What can I do to get into MIT?

This is the most frequent question that I get. I am writing to briefly address this question based on how I received offers from US universities including MIT, UC Berkeley, and CMU.

1) Try your luck: Top grad schools like MIT are very competitive with ~5% admit rate. However, a positive way to look at this is to realize that the odds are still better compared to some of the ultra-competitive exams in India. If you really dream about top schools, you should definitely try your luck by applying. While this sounds obvious, there are a lot of good students who did not get into a top school simply because they did not apply.

2) Easy-medium-dream rule: It is impossible to fairly estimate the strength of your profile. You either overestimate or underestimate. Thus, the best strategy to maximize your chance of good admit is to apply to a set of universities that are in easy, medium, and dream categories. However, identifying these universities need more than university ranking as a criterion. You have to look at how well your profile and what each department has to offer match.

2) GPA: Students, regardless of their current institution (tier 1, 2 etc.), have a fair shot at top universities if they can demonstrate academic excellence with a great GPA. MIT and Stanford love department toppers. However, I have also seen MIT admitting students with <8 GPA, but with a great research profile that offsets their average GPA.

3) Publications: Every single person I knew who got admitted to MIT had journal or conference publications. If you haven’t published yet and want to apply for fall 2024, don’t worry. Even getting your projects to the level of paper manuscripts is good so that you can mention them as publications “under preparation” in your resume.

4) Storytelling: Grad school apping is different from preparing for exams. Unlike studying hard to get good grades, apping resembles a sales process. You are trying to convince the admission committee to take you in based on your past experiences, your personal values, and your future vision. SoP, resume, and LoRs are great opportunities to tell a compelling and coherent story about you.

5) Start preparing now: I want to stress this point the most. Last year, I received far too many messages from students close to the application deadline. While I was able to help them to the best of my abilities, there was very less time available for proper mentorship. Grad school applications should be seen as a marathon. If you want to study at some of the best universities in the world, you cannot make it happen close to the deadline.

Credit:

Sreedath Panat

PhD at MIT