What should I go with for MIT essay prompt: "What do you do for fun?"

College Essays
1

Hi all,

The MIT application has a question that asks “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.”

I’m having trouble deciding between talking about drawing/painting or novel-writing. I have lots of creative writing awards on the national and state level, and lots of literary EC’s as well. My love for writing is going to be a major component of my application.

On the other hand, art won’t appear anywhere else on my application. It’s something I genuinely enjoy, plus I’ve sold some commissions and won very minor awards, but I haven’t taken an art class at school since freshman year and I don’t have any EC’s for it. I don’t know if talking about this is going to provide another angle on who I am, or make me look disorganized/disingenuous.

However, mentioning how I like to write might just be redundant here, since it’s proven over and over in other facets of my application.

Which one should I choose? Or should I go with a completely different topic (badminton, blogging, etc.)?

Thanks!

2

The only wrong answer would be to write about something that you don’t actually do for fun. Give a shot at both essays and see which one you like better. There’s no definitive answer here.

3

Anything you want to write about is fine. That is kind of the point. Use it to tell the school something new and interesting about yourself.

4

How about what you REALLY do for fun rather than what item you think puts you in the best light for your essay reader? Sincerity has a quality all its own. That’s the purpose of this essay – not seeing how you can beef up one of your ECs or traits.

5

I’d like to clarify that I like to do both of these things for fun. However, I only can choose to submit an essay about one of these things in the end.

Thanks to everybody for the advice, though! I can see how this would be something that depends on each individual applicant, and there’s no “right” or “wrong” answer. I’ll probably write both essays and see.

6

What makes you laugh and fills you with joy? What gives you stress relief? If it is something silly or quirky that is fine.

7

The point of the exercise is that YOU answer the prompt…isn’t it? So, use what got you to this point and build on it.
You could also use a couple of beginning lines that might lead to a few more words, such as: “It was the funnest of times, it was the worst of times”, or the always popular “Call me Ishmael”.