Writing about a weakness in application?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>For my essay on a significant challenge, my uni counsellors told me it would be a "kiss of death" to write about how much of a struggle I had adjusting to my 11th and 12th grade math class, which was MUCH different and MUCH more difficult than from freshman and sophomore year.</p>

<p>My math grade isn't great (probably a 5 in IB HL Math), but I (now) do have a great SAT Math II score. And, my math grade is on the rise- should be at least a 6 in the next marking period, and I'm trying to have my school document that increase in some way that can be submitted to MIT for consideration.</p>

<p>However, I feel that my math class was the biggest challenge that I have confronted in the past years, and I think that I've done a pretty good job dealing with it. I can write about other challenges, but I don't think any of them are as significant.</p>

<p>So, basically, is it okay to write about a weaker part of my application (and thus risk drawing too much attention to a weakness) or should I choose a new topic?</p>

<p>Any advice is appreciated!</p>

2

<p>I think it’s fine to write about that weakness as long as the focus of your essay is on what you learned from the experience and how you’re better because of it.</p>

3

<p>The risk is that MIT will think you’re not academically prepared for the workload here. (And if you’re not, you might be better off not getting admitted anyway.) The benefit is that you can show that you’ve experienced and handled academic difficulty and will be prepared for the stress and failure that takes many MIT students by surprise. In particular, if you managed to give yourself a workload close to that of an MIT student, then a little failure and recovery is fine. Good luck.</p>