<p>Well, I'm in a bit of a quandary... I hate the essay prompts, I really do.</p>
<p>I was thinking of what kind of risk to take. I already wrote an essay for the first prompt, "a moment you felt it was the end of the world", or whatever it was. However, in it I admitted I was quite lazy, but was struggling to overcome that. Mistake? Should I send it?</p>
<p>I mean, I achieve perfectly good grades, 800 in SAT physics, 790 in SAT chemistry and still to take my maths (long story), still, I am lazy and admitted it - I suppose you could say I cruise at an A grade?</p>
<p>I am being honest in it though... Also, it's preferable to the other essays I would end up writing - likely absurd, entirely fictional essays. I wanted to do something like that, but thought that it would be way too risky and would likely make it seem like I just don't care at all, at least they'd get a laugh though.</p>
<p>It's just that it's a problem with me... I either approach things in a cynical and very judgmental manner, or the opposite extreme: as though I'm a hyperactive five year old jumping on the keyboard. How about I write an essay about my struggles with the essay?</p>
<p>It's a risk, but you never know. My brother wrote an essay for Stanford about how he was a procrastinator and then mailed the application in the day after the deadline - amazingly they accepted him anyway! </p>
<p>I don't know if this will help, but my sister-in-law who eyeballed my son's essays said that every college essay really has two agendas. One is the offical prompt you have to make some attempt to answer that. But the real question is - who are you and why should we want you? Laziness doesn't strike me as a quality you want to advertise. On the other hand, maybe you'll come off as having a great sense of humor.</p>
<p>It's a risk, but you never know
Don't take my words for granted because I'm not accepted yet (and most likely won't be), but I opened up in my essays. I told them that I don't like grades, that I am not perfect, and that I make mistakes, and that sometimes I don't rush to correct them (not in an open text, but in a subliminal message). </p>
<p>My reasoning (greatly influenced by magd, he-he) was that it would be easier for adcoms to make a decision. If they like it; if, according to them, I fit in MIT with such qualities, they'll take me. If they feel that my personality and character does NOT fit in, they'll reject me. But hey, it'll be good in either scenario. Accepted? Great! Denied? Also great! For then I would know I wouldn't have fit in, so adcoms would have saved me from 4-years torture, and would've given my spot to someone who'd thrive at MIT instead. Isn't it worth it?</p>
<p>That was how I reasoned (not very coherent, thought....but it made sense to me - hehe)</p>
<p>So, once again...it's up to you :)
Good luck!</p>
<p>Well, it certainly is a risk. I don't know what advice to give you. However, my best friend ran into a similar problem. She wrote an essay for the second prompt, something about how your community influenced you or something, but she didn't like it. And then she wrote another one about some bizarre fictional situation in the future. She actually took the risk and sent in the fictional one as supplementary material along with her "serious" essay. She's crossing her fingers right now waiting for the EA decisions, as I am. I wish you the best of luck my friend. I'm waiting for mine to come.</p>
<p>There is absolutely nothing wrong with being blatantly not happy about the system of education you're stuck in. What does make a difference is how you react when you're in that situation. If you do absolutely nothing, then obviously things don't look good for you... but if you spend that time instead doing things you love and enjoy (as opposed to turning gears in the machine), things may work out for you...</p>
<p>I think honesty is good. They all say so on the admissions blogs.</p>
<p>I agree with Hriundeli that you should put yourself out there, and if you get rejected, you'll know that at least you were honest, and that they just didn't think MIT was for you. You don't want to end up wondering if they would have liked the real you if only you had shown it to them. That's how I'm looking at it myself, anyway.</p>
<p>Think about it. If you were MIT and had a choice between a student who got straight A's but had to study 40 hours a week to achieve those scores and a student who got straight A's crusin'; which applicant has the most potential? Wow - that sentence was way too long, but you get the idea.</p>
<p>MIT is not your high school, where you could have garnered an A just by wading through busywork and relying on your intellect. Your success here is determined primarily by your effort, not your intelligence (though being a genius certainly helps).</p>
<p>The student who studies 40 hours a week will arrive and adjust to this place extremely well and continue to do well...</p>
<p>I know of more than a few students who got here who failed intro chem/biology/cs despite the fact that they were taking graduate math classes...</p>
<p>Potential to do amazing things is useless unless you also demonstrate the potential (and desire) to use that potential.</p>
<p>But this isn't an argument I'll pursue today...</p>
MIT is not your high school, where you could have garnered an A just by wading through busywork and relying on your intellect.
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I have to admit that watching freshmen discover this is one of my favorite fall activites. It's like watching a thousand lightbulbs go on with different kinetic profiles.</p>
<p>Here is the take of a HS senior applying to MIT:</p>
<p>If you truly are lazy, the MIT admissions officers will probably be able to figure it out even if you don't mention your laziness in your essays. If I were one of them, I would find it reassuring that a lazy applicant is at least aware of the problem and has a desire to do better. IMHO, at the very least it would put you ahead of other lazy applicants.</p>