<p>Hehe, sorry for this provoking title. Still, I was wondering: do you have to be a winner of a national competition in order to have a chance to compete in the international pool? Is it futile to apply if you didn't participate in a national competition? Do you have a realistic chance?</p>
<p>It is never futile to apply. MIT always looks for the match before they look for the numbers.</p>
<p>However, it's true in the international applicant pool especially that there are enough applicants that they can fill all the slots with people who have the match and the achievements.</p>
<p>So yes, those people who have distinguished themselves nationally or internationally have proven that they are qualified, but not necessarily that they'd fit at MIT. If you think you'd fit, apply anyway.</p>