<p>I'm a current freshman at MIT. </p>
<p>I remember the college application process well. It was a stressful time, and every day I oscillated between telling myself that I absolutely would get in, and that I had no chance at all. As someone who's been through the whole rigmarole now, let me share my experiences so far. </p>
<p>Myth: A B, or one bad grade will hurt your application.
Fact: Most people I know here have gotten Bs in high school. I got Bs in high school, in math and science classes mostly. The important thing to note here is that your transcript as a whole should demonstrate what you care about and what you're interested in. It should show that you tried to challenge yourself to the extent that your school and circumstances allowed. It should show you care about school. So don't fret about that B in Calc AB or Honors Physics!</p>
<p>Myth: Everyone here has a perfect SAT score, or something close.
Fact: Your SAT score does not determine your worth as a person. MIT admissions knows to look past just the numbers on your application. In fact, I didn't get anything close to a perfect score on the SAT. I know people who have gotten below 2000 on the test, and they're still here! </p>
<p>Myth: You need to be involved in 132305968 clubs and president of all of them to stand a chance.
Fact: Pick a few extracurriculars that you're passionate about and follow through with them! For me, it was music, something I'm still continuing with at MIT. For you, it may be coding in your spare time, basketball, church, or the numerous other things that I haven't thought about. There are no "right" extracurricular activities when it comes to college apps! As for leadership, I've usually found that if you love something enough, you usually end up putting enough time into it to show that you care, whether or not that time came with a "leadership" label. </p>
<p>Myth: Regular people don't get into MIT.
Fact: Almost everyone at MIT would disagree with you. Nearly 100% of the people I've met believe that they are "regular people". That's right. Don't worry if you think you're not some kind of child prodigy that started building robots at the age of two- most of us are just intelligent people who are passionate about our work. For example, I didn't do any research in high school, any olympiads, or national science or math competitions, and I'm still here!</p>
<p>Myth: You should panic about college applications.
Fact: You might be nervous when you send out your apps, and that's all right. However, at this point, you've already done everything you can do. Work hard on your application, and wish it well when you send it off.
In short- don't panic, but always know where your towel is!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>