sample admission essay

Getting into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Counting Cards and Much Much More

A movie focusing on card-counting student geniuses from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has put a spotlight on one of the revered academic institutions in the US. This wasn’t just based on fiction, as MIT really did have a blackjack team that were high-rollers not only in the academe, but in Vegas as well, proof that MIT isn’t just for robotics or other geeky stuff.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology houses five schools grouped under Architecture and Planning, Engineering, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Engineering and Management and one collegiate institution for Health Sciences and Technology , a joint project with one of its partner schools in medicine Harvard Medical School . MIT is a private, co-educational, and research-generating university established under William Barton Rogers in 1865 with the aim to amalgamate research with application in order to answer the needs of a country that was then rapidly becoming more industrialized. MIT lives up to its mission of enriching through research that even the courses geared toward more creative pursuits are tackled with analytical approaches.

Currently, MIT  has 10,220 students enrolled , 4,172 of which are freshmen. MIT also has quite an international community of students from foreign countries, and the larger percentage of this group are taking their post-graduate degrees. Student housing is offered to students as single freshmen are required to live within campus in MIT’s residence halls or in any of the Greek-letter houses after their fist year. Extracurricular activities in the arts and athletics also abound in MIT, proving that students can be well-rounded even in a place as concentrated on technological advancements as MIT is. The infamous MIT Hacks are proof that pulling pranks are also one of the “majors” in this university, albeit for comic purposes only. Imagine being able to demonstrate your prowess in physics and engineering while pulling off the most spectacular prank of the year in front of a stadium full of people.

Getting into MIT requires the usual smarts in which its admission committee measures your abilities to see if you truly deserve to get in. The following are just a few pointers to give a heads up on the requirements.

Early Action applicants must submit biological information and all the required paperwork before November 1 or not later than January 1 for Regular Action applicants.

Along with the preferred field of study, a 500-word essay is also required by MIT.  Key tip: sustain the attention of the admissions people reading your essay is to keep it light and interesting
Personal interviews can be gone through. Though not required, it can up your chances a bit if you get to please the admissions people once they find what they’re looking for in a candidate.
Standard exams given to all applicants are also used to gauge their capacity to get into MIT.
Evaluations or recommendation from two secondary school teachers are also required.
Musical and artistic portfolios are also encouraged, and these could be additional factors for your evaluation.

MIT has been in the forefront of producing various breakthroughs in scientific and industrial circles, as well as harmless but memorable shenanigans. If you think you have what it takes and if you can be more than what is expected, then MIT is opening its doors for you.

Photo Credits:  TJeerd