I’m really a STEM person, but after visiting the campus, I found out that I really want to go to MIT. However, all of my ECs are humanities-based. Do I have hope for MIT? If so, what should I do?
ECs that are humanities based will not harm one’s application to MIT. MIT looks for people who challenge themselves and respond well to those challenges. They also stress character.
So, if you think that MIT is the place for you, apply. Just be aware that the admission rate is extremely low, even for the best qualified applicants.
@HPuck35 Don’t most people who apply have really good math ECs? I feel like I would have no chance at all.
Why are all your extracurriculars in humanities if you claim to be a STEM person. That raises flags. Think some more before you decide to apply.
Your math ability will show in the classes you take and the grades you get in those classes. Your SAT or ACT scores will also reflect your math ability.
MIT uses a holistic approach to admissions so it is hard to predict specifically what any one facet of your application will make you stand out. But you have to figure that one dimensional students aren’t as attractive as a well rounded, capable, student.
A common misconception.
A school like MIT needs both well-rounded and pointy students.
Well rounded and capable students describe most of my classmates at MIT and the applicants that I now interview as an alumni. I don’t believe it is a misconception.
@HPuck35, how would you define “well-rounded”? I’m afraid we may be running into a “no true Scotsman” type of scenario here:)
MIT (and Caltech) appear to be valuing those who pursue fewer interests at a greater depth.
That said, I was always a firm believer in the approach that MIT, I recently learned, calls “applying sideways”:
https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways
OK, let me try. MIT students have done well in their academics. If your passion is a STEM EC, then so be it. But most students have other interests as well as STEM interests. It does differ quite a bit from high school to college.
There are so many more opportunities to do non-STEM activities at MIT and in the Boston/Cambridge as well as the whole New England area. Not as many opportunities in high school.
In the applicants I have interviewed I have seen many who are into Boy Scouts (not so many into Girl Scouts), sports (both at the varsity level and just for fun level), music, photography and few who were into cooking. I even had one interview where the student brought her water color art work to show me. Of course, I’ve had several who were into some kind of robotic competition. But more often than not, they had no formal STEM ECs.
Once you get into college, the expansion of the opportunities brings out the passion in many different areas. Music, both making music and listening, was a big one. Friends would make occasional trips to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts or some of the other smaller art galleries. Several of my fraternity brothers (including me) were into varsity sports. I also learned how to sail. I learned to cook foods from various regions of the US from my friends and somethng about German cooking (which wasn’t my favorite) from someone who grew up in Germany. Others got into politics, still others into literature and writting. I was a civil engineering major but also studied architechture. I was specifically interested in the evolution of home design in New England from Colonial times thru the early 1900’s. Just look at all the clubs that MIT has. Look at the offerings for Independant Activities Period (IAP, roughly the month of January); I recall glass blowing and ballroom dancing as a couple of the many offerings.
MIT is an amazing place and what makes it even more interesting is the varied interests of the students.
@frnchtoast Whether it will affect admission chances or not, I’m still curious as to why most of your ECs are in humanities if STEM is your passion?
As an aside, acceptance rates to MIT are so low that I would not advise you to have too much of an emotional investment in attending MIT. The biggest factor in deciding your acceptance chances for MIT is the sheer number of applicants.
Personally (as an MIT graduate) I don’t think that you should worry about it. Participate in the ECs that you want to participate in, and do them very well. Then apply and see what happens.
As others have said, the acceptance rate at MIT is low enough that you cannot count on it, and cannot even think that it is likely. It does not make much sense to distort your life to try to guess at what MIT admissions wants when you know that you will probably be somewhere else for undergrad.
My ECs had nothing at all to do with anything STEM. The only one that was even remotely academic in any sense was chess club. However, the (non-academic, non-math) ECs that I did, I did well. As far as I know this appears to be what MIT cares about.
Also, be aware that studying at MIT involves (i) Suddenly becoming only an average student the day that you arrive on campus; and (ii) A lot of hard work for four years. Make sure that this is what you want.
And make sure that you are happy with your safeties.
@HPuck35, thanks for your perspective.
In my son’s case there is no doubt that it was largely his deep commitment to (and excellence in) his STEM passions that made him attractive to MIT (and Caltech). Yes, he also plays piano for pleasure, but it didn’t make it into his application, and didn’t come up in his interview.
Far be it from me to read too much into the admissions tea leaves (see above about “applying sideways”), and I am sure there are anecdotes to the contrary, but it is decidedly unnecessary (and potentially counter-productive) to try to project a “well-rounded” persona if that is not your thing.
…also, the examples @HPuck35 gives are not necessarily of a stereotypical well-rounded “jack of all trades” applicants, but rather of a well-rounded class consisting of students pursuing their individual passions at the world-class level.
Either way, the most important thing is, as @DadTwoGirls put it, not to distort your life doing something you guess adcoms want you to do just to get into a particular college.
You do you.
Just ran into this article by Georgia Tech’s director of admission that I think applies to many other highly selective schools:
https://www.gtalumni.org/s/1481/alumni/17/magazine-pages.aspx?pgid=15663&gid=21&cid=34951
"A common misconception is that we want each student to be “well-rounded.” The truth is that we do not expect them to have “done it all.” Instead, we are asking. “Will this student be missed when they leave?” “Have they left an indelibly positive mark?”
Ultimately, we want students who will challenge and stretch their peers on campus and beyond once they graduate. We are not concerned with whether they had a specific title, but rather if we see evidence that they are making people around them better. In order to find this, we also closely read their essay and short answer responses, as well as their recommendation letters from teachers and counselors."
I swear I did not google for “common misconception”! 