<p>Hey I'm a Junior and I have made it a goal to research colleges during the break. Since I am interested in applying to MIT in 6-7 months (oh my goodness thats not very much time), I was wondering what are the essay topics for the class of 2014? I already read the ones from 2008 and 2007 but for some reason I can't find the essay topics for this year.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Just create an account on my.mit.edu. You’ll be able to access the essay topics after you go in through the online application.</p>
<p>The essay topics don’t change. Aside from the switch from long essays to short essays, the essay topics have been the same for many years now.</p>
<p>you have to lie about your college entrance year though, as I recall. I made a myMIT account about a year ago but I couldn’t access the actual application until this August. Here they are, from this year:</p>
<p>“We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do for the pleasure of it. (*)(100 words or fewer)”</p>
<p>“Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why? (*) (100 words or fewer)”</p>
<p>“Tell us about a time you used your creativity. This could be something you made, a project that you led, an idea that you came up with, or pretty much anything else. (*) (200-250 words)”</p>
<p>“Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?(*) (200-250 words)”</p>
<p>“Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?(*) (200-250 words)”</p>
<p>Don’t forget the optional essay that may be integral to applications from those who have not had a typical experience.</p>
<p>where is the optional essay? is it that box for optional information? so we can just write another short essay in there?</p>
<p>The optional essay is just another box at the end, and they phrase it more as “if you have anything extra you want to say, say it here.” It’s pretty much an optional essay, though, and I don’t think there’s an official word limit on it. (Of course, concise would be nice.)</p>
<p>^I believe the optional essay was supposed to be limited to 200-250 words. They are all soft word counts though.</p>
<p>I think the optional essay is 200-250 words too, but as the limits are, as Secret Asian Man said, “soft,” if you go over, as many applicants do, the best thing to do is check the preview of your application and make sure that the font has not become too small and that the entire essay is on the application.</p>