The Student Room Group

How can I get into MIT?

Hey TSR Users,

This is my first post, as I have just signed up. You may get this question all the time and I'm sorry if I am bothering you all, but how do I get into MIT and what do I need under my belt?

I am currently 16, in Form 5, studying in Northern Ireland for my GCSE's under the CCEA Curriculum (This is the NI version of Execel and AQA, which some say is the hardest sets of tests in the UK :confused:)

I did my GCSE Maths a year before everyone else and got an A*, and currently studying:

Additional Maths
English Language
English Literature
Double Award Science (Consists if Bio, Chem & Physics and is worth 2 GCSEs)
Spanish
Design & Technology
Geography
Religious Studies

I have been predicted an A/A* in all of these tests and will go on to study for A-levels:

Maths
Biology
Chemistry
Physics

I am also thinking of doing my SATs this summer, but people say I don't need to do them for a few years. If I do them one or two years early would that look impressive?

Outside of school I play for a football team and am a volunteer of the PHAB program, which is a youth club set out to bring those who are physically-disabled and those able-bodied to preform activites together.

Next year I am planning to visit people in the local hospital and become part of the Youth Engineering Scheme, which the school picks 4 people to compete in the national competition, and the winner team goes on to the global competition on the USA. For the last 13 of 14 years are team has won nationally.

Is this enough? What else can I do? Most people say I have no chance as 1 person if very lucky in N Ireland goes every year. No one has to answer all my questions but any info would be useful

Sorry this post was so long, but my dream was to go to MIT when I was 11.

Thanks to all who reply :smile:

P.S Sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes

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you will probably get a load of abuse now but I for one admire your determination
good luck
Reply 2
What do you want to study there?
*naive*
Reply 3
Hoping to study Engineering or Architecture
You can take SAT's when you want, the date will unlikely be reported and even if it is, I doubt they will take note of it. The best thing you can do is do well in school but most importantly do EXTREMELY well in your SAT's, specifically math.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about EC's. I didn't have any and still got into Yale, Stanford, Penn, Princeton so personally I wouldn't worry about doing any more then what you already have.

Your goals should be at least 3 A's in your A levels and 700+ in your SAT math.
May the force be with you.

I'm American, and MIT is.... basically impossble to get into. However, if you want to, go for it. You NEVER know what a college is looking for, and sometimes they'll reject one applicant that seems better than someone else who got in.

I must say though, their suicide rates are frightening.
And just so you know, don't get too hung up on the MIT name, there are plenty of other good schools such as Oxbridge, Penn, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford etc.
Reply 7
SnowWhiteButIDrifted
May the force be with you.

I'm American, and MIT is.... basically impossble to get into. However, if you want to, go for it. You NEVER know what a college is looking for, and sometimes they'll reject one applicant that seems better than someone else who got in.

I must say though, their suicide rates are frightening.


Suicide rates?? Lol. I suggest that you start reading books around the subject that you want to study, just to expand your knowledge and so on. Good luck.
Reply 8
Thanks for all the info. I know it's hard and I am looking at the other Universities, it just this one looks the best. The people opposite me have 3sons who all went to MIT!

Plus I heard International Students have a harder time getting in. Is it something like 150 Undergraduates get in form 115 countries?
Lord_Farquad
And just so you know, don't get too hung up on the MIT name, there are plenty of other good schools such as Oxbridge, Penn, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford etc.


Even those are "big name" schools.

If you really don't want to get hung up on names, think schools like University of Washington in St. Louis, Bucknell, Lehigh... etc.
SnowWhiteButIDrifted
Even those are "big name" schools.

If you really don't want to get hung up on names, think schools like University of Washington in St. Louis, Bucknell, Lehigh... etc.


I meant more seen MIT on tv etc etc. There are other good universities, a lot that are even better then MIT, which he should look into.

Georgia Tech for instance is an excellent school for engineering, ranked top 10 in the world I believe and is heavily recruited from by the likes of IBM and other tech firms.
Lord_Farquad
I meant more seen MIT on tv etc etc. There are other good universities, a lot that are even better then MIT, which he should look into.

Georgia Tech for instance is an excellent school for engineering, ranked top 10 in the world I believe and is heavily recruited from by the likes of IBM and other tech firms.


Yeah, Cornell is just as good if not better than MIT, and it's easier to get into.

Hoowever, it is harder to stay there.
Reply 12
My mate and me were also planning of going to a summer leadership course in the USA in one or two years, and there is one happening in MIT and other big universities. Would these benefit me at all?
crush525
My mate and me were also planning of going to a summer leadership course in the USA in one or two years, and there is one happening in MIT and other big universities. Would these benefit me at all?


I'm not sure. Anything you do like that will help you get into any college, but if the course isn't specifically run by MIT (and even if it is) I don't think it will give you a competitive edge there.
Reply 14
Does anyone have any friends who got in and do you know how smart (pretty obvious there) they were and what type of ECs they did, or am i on the right track?
I'd give it a pop if I were you but don't put too much hope to it...

I got rejected from it myself... The only place I did get accepted in the US was UC Berkeley... for Chem Eng.

Anyways... the reason why it's so hard in my opinion is the fact that they have a tremendous financial aid program for all students who successfully enroll with them. Hence meaning that if they accept you, you'll probably have to pay very little of the actual tuition yourself, if you applied for Financial aid, and thus when it comes to money, they have to be sure that they have the creme de la creme.

But anyways good luck :biggrin:
Reply 16
you need money. and lots of it
NW86
you need money. and lots of it


Not true. Many top schools have incredible tuition program. Harvard for one only makes you pay 10% of your family income as long as the total income is less then $180,000. So if your family earns $100,000 you pay $10,000 for a harvard education. That's less then most instate tuition prices at public schools.
crush525

Sorry this post was so long, but my dream was to go to MIT when I was 11.


Riiiiight..
Lord_Farquad
I meant more seen MIT on tv etc etc. There are other good universities, a lot that are even better then MIT, which he should look into.

Georgia Tech for instance is an excellent school for engineering, ranked top 10 in the world I believe and is heavily recruited from by the likes of IBM and other tech firms.


True, Georgia Tech is excellent, very underrated. Not sure which universities you think are better than MIT though. For engineering, I don't think there is a better one in the US. At the undergrad level, maybe s few others in the world would compete.



but OP, I think having an obsession with getting into a particular institution is unhealthy. I mean shouldn't the obsession be the subject you are interested in first and foremost? Because the truth is, as corny as it may sound, "a star will shine anywhere", and as long as you get into a good place, (of which there are many in the US and UK), then how you do will be very much dominated by your own intelligence and hardwork.

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