<p>I was accepted EA, and I was inspired by the "How to get into Harvard" thread (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/205530-how-get-into-harvard-harvard-student.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/205530-how-get-into-harvard-harvard-student.html</a>).</p>
<p>Disclaimer: Don't let this scare you. This attempts to be the ultimate step-by-step guide. It is not expected that you nail every single point I enumerate here.</p>
<p>So this should be a collaborative process. There are certainly others better then me at giving advice. I'll start:</p>
<p>-------------The Obvious Points---------------</p>
<p>1) Get good grades. This is the most important and most obvious one. I've spoken with an admissions officer from MIT, and he told me that MIT values grades a LOT. It doesn't have to be a 4.0 UW (although that should ALWAYS be your goal). But realistically, a 3.5 UW just won't cut it in most cases.</p>
<p>2) Take the hardest classes you can. Also obvious. If your school has AP classes, you <em>must</em> take them. Also, try and get some college units under your belt from your local university or community college. If you get A's in college classes, it shows you can handle college-level coursework (but if you can get A's in college classes AND AP classes, it shows you might even be able to handle MIT-level coursework). If you're scared, don't be. Most college classes that you will encounter in HS are easier than AP classes.</p>
<p>3) Do well on the SAT or ACT. You don't have to take both, although it's not a bad idea. You might do a lot better on one or the other. Understandably, sometimes this is not something you can control. If you're only capable of a 1900, so be it. Work on the rest of these points.</p>
<p>-------------The Interview---------------</p>
<p>4) Do the interview. I'm serious. MIT says it's optional, but they're lying to you. Last year, about 16% of the people who did an interview were accepted, but only about 6% of the people who did NOT do the interview were admitted as well. If that huge disparity in admittance percentages scares you, good.</p>
<p>4a) It is always better to over-dress than under-dress. I wore a suit to my interview (this is overkill in many situations).</p>
<p>4b) Don't talk about grades or test scores during the interview. The rest of your application is for that. Don't hand your EC a resume (but BRING one for yourself and just in case). The EC's have instructions to not take resumes (according to my EC anyway).</p>
<p>4c) Be entertaining. Don't try to be solemnly serious the whole time, and DO NOT try and make yourself look better than you are. They will see through it. Try and avoid talking about your failures, times you cheated, etc. unless you've clearly grown as a person from the experience.</p>
<p>4d) Don't just answer the questions your EC asks. Definitely answer the questions first, but then go beyond that. Say, "this reminds me of the time...blah blah" and make mini-digressions. It's a conversation, not a questionnaire or interrogation.</p>
<p>4e) If you've ever been to MIT, talk about it. Talk about RSI, MITES, or WTP if you went. Talk about any visits you had. Your first impressions, what you liked, how cool you thought the Stata Center building looked.</p>
<p>4f) Make it known that you want to go to MIT more than anywhere else. My EC told me that she felt like her other interviewees were only applying because their parents made them. DON'T be one of those. Show passion.</p>
<p>4g) Bring stuff. Pictures of your robot, programs you've written (with a laptop), books you've gotten published. You won't have a chance to submit all your amazing creations to the admissions office - this is the time to show MIT how cool you are outside of the classroom.</p>
<p>4h) Ask your interviewer questions. Make it a two-sided conversation. Bring a notepad with questions you've prepared, and take notes. Sample questions: As an alum, what would you change about MIT? How has going to MIT helped you get where you are now? What was your favorite part about your experience there?</p>
<p>4i) Don't try and get it over with. In general, the longer your interview lasts, the better. Your EC will have more to write about you in their report. Give them stuff to write about.</p>
<p>4j) Learn about MIT beforehand. Know the school inside and out. Talk about how beautiful that picture of the Fourth of July fireworks on the Charles River looked. Talk about how badly you want to join MIT's assassins guild. Talk about how you want to rub George Eastman's golden nose in the Infinite Corridor. Talk about how you can't wait to check the Random Hall laundry server or how you want to push the Emergency Pizza Button in East Campus.</p>
<p>4k) Be prepared to answer anticipated questions. This is the one you should really master: "Why do you want to go to MIT?" Most EC's will ask this. If you REALLY want to go, it shouldn't be that hard to explain why. Don't talk about shallow reasons either, like "MIT is the top engineering school...blah blah" Talk about it on a personal level, even if you've never been to the campus. Say stuff like, "I want to take Eric Lander's biology class," "I've met some MIT students, and they are just different from students at other colleges. They really have passion. At MIT, everyone WANTS to be there." If you've taken college classes before, compare that college with MIT. "At XYZ University, I've met many students who are only attending college because their parents made them. They seem to not care about their studies at all. I know that at MIT, things are different." Etc.</p>
<p>4l) Try and find things you have in common with your interviewer, and talk about those. You both like physics? Talk about how your interviewer uses physics in her profession.</p>
<p>4l) RELAX. During the interview, be cool. I was panicking before my interview, but once I stepped inside I took off my coat and took a breather - it's really not that bad.</p>
<p>4m) Thank your interviewer!!!!! This is KEY. Do it in person, but also do it in the form of a thank-you letter (a physical piece of paper inside a real envelope). Write a follow-up email.</p>
<p>-------------The Less-Obvious Guidelines---------------</p>
<p>5) Do well on the PSAT. Most people think, "Oh, the PSAT is just for practice. It doesn't matter..." And they're correct in the sense that MIT will not see your PSAT score. HOWEVER, doing well on the PSAT qualifies you for the National Merit Scholarship program (which looks good) AND it will help with Step 6.</p>
<p>6) Do one of the three summer programs at MIT. If you're a genius, apply to RSI. If you're garden-variety smart, apply to MITES. If you're a girl, think about going for WTP. Note that each of these programs has extremely competitive admissions, but attending one and <em>DOING WELL</em> while you're there makes you look so sweet and delicious to the admissions officers. The worst thing you could do to yourself is not apply. MITES and RSI are free. WTP has scholarships.</p>
<p>7) Apply early action. This doesn't apply to seniors, because the EA filing period is over. Getting accepted early action is more difficult than getting accepted regular action. Why should I apply early then?! According to the admissions officer I spoke with, if you apply early, you have about an 11% chance of being admitted in December. You also have an 11% chance of getting rejected. This means that there's 78 percentage points leftover for being deferred. If you get deferred, you have a second chance. Your application will be considered with the Regular Decision applications, and yours is at no disadvantage compared to them. This time around, you have another 11% chance of being accepted. If you were deferred (and, statistically, you probably will be), MIT considers you a competitive applicant already. Also, it means you have TWO chances at victory, which is twice as many chances as most applicants. In short, two 11% chances at admittance is better than one 12% chance. :) Also, if you're accepted early, you will be so enthralled with this seemingly unattainable triumph that you will thank God that being this happy is still legal in your state. And more importantly, you won't have to complete that atrocious Common App.</p>
<p>8) Spend a lot of time on your application. Have EVERYONE under the sun proofread your essays. This means parents, English teachers, college professors, mentors, pastors, siblings, etc. The MIT application is online, and it does not check spelling for you. Spell-check EVERYTHING (as in...paste it into Word). Also, make sure your talking about MIT in your essays, not Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Caltech, Dartmouth... Honestly, some people end their MIT essays with "...and that's why I want to go to Harvard." If you re-use essays, watch out for this! (one of the admissions officers told me this actually does happen!)</p>
<p>9) Don't moralize things that don't need to be moralized. I'm mostly talking about the optional essays. There are two optional essays, and they don't have to be thesis-driven dissertations exploring the significance of your parents' divorce in 3rd grade. Just keep it real. Don't try to create hidden meaning in things.</p>
<p>10) Make sure you have at least 5 good extracurriculars. The MIT application only lets you put 5. They expect you to have more than 5, and they only want to hear about your most important activities. So do important activities in areas that you love. Like creative writing? Do NaNoWriMo. Like computer programming? Make a 3-D graphing calculator. Do local competitions. Do sports. Apply to be on the School Board. Do missionary/charity work.</p>
<p>11) Do things during the summer. The MIT application asks what you do during summer breaks. Don't leave this section blank.</p>
<p>12) Maintain a resume. I don't mean a normal, condensed 1-page resume like you would bring to a job interview. This should be a full-blown list of everything you ever done (in High School), every award you've won, etc. This will make filling out college applications much easier. I did this, and now most of my friends wish they had too.</p>
<p>13) Get to know your guidance counselor. He/she will be writing one of your letters of recommendation, so it's key that you have a solid relationship. Say hi to her every once in a while. Stop by her office, ask her how things are going, schedule meetings with her to discuss college applications, etc.</p>
<p>14) Don't be socially awkward. Not just for the interview, but also so you can develop a deep relationship with those who will be writing your letters of recommendation. If brushing up your social skills means going to parties, talking on the phone with friends, not spending brunch/lunch by yourself, then so be it.</p>
<p>15) Don't EVER complain about your school. This is a common mistake people make both during their interviews and in their essays. If you love your school, the admissions officers will extrapolate and assume you will extend your love to the Institute as well. You need to seem like a positive person.</p>
<p>After being admitted, I felt the need to write this to help out anyone else whose dream it is to go to MIT. Good luck everyone, and feel free to add to this list.</p>