In my experience, MIT wants diversity, and high standardized scores, then grades in that order. Don’t think the essays are that important IMHO.

I think you’ll notice that the prompts are geared to reveal these qualities.
http://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/match

They get about 18k applicants each year where each applicant can write up to 950 words in JUST the essays. That’s up to 17100000 words not counting the rec letters and other stuff.

Bonus fun calculations: the average person reads between 250-300 WPM so if we assume they read at about 275 WPM then that means it will take 62181.82 minutes to read every word. There are 1440 minutes in a day. That means if someone were to sit down and read every word of every essay nonstop they wouldn’t be done for 43 days.

… so yeah I think they’re important. Also because every resource I’ve seen about admissions says it is lol.

@ManaManaWegi So, I’m assuming that they read your essay to get a better understanding of you and to see how your personality correlates with the qualities they are looking for?

@Anonymous261 That’s how it looks to me. I’m a class of 2021 hopeful. The essays are a valuable asset in determining character and personal qualities, which is probably the most important factor in the MIT admissions process.

@ManaManaWegi hope we both make it to class of 2021

@superbowser12 You act like there is one admissions counselor reading every single essay…

Why speculate when MIT tells you how important the essays are. In the MIT common data set they are ranked as “important”, which is the 2nd highest category (out of 4 categories).

Note that GPA, test scores, recommendations, the interview and rigor of secondary school record are also listed in the “important” category.

@IN4655 Obviously there isn’t but each applicant that is competitive will be discussed by the committee and at least one person will read the essays. I think I saw a blog post that said there’s only 19 adcoms or something.

I’m with HPuck35 - MIT says “important” and has given no reason to doubt this.

Superbowser12 makes an interesting point. Reading these takes something like 10,000 hours. At $50/hr (minimum), that means they are spending at least half a million dollars on essays. Why would they do this if it weren’t important?

They claim they are important but in my experience those who get in are not great essay writers. They reflect geodiversity, URM and high standardized scores and national Math championships.

@preppedparent agreed that’s what I usually see as well

Strange, according to common data set character/personal quality is the only “very important” factor. I assume the only way to get to know an applicant’s character is from the essay,recommendations and possibly the interview, all of which are only “important”

This video has an interesting opinion on what’s the most important factor in admissions to highly selective universities ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t16IK0T75nU the speaker even has his own theories on @superbowser12 question regarding the cost of reading essays !

@CA94309 Character and Personal Qualities also show up in the applicants EC’s.

You might be surprised but majority of those who you think only speak STEM are very good writers. Humanities classes at MIT are as strong as science classes.

What is “Diversity” exactly? Being someone different from your future classmates or being expert and interested in many fields?

If it weren’t for my essays, I doubt I would have been accepted to MIT. Excellent grades and test scores aren’t enough to help people stand out in the MIT application pool. I worked really hard on my essays and believe that it got across my personality and passions well enough to convince the admission committee that I was a good match for their school.

@ManaManaWegi Excellent link. Kudos for looking and finding, that’s the spirit!

Every bit of your writing matters. It reflects your thinking, including what you decided to write about and how. Character and personal qualities include this thinking (as do some ECs) and you either show it or not.

Do you really think they only look at stats and ECs and, with that level of competition, a kid can’t get x-ed out for a poorly done supp?

Btw, no to $50/hr. And watch out for college consultants and test prep co’s purporting to have the inside scoop; they make their bread and butter convincing you they know.


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Btw, no to $50/hr.

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I said that’s what it costs, not what they earn. You not only have salaries, you have fringe benefits, office space, computers, electricity, telephones, incremental staff for the additional payroll and HR burden and so on. MIT is putting serious money into reading these essays. Of course they take them seriously.