mit college application essay prompts

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MIT Supplemental Essays 2023-24 – Prompts and Tips

September 8, 2023

When applying to MIT, a school with a 4% acceptance rate where a 1500 SAT would place you below the average enrolled student (seriously), teens should be aware that it takes a lot to separate yourself from the other 26,000+ applicants you are competing against. While trying to be among the 1 in 25 who will ultimately be accepted sounds like (and is) a rather intimidating proposition, every year around 1,300 individuals accomplish this epic feat. We’ve worked with many of these students personally and can tell you one thing they all had in common—exceptionally strong MIT supplemental essays.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into MIT? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into MIT: Admissions Data and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

There are few schools that offer as many essays as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All applicants are required to respond to five prompts as they work through the MIT application. Your mission is to write compelling, standout compositions that showcase your superior writing ability and reveal more about who you are as an individual. Below are the MIT supplemental essays for the 2023-24 admissions cycle along with tips about how to address each one.

MIT Supplemental Essays – Prompt #1: 

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (200-250 words)

There are many different ways that you can approach this prompt, but the first step is to take MIT at their word that they are sincerely interested in what you do “simply for the pleasure of it.” While this may be something that also happens to be high-minded and/or STEM-oriented in nature, there is no expectation that this will be the case.

In essence, you want to ask yourself, what brings you great pleasure and happiness? Universal experiences of joy like family, a beautiful sunset, smiling children, or your cat or dog curled on your lap are perfectly acceptable answers here. However, you could also talk about dreams for the future, more bittersweet moments, abstract thoughts, moments of glorious introversion, or even something semi-embarrassing and vulnerable. The only “wrong” answer to this question would be an insincere one. As you enter the brainstorming phase, just make sure to turn off your “resume mode” setting. Instead, allow yourself to embrace the limitless possibilities of this essay.

Essay Prompt #2 

What field of study appeals to you the most right now? Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you. (Note: You’ll select your preferred field of study from a drop-down list.) (100 words or fewer)

Generally speaking, we all have a story of what drives us to pursue a certain academic pathway and career. How did your interest initially develop? What was the spark? How have you nurtured this passion and how has it evolved over time? If you desire to go into engineering, this is a chance to talk about everything from your childhood fascination with how things work to your participation in an award-winning robotics program at your high school. Share a compelling (and, of course, true!) narrative about how your love of your future area of study has blossomed to its present levels.

In other words, this essay should show evidence of intense hunger for knowledge that extends well outside of the classroom. How do you learn about your favorite subjects? What books have you read on the subject? Which podcasts have you listened to? What museums have you visited?

You can also tie your passions into specific academic opportunities at MIT including courses , professors , hands-on research programs , or any other aspects of your desired major that appeals most to you.

MIT Supplemental Essays – Prompt #3 

MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together. (225 words)

How you interact with your present surroundings is the strongest indicator of what kind of community member you will be in your future collegiate home. This prompt asks you to discuss how you have collaborated with others (in any setting) in order to learn from them or contribute to a particular community. This could mean how you’ve collaborated with others during a group project, internship, extracurricular opportunity, sports event, or service project, to name a few.

Some words of warning: don’t get too grandiose in explaining the positive change that you brought about. Of course, if you and your team truly brought peace to a war-torn nation or influenced climate change policy on a global scale, share away. However, nothing this high-profile is expected. Essentially, MIT wants to understand how you’ve worked with other people—in any capacity—to expand your thinking or reach a common goal.

A few potential ideas for areas where you may have worked with/alongside others include:

• Racial injustice
• Assisting those with special needs
• Climate justice/the environment
• Making outsiders in a group feel welcome
• The economically disadvantaged
• Mental health awareness
• Clean-up projects
• Tutoring peers or younger students
• Charitable work through a religious organization

This is, of course, by no means a comprehensive list of potential topics. Most importantly, your story should be personal, sincere, and revealing of your core character and developing values system.

Essay Prompt #4

How has the world you come from—including your opportunities, experiences, and challenges—shaped your dreams and aspirations? (225 words or fewer)

This essay encourages you to describe how your world has shaped your aspirations. We all have any number of “worlds” to choose from, and MIT is inviting you to share more about one of these worlds through the lens of how that has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

Take note of the wide-open nature of this prompt. You are essentially invited to talk about any of the following topics:

• A perspective you hold
• An experience/challenge you had
• A community you belong to
• Your cultural background
• Your religious background
• Your family background
• Your sexual orientation or gender identity

Although this prompt’s open floor plan may feel daunting, a good tactic is to first consider what has already been communicated within on other areas of your application. What important aspect(s) of yourself have not been shared (or sufficiently discussed)? The admissions officer reading your essay is hoping to connect with you through your written words, so—within your essay’s reflection—be open, humble, thoughtful, inquisitive, emotionally honest, mature, and/or insightful about what you learned and how you grew.

You’ll then need to discuss how your chosen “world” has influenced your future, and in what ways.

MIT Supplemental Essays – Prompt #5

How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it? (225 words)

Note this prompt’s new wording: How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect ? Can you think of a time when you felt surprisingly overwhelmed? When something out-of-the-ordinary occurred? When you were caught off guard? Basically, MIT is trying to discover how you deal with unforeseen setbacks, and the important thing to keep in mind is that the challenge/story itself is  less important  than what it reveals about your character and personality.

Of course, some teens have faced more challenges than others, potentially related to an illness or medical emergency, frequent moving, socioeconomic situation, natural disaster, or learning disability, to name a few. However, you don’t have to have faced a significant challenge to write a compelling essay (and even if you have faced a significant challenge, you don’t have to write about it if you’re not comfortable doing so). Writing about a common topic like getting cut from a sports team, struggling in a particular advanced course, or facing an obstacle within a group project or extracurricular activity is perfectly fine. Any story told in an emotionally compelling, honest, and connective manner can resonate with an admissions reader. The bottom line here is that there are no trite topics, only trite answers.

Given the 225-word limit, your essay needs to be extremely tight and polished. In all likelihood, getting this one precisely right will involve a round or two of revision, ideally with some insight/feedback from a trusted adult or peer in the process.

Some tips to keep in mind include:

• Firstly, make sure you share what you were feeling and experiencing. This piece should demonstrate openness and vulnerability.
• Additionally, you don’t need to be a superhero in the story. You can just be an ordinary human trying their best to learn how to navigate a challenging world.
• Don’t feel boxed into one particular structure for this essay. The most common (which there is nothing wrong with), is 1) introducing the problem 2) explaining your internal and external decision-making in response to the problem 3) Revealing the resolution to the problem and what you learned along the way.
• Lastly, don’t be afraid that your “problem” might sound “trite” in comparison to those of others. This essay is about you. Y our job is to make sure that your response to the problem shows your maturity and resilience in an authentic way. That matters far more than the original challenge itself.

Essay Prompt #6 (Optional)

Please tell us more about your cultural background and identity in the space below. (150 words)

Unlike other optional essays, this one truly is optional. You don’t need to respond unless you have something significant to share about your cultural background and identity that hasn’t already been shared elsewhere on the application.

How important are the MIT supplemental essays?

There are 8 factors that MIT considers to be “very important” to their evaluation process. They are: rigor of secondary school record, class rank, GPA, standardized test scores, recommendations, extracurricular activities, and most relevant to this blog—the MIT supplemental essays.

Moreover, character/personal qualities are the only factor that is “very important” to the MIT admissions committee. Of course, part of how they assess your character and personal qualities is through what they read in your essays.

Want personalized assistance with your MIT supplemental essays?

In conclusion, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your MIT supplemental essays, we encourage you to get a quote  today.

• College Essay

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 2023-24 Essay Prompt Guide

Early Action: Nov 1

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 4

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)  2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

MIT Requirements: 3 essays of 200-225 words each, 1 essay of 150 words, 1 essay of 100 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why , Community , Activity , Diversity

There’s an old cheesy joke that goes like this: A college student is standing in the “10 items or less” checkout lane at a grocery store in Boston. When she finally gets to the register, it turns out she has 12 items. The cashier rolls her eyes and says, “Okay, so either you’re from Harvard and you can’t count or you’re from MIT and you can’t read.” (Badum-chhh!) Sadly, you will be expected to read and write in college—even at MIT! In fact, MIT admissions cares so much about your writing that they’ve concocted their own separate application with five short essays. Don’t worry, though, you’ll also get to show off your counting skills thanks to each essay’s tight word count. So the real challenge of this application is crafting tight, incisive essays that tell focused stories about your life. Got it? Okay!

Rather than asking you to write one long essay, the MIT application consists of several short response questions and essays designed to help us get to know you. Remember that this is not a writing test. Be honest, be open, be authentic—this is your opportunity to connect with us.

You should certainly be thoughtful about your essays, but if you’re thinking too much—spending a lot of time stressing or strategizing about what makes you “look best,” as opposed to the answers that are honest and easy—you’re doing it wrong..

Alright, now let’s dig in!

For the 2023-2024 application, we’re asking these short answer essay questions:

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (150 words or fewer).

MIT is explicitly asking you to back away from the resume, and forget your structured activities. It’s not about proving what you can do, but revealing what you love to do. Put another way, this prompt is about self-care: What always, without fail, brings a smile to your face? What helps you recharge your batteries? What do you do and where do you go when you’re feeling down? When you start to think of things that feel a little silly or personal, you’re heading in the right direction. The activity you choose should be informal and unique to you. 

Although MIT invites you to be honest, we also suggest you balance your honesty with specific details and storytelling. You might want to try to come up with something a little more original than sleep, read, or hang out with friends, but if these are your options, then you have to commit. If you like to spend time with your friends, what sorts of things do you do together? If you like to sleep, have you perfected the art of the power nap ? What are your favorite things to read and how do you organize your personal library? Let your personality and tastes shine through! And before you start to say, “But I really do love volunteering at the soup kitchen during my spare time,” don’t worry. There’s a community service essay a little later in this supplement.

What field of study appeals to you the most right now? (Note: Applicants select from a drop-down list.) Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you. (100 words or fewer)

This is MIT’s version of a classic Why Essay . Even if you’re not completely sure what you want to major in yet, MIT wants to both learn about your academic interests, and see how their offerings will suit your passions. If you can build a bridge between your own interests and the resources available at MIT, you’ll be well on your way to demonstrating your fit. So set aside a few hours and commit to some hardcore research on the MIT website. (Sorry, there’s no way around this, folks!) Beyond the basic departmental listings, look up information about news and research coming out of your department of interest, the kinds of courses available, and the opportunities other undergrads have had studying in your area of choice. Even if you have a wide array of interests, consider explaining how two or three departments might complement each other or foster your interest in a larger theme or cross-pollinating kind of way. Your ultimate goal is to show that your interest in MIT (just like your intellectual curiosity) runs deep!

How has the world you come from—including your opportunities, experiences, and challenges—shaped your dreams and aspirations? (225 words or fewer)

Admissions wants to know how your background, whether it was full of opportunity or obstacles, has shaped your dreams and aspirations. So, tell them a story, the more specific the better, that demonstrates your journey to your current goals. Maybe you watched your parents struggle to make ends meet, which is why you hope to pursue a degree in Economics, so you can teach financial literacy to communities in need. Perhaps you grew up solving relational and logic puzzles with your grandpa every weekend, which led to a love of complex problem solving and a dream of a career in engineering. Whatever your story is, use this opportunity to give admissions a clearer picture of the goals you’re striving to achieve and how they came to be in the first place. 

MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together. (225 words or fewer)

This question asks for a specific story: a collaborative one in which you either sought to learn from others or contributed to your community together. This is a great opportunity to write about a professional experience (your first time working in the kitchen as a line cook!) or community service (delivering meals to families in need!). Ideally, you should describe an experience that spans a decent amount of time—a few weeks or even months—so you can describe the phases of your collaboration and the end result. You should be driving at a lesson that you will be able to carry with you into the future (e.g., there’s something to learn from each person you meet or the power of local organizing). In other words: a takeaway that will positively impact your collaborative contributions at MIT. 

How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it? (225 words or fewer)

We’ve all had curveballs thrown our way, and admissions wants to hear about a time when you adjusted your sails. The situation or challenge you discuss here can really run the gamut, from covering for a colleague and taking on new responsibilities at your after-school diner job to dealing with a serious injury, though you’ll want to avoid topics that may seem trite (a pop quiz you didn’t study for!). Once you explain the situation or challenge to admissions, focus on what you took away from your experience. Maybe you learned that you work well under pressure (and can hold three milkshake glasses in one hand!) or that you are more resilient than you realized and capable of the hard work required to heal and rehabilitate after surgery. Give yourself time to brainstorm for this prompt, because we’re willing to bet you have a few stories to choose from here.

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How To Answer MIT's 2023/24 Application Essays: Tips & Insights

What's New in 2023/24

What Are MIT's Essay Prompts?

Short Answer Questions

General Guidelines

The MIT essays are crucial to your application, offering a window into your character and aspirations. Highlight your unique experiences, challenges faced, and lessons learned. Approach these essays with authenticity, genuine introspection, and a focus on how you align with MIT's ethos. Ensure your essays resonate with MIT's pioneering spirit, showcasing not just your academic excellence but also your potential contributions to the MIT community. Our expert review services and consultations are here to guide and support you in this journey.

What did MIT students write their college application essays about?

MIT’s 2023/24 Essay Updates: What's Changed?

Securing a place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) , with its acceptance rate of approximately 4% , is an extraordinary feat. In the realm of elite college admissions, your essays are instrumental in illuminating your unique journey and alignment with MIT's ethos.

Each academic year, top-tier institutions like MIT meticulously refine their application process to ensure they gain a holistic understanding of their prospective students. For the 2023/24 admissions cycle, MIT has introduced several significant modifications to its essay questions .

The first notable change is the introduction of a prompt that asks applicants to select their desired field of study from a drop-down list and elaborate on why this field at MIT appeals to them. This change underscores MIT's commitment to understanding applicants' academic passions and reasons for choosing MIT as their ideal educational destination.

While the second question remains consistent, focusing on personal activities pursued for pleasure, the third question has been reworded for clarity. It now emphasizes the world the applicant hails from — its opportunities, experiences, and challenges, and its influence on their aspirations. This revision showcases MIT's interest in understanding applicants’ diverse backgrounds and experiences.

The fourth question has evolved to spotlight collaboration, not just in the context of community contributions but also in terms of mutual learning. Although rooted in understanding how applicants handle unexpected challenges, the fifth question now emphasizes the lessons derived from such experiences.

These updates reflect MIT's continuous efforts to evolve its admissions strategy, emphasizing the diverse experiences, aspirations, and values that applicants would infuse into its vibrant academic community.

What Are MIT’s Essay Prompts for 2023/24?

For the 2023/24 application cycle, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has meticulously crafted specific essay prompts to understand its applicants better. These prompts explore your academic inclinations, personal narratives, collaborative experiences, and resilience in facing challenges. Applicants will need to answer all five questions, with responses ranging from 100 to 200 words each, through the MyMIT application portal .

Short Answer Essay Questions

MIT's short answer questions provide insights into your academic interests, personal pursuits, background, and experiences.

• Field of Study : What field of study appeals to you the most right now? (Note: Applicants select from a drop-down list.) Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you.
• Pleasure Activities : We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.
• Personal Background : How has the world you come from—including your opportunities, experiences, and challenges — shaped your dreams and aspirations?
• Collaborative Experiences : MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together.
• Unexpected Challenges : How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?

With an acceptance rate of around 4% , MIT's application process is highly competitive. These prompts give applicants a golden opportunity to highlight their academic passions, personal growth, collaborative spirit, and the unique perspectives they'll introduce to the MIT community.

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How to Answer MIT’s Essay Questions?

“what field of study appeals to you the most right now (note: applicants select from a drop-down list.) tell us more about why this field of study at mit appeals to you.”, - 100 to 200 words.

MIT, at its core, is an institution that thrives on innovation, research, and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. This prompt aims to understand your academic inclinations, passions, and how they align with MIT's offerings . It's an opportunity to showcase your intellectual curiosity and eagerness to delve deep into a specific field at one of the world's premier institutions.

Choosing Your Field

Begin by reflecting on:

• Your academic interests and passions
• Courses or projects that have particularly resonated with you
• Articulating the appeal of the field of study you selected from the drop-down list
• Future aspirations and how they align with the chosen field

Once you've identified your desired field of study, delve into:

• Why this field intrigues you : Is it the challenges it presents, its potential impact on society, or personal experiences that have drawn you to it?
• MIT's Unique Offerings : Research specific courses, professors, research opportunities, or facilities at MIT that make it the ideal place to pursue this field.
• Future Aspirations : How does studying this field at MIT align with your long-term goals, be it in research, entrepreneurship, or any other endeavor?

Being Specific and Demonstrative

Avoid generic statements. Instead, demonstrate your genuine interest by mentioning specific courses, labs, professors, or projects at MIT that align with your interests. Showcase your understanding of the field and how MIT's offerings stand out.

• "As someone deeply fascinated by quantum mechanics, the research being done at MIT's Center for Theoretical Physics, especially under Prof. XYZ, aligns perfectly with my aspirations. The blend of theoretical understanding and practical applications offered by MIT's courses would provide the ideal foundation for my goal of contributing to quantum computing solutions."
• "Biomedical engineering at MIT stands out due to its interdisciplinary approach. The opportunity to work at the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) and collaborate with experts from various fields is precisely the kind of environment I seek to develop solutions for pressing medical challenges."

MIT's first prompt is your chance to demonstrate your academic interests and your understanding of what MIT offers in your chosen field. It's about showcasing your passion for the subject, awareness of MIT's unique strengths, and a vision for your future . Approach this essay with thorough research, genuine enthusiasm, and a clear understanding of why MIT is the best place to delve deep into your chosen field.

“We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.”

MIT is keen on understanding the multifaceted nature of its applicants. Beyond academic achievements and extracurricular commitments, this prompt seeks to uncover what genuinely brings you joy, relaxation, or fulfillment . It's an opportunity to showcase a side of you that might not be evident in the rest of your application.

Identifying Your Source of Pleasure

Begin by reflecting on activities or moments that bring you genuine happiness. This could be:

• Simple joys like reading a book, cooking a new recipe, or stargazing
• Engaging in hobbies such as photography, gardening, or playing a musical instrument
• Spending quality time with family, pets, or immersing yourself in nature
• Delving into philosophical thoughts, writing poetry, or journaling

Articulating the Significance

Once you've identified your source of pleasure, delve into why it's meaningful:

• Personal Growth : Does this activity offer introspection, relaxation, or a break from routine?
• Skill Development : Perhaps it's a hobby where you've honed a particular skill or discovered a new passion.
• Emotional Connection : Maybe it's an activity that connects you to cherished memories, people, or places.

Being Authentic and Personal

Avoid reiterating activities already mentioned in your application. Focus on personal experiences, feelings, and motivations behind your chosen activity. The aim is to offer a glimpse into your personal life, values, and what truly matters to you.

• "Every Sunday, I bake bread from scratch. The rhythmic kneading, the aroma of fresh bread, and the joy of sharing it with my family transports me to my grandmother's kitchen – a haven of love and warmth."
• "Late at night, I often find myself sketching. It's not about creating a masterpiece but capturing fleeting moments, emotions, and thoughts on paper. It's therapeutic, a silent conversation between my heart and hand."

MIT's second prompt is a canvas for you to paint a picture of your joys and passions. It's about showcasing the activities or moments that offer solace, happiness, or fulfillment. Approach this essay sincerely, detailing the emotions and motivations behind your chosen activity and providing a window into your world beyond academics and obligations .

“How has the world you come from — including your opportunities, experiences, and challenges — shaped your dreams and aspirations?”

MIT seeks students who are academically driven and deeply influenced by their surroundings and experiences. This prompt aims to understand the interplay between your environment and personal growth, aspirations, and dreams . It's an opportunity to showcase how your unique experiences have molded your ambitions and how you envision channeling them at MIT.

Reflecting on Your Background

Begin by considering:

• The community or environment you grew up in
• Key experiences, opportunities, or challenges that have had a significant impact on your life
• How these factors have influenced your goals and aspirations

Narrating Your Journey

Once you've introspected on your background, focus on:

• Specific anecdotes or experiences that were turning points in your life
• The lessons you've learned from these experiences and how they've shaped your perspective
• How these experiences have influenced your academic and personal aspirations

Connecting to MIT's Environment

Reflect on how your unique background and experiences will contribute to MIT:

• How do your dreams align with MIT's mission and values?
• Are there specific programs or initiatives at MIT that resonate with your journey and aspirations?
• "Growing up in a multicultural neighborhood in NYC exposed me to many cultures and languages. This dynamic environment ignited my passion for urban planning, and I aspire to create inclusive urban spaces. At MIT, I aim to leverage the resources in the Urban Studies and Planning department to bring my vision to life."
• "Having a father who served as a firefighter instilled in me a deep respect for public service and the sacrifices it entails. This inspired my interest in chemical engineering, with a goal to develop advanced safety equipment. MIT's cutting-edge research facilities would be the ideal platform for my endeavors."

MIT's third prompt is about introspection and understanding the symbiotic relationship between your environment and aspirations. It's about showcasing the influences that have shaped you and how you plan to channel them into meaningful contributions at MIT . Approach this essay with authenticity, clarity, and a clear vision of how your unique experiences align with MIT's ethos and offerings.

“MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together.”

MIT is renowned for its collaborative ethos, where students from varied backgrounds come together to innovate and solve real-world problems. This question seeks to understand your ability to collaborate, learn from diverse perspectives, and contribute to a collective goal .

Identifying Your Collaboration

• Instances where you've worked with individuals from different backgrounds or experiences
• The dynamics of the collaboration — how did you navigate differences, and what was the shared goal?
• The outcomes and impact of this collaboration on you and the broader community

Narrating the Experience

Once you've identified a significant collaboration, delve into:

• The challenges faced and how they were overcome
• The lessons learned and how they have shaped your perspective on teamwork and diversity
• The tangible outcomes, whether it's a project, an event, or a community initiative

Consider how this experience prepares you for MIT's collaborative environment:

• Are there specific groups, clubs, or initiatives at MIT where you see yourself contributing?
• How have your past collaborations equipped you for future teamwork at MIT?
• "Collaborating with international students in my school's Model UN club, I learned the importance of understanding diverse perspectives. Together, we organized a cultural exchange event, bridging gaps and fostering a sense of unity in our community."
• "Volunteering at a local shelter, I worked alongside individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds. This collaboration taught me the value of empathy and the power of collective effort. Together, we initiated a fundraiser that provided resources for the shelter's expansion."

MIT's fourth prompt is about understanding the power of collaboration in diverse settings. It's about showcasing how you've embraced diversity, learned from it, and contributed to collective goals. Approach this essay with authenticity, clarity, and a clear vision of how your collaborative experiences will enrich the MIT community and your future endeavors.

“How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?”

MIT is interested in your resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving skills . This question seeks to understand how you handle unexpected challenges and what insights you gain from such experiences.

Identifying Your Unexpected Challenge

Reflect on:

• A situation that caught you off-guard or was unforeseen
• The immediate emotions and thoughts you experienced
• The steps you took to address or navigate the situation

Narrating Your Response

Once you've pinpointed the challenge:

• Describe the context and the unexpected challenge succinctly.
• Detail your thought process and actions in response to the challenge.
• Highlight any external support or resources you sought or utilized.

Drawing Lessons and Growth

Conclude by reflecting on the following:

• The insights or lessons you derived from the experience
• How the challenge and your response have influenced your subsequent actions or mindset
• Any skills or perspectives you developed that will be beneficial in future endeavors, especially at MIT
• "While leading a group project on environmental conservation, a key member, responsible for the data analysis, unexpectedly dropped out a week before the deadline. I had to quickly redistribute tasks, manage team morale, and ensure the project's timely completion. This experience taught me the importance of adaptability, clear communication, and contingency planning."
• "During my junior year, I faced a sudden health challenge that required hospitalization, disrupting my academic routine. Navigating this unexpected hurdle, I reached out to teachers for extensions, prioritized my well-being, and sought peer assistance for notes. This ordeal underscored the value of seeking help, being compassionate towards oneself, and the importance of a supportive community."

MIT's fifth prompt offers a window into your character, resilience, and problem-solving abilities. You demonstrate your capacity to adapt, learn, and grow by detailing an unexpected challenge and your response to it. Approach this essay with honesty, introspection, and a focus on personal growth, showcasing how such experiences have prepared you for the rigors and unpredictability of life at MIT .

How Bobby Got Into MIT with Crimson

General Guidelines for Answering MIT's Essay Questions

• Research and Specificity : MIT's essay prompts aim to understand your fit within its innovative and diverse community. Dive deep into MIT's offerings, from courses and professors to clubs and research opportunities. Demonstrating your knowledge about MIT specifics indicates genuine interest and a proactive approach.
• Show Growth and Resilience : MIT values students who can adapt and grow from challenges. When discussing unexpected situations or your background, emphasize the events and lessons learned and how they've shaped your perspective.
• Diversity of Experience : MIT's community thrives on diverse experiences and viewpoints. Highlight how your unique background, challenges, or interests will add a fresh perspective to classroom discussions and group projects.
• Be Authentic : Authenticity is paramount. Write from the heart, focusing on genuine experiences and aspirations. Authentic narratives resonate more than manufactured stories tailored to what you think MIT wants to hear.
• Depth Over Breadth : Given the word constraints, it's essential to delve deep into a few topics rather than skimming over many. This approach offers a richer insight into your character and experiences.
• Narrative Storytelling : Engaging narratives can make your essay memorable. Whether discussing a community project or a personal challenge, a well-told story can convey your character and values effectively.
• Proofread and Revise : Ensure your essays are polished and articulate. Beyond just grammar, your essays should have a logical flow and effectively communicate your thoughts. Feedback from trusted individuals can be invaluable.
• Connect to MIT's Ethos : Always tie your responses back to how you'll contribute to MIT and how MIT's ethos and resources align with your goals. This shows a forward-thinking approach, emphasizing how you see MIT as being instrumental to your personal growth and vocational aspirations.
• Embrace the MIT Spirit : MIT is known for its innovative spirit and problem-solving approach. Use the essays to showcase how you embody these qualities through past experiences or future aspirations.
• Reflect on the Broader Impact : MIT is about improving the world through science, technology, and other fields. Ensure your essays reflect personal growth and how you aim to make a broader impact in your chosen field or community.

MIT's essays are a window into your personality, aspirations, and fit for the institution. By thoughtfully crafting your responses and showcasing your alignment with MIT's values and ethos, you can effectively convey why you'd be a valuable addition to the MIT community.

Final Thoughts

Embarking on the journey to MIT isn't solely about showcasing academic prowess; it's about weaving a narrative that aligns with MIT's pioneering spirit and the admissions committee's values. Your essays provide a unique opportunity to spotlight your character, aspirations, and the distinct contributions you'll bring to the MIT community.

Every MIT aspirant has a unique story waiting to be told. This is your moment to share yours. Approach your essays with authenticity, introspection, and a genuine passion for your narrative.

If you're unsure whether your essay truly captures your essence or stands out amidst the myriad of applications, our essay review service is here to guide you. Our seasoned experts will meticulously review and provide feedback, ensuring your essay resonates with MIT's admissions officers. Explore our  ebook , which features essays from students who secured places at elite institutions for added inspiration.

For those beginning their college application journey, consider booking a free consultation with our experienced college counselors. We're dedicated to guiding you in crafting an application that maximizes your chances of joining the ranks of MIT's innovative thinkers and doers. Your dream of becoming part of the MIT legacy is within reach, and we're here to support you every step of the way.

What Makes Crimson Different

Key Resources & Further Reading

• Everything you need to know about US Application Supplemental Essays
• Acing your College Application Essay: 5 Expert Tips to Make it Stand Out from the Rest
• How to Tackle Every Type of Supplemental Essay
• 2023-24 Common App Essay Prompts
• What are the Most Unusual US College Supplemental Essay Prompts?

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How to Ace the 23/24 MIT Supplemental Essay Prompts

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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private, four-year university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT supplemental essays are a great way to show the admissions professionals what kind of person you are rather than just what your grades look like on a page. Let’s dive into what each prompt is asking of you so that you can feel even more confident submitting your application!

Before you start writing

• Each of the MIT supplemental essays should be approximately 200 words
• Remember to do some reflection on your skills and experience – these essays are meant to communicate a portrait of your authentic self.
• There is a final, additional information box where you can write anything that you want the admissions professionals at MIT to know about you

“ What field of study appeals to you the most right now? (Note: Applicants select from a drop-down list.) Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you.”

Depending on where you are in your college search right now, this might be an easy or difficult question for you to answer. For some students, you may know exactly what you want to study in college and already have an idea of what your career aspirations are. For others, you may be applying undecided, and unsure of what you want to do quite yet. For both sides, that is completely fine. Consider what interests you, and how that applies to your interest in MIT. 

Questions to ask yourself

• What are your passions?
• What have you enjoyed studying in high school?
• If you have decided on a major, why does that major interest you?
• Did your field of study influence your decision to apply at MIT? If so, how?

“We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.”

As busy high school students, this is a question we don’t often think about. Your response is a nice way to show who you are as an individual, and it allows the admissions professionals to see you as more human than just a student doing work. While 200 words may seem like a lot for this prompt, if you choose something that you are passionate about, the words will flow. You might even have to cut back on what you wrote! We always recommend free-writing, and then going back to edit once you are done. 

• What is your “go to” hobby when you have free time?
• What do you do to relax and rewind? 
• If you could spend a week doing absolutely anything, what would it be?

“ How has the world you come from—including your opportunities, experiences, and challenges—shaped your dreams and aspirations?”

This question can be answered in more than one way. Maybe you come from a community, family, or school that uplifted you and helped you find what you are passionate about. Or, you might have come from a community, family, or school that affected you negatively. Whichever is the case for you, this prompt is an amazing opportunity to dive into how those experiences and people shaped you as a person and how that helped you to formulate your dreams.

• How did your family or community contribute to who you are today?
• Can you find something positive that came out of living in a less than desirable community?
• Is there a person or group who influenced your future aspirations?

“MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together.”

Whatever it may be, big or small, there is some way that you have contributed to your community. Your community could be your state, town, school, or your family. No matter which community you choose to talk about, be as authentic as possible. Think about an experience that shaped who you are as a person or how you changed someone else’s life for the better. 

• Who makes up the community you spend the most time with (remember, this can be one person to an entire group!)
• What challenge did your community face that you helped improve?
• How did you work as a team member to better a certain community?

“ How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?”

They are asking this question to see how you perform as a leader, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. This could be a big or small situation that you talk about here, but the important part is that you go into detail about how you learned from this experience and how it shaped you as a person. 

• What leadership positions have you held?
• Think of a time when you had something unexpected happen to you. How did you overcome that?
• What are your strengths when it comes to managing the unexpected?

Final thoughts for students

All of these prompts are very open-ended because MIT understands that not every student can fit into a typical student mold. This is a great opportunity for students to write their truth in each of these essays and be honest about responding to what MIT is  asking. 

There are a great number of additional things that must be submitted with your application to MIT. This includes, but is not limited to, letters of recommendation, creative portfolios (depending on your major), tests scores, activities, and academics. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to prepare and submit your very best application. 

Also see: How to respond to the Common App essay prompts

Additional resources

Once you are all finished up with your MIT supplemental essays, give yourself a pat on the back! But don’t rest for too long – once you send in your application, it’s time to get started looking into financial aid. At Scholarships360, we’ve got your back with tons of scholarships that are tailored specifically to you in our scholarship database . 

If you’re thinking that maybe the Massachusetts Institute of Technology isn’t the right fit for you, that’s alright! We also have more articles on supplemental essay prompts, from Boston University to Wellesley College . On top of that, we can help you fine-tune your college applications with guides on whether to send test scores to test-optional schools , how to write an essay about yourself , and what looks good on a college application . Good luck on the rest of your admissions journey!

Also see: How to choose a college

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How to Write the MIT Application Essays 2023-2024

October 13, 2023

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a coveted university for students who are passionate about STEM subjects. Known for its highly selective admissions process, it is no surprise that MIT is considered one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. If you have your sights set on majoring in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Computation and Cognition, or any of the other specialized programs offered at MIT, it is crucial to effectively communicate your unique qualities and contributions through the MIT application essays for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Unlike other universities that use the Common App, MIT has its own application system called MyMIT . This means that you do not have to worry about repeating your Common App personal statement topic . However, it also means that the essays you submit to MIT serve as both your personal statement and supplemental responses. It is important to make the most of these essays by showcasing your passion for MIT and providing essential context about your interests and background. With only a 4% acceptance rate, MIT is highly competitive, and you have five prompts to convince the admissions officers why you are the perfect fit for this esteemed Boston institution. To assist you through the writing process, I have provided an outline of each prompt, along with dos and don'ts for your responses, and additional tips for the MIT application essays in 2023-2024.

MIT Application Essays 2023-2024

What field of study appeals to you the most right now tell us more about why this field of study at mit appeals to you..

The diverse range of fields of study offered at MIT allows students to find their true calling and embrace their passions. One effective strategy for approaching this prompt is to reflect on the subjects that have consistently captivated and motivated you. Are you drawn to the intricacies of artificial intelligence or the potential of renewable energy? By introspecting and exploring your genuine curiosity, you can authentically articulate your passion for a specific field of study at MIT.

Moreover, it is crucial to research the resources and opportunities that MIT provides in the chosen field. As a world-renowned institution, MIT offers unparalleled facilities and renowned professors in various fields. You can highlight your awareness of these resources to further strengthen your response. Whether it is the cutting-edge laboratories equipped with the latest technology or the interdisciplinary collaborations that foster innovation, demonstrating an understanding of how MIT's offerings align with your interests will showcase your commitment and enthusiasm.

By carefully considering your own interests and conducting thorough research about what MIT has to offer, you can effectively convey your unwavering dedication and motivation for a specific field of study at MIT. This prompt serves as a gateway for you to showcase your perspectives, aspirations, and how you envision contributing to the academic community at MIT.

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.

MIT values students who are particularly invested in activities and topics that are meaningful to them, no matter what the scale. If you have a highly meaningful hobby that isn’t a conventional extracurricular per se, MIT is telling you to go for it. Just the introductory paragraph to most essays requires over 100 words—you might find it difficult to restrain yourself while talking about your favorite activity. In order to get your point across, you need to put less emphasis on describing the activity—limit it to one or two sentences - and more on what brings you joy about it. Why is it your favorite? How does it recharge you in a way others may not? Has it shaped your perspective in a significant way?

Since admissions officers will see your activities list through MyMIT, you should find ways to include anecdotes that will convey additional information about yourself. While you should not pick a purely academic activity or something that you think MIT wants to hear, you also should think of something beyond sleeping, eating, or hanging out with friends. Your outlook on the activity should be unique and help you stand out among your peers.

How has the world you come from—including your opportunities, experiences, and challenges—shaped your dreams and aspirations?

It’s crucial that you go through all of the prompts offered by the MIT application essays 2023-2024 before you decide on a topic for each of them because what you cover in this first prompt might also be a good fit for Prompt 4. And if you are invested in more than one community, then you’re in luck! Either way, your answer to questions 1 and 4 should not cover the same topic because each essay is meant to add new information about you.

A good clue on what to write here comes from the second part of the question, “how has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?” It’s time to think about your goals again. Is there any community or group which has played a strong role in solidifying your goals? If the answer is yes, there’s your answer. Start your essay by introducing the chosen world—keep it brief as you have another segment to cover. The major focus of your essay should lie in elaborating on the connection between the topic you’ve chosen and your career aspirations. Use anecdotes as evidence to drive your point home for admission officers to better visualize the impact. 

MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together.

Since the prompt clearly states that there are no specific boxes that your choice of community has to check, think about a place where you’ve actually made an impact. Think about how to differentiate yourself—while service trips abroad definitely could count as community service, they won’t help paint a memorable picture of you because lots of students participate in them. You could write about the smaller circles such as your family, friend group, or neighborhood. You may have helped the community as a whole or you could have helped one or two individuals who belong to it. 

To think about the kinds of contributions to elaborate on, ask yourself the following questions:

• How have you collaborated with others in your community?
• Have you taken any risks to help others? How have they paid off?
• Have you spearheaded any initiatives towards change?
• Are there any service examples that portray your curiosity and creativity?
• Why do you care about this community? How have you shown it? 

If you choose a larger community—like your whole school or city—make sure your essay still focuses on your own contribution and role. A response to such a prompt needs to follow the classic “show, not tell” advice. Admissions officers won’t be satisfied with just “I helped my family.” You need to dig deeper and convince them through the MIT application essays 2023-2024 that you are the kind of hardworking and passionate individual who can thrive at MIT.

How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?

MIT values candidates “ who are not only planning to succeed but who are also not afraid to fail .” When admissions officers read prompts about challenges students have overcome, they don’t want to know every single detail about the hurdle. The response should be more focused on the way the student reacted in the situation and how they’ve grown from the circumstances. Don’t pick an experience where you gave up easily after failing to do something. Your essay should highlight your strength and resilience in the face of an obstacle.

The definition of a “challenge” may vary from person to person. The keyword here is “significant.” Avoid writing about situations such as a bad grade or a sprain playing soccer that might be minor in comparison to issues other students have faced. Instead, think about an instance that showcases how your ability to recover from a struggle and proves your determination as well as your humility. Instead of writing general statements, focus your essay on your actions you took during the situation and the lessons you picked up. 

This is a great opportunity to tell admissions officers about the way you respond to tough moments - end your essay on a positive note!

Additional Tips for Writing the MIT Application Essays 2023-2024

• Use Your Common Application Profile As Inspiration: Chances are, other schools on your list use the Common Application so you’ve already filled it out. The Common App can be a great source of letting you know the kind of context colleges want to know about you. If there’s anything that you’ve mentioned in the Common App that you haven’t gotten a chance to express for MyMIT—whether it’s mentioned in your personal statement topic or an impressive award—you may be able to include it somewhere in your response to the MIT application essays 2023-2024!
• Read the Website Very Carefully: Research is extremely important before sitting down to answer school-specific questions and the MIT application essays 2023-2024 are no different. Luckily, MIT has very detailed information for prospective students that can help you go deeper into admissions officers’ minds. Use the information given on the “ What we look for ” page to get an idea of which characteristics you should emphasize in your responses.
• Use Strong Examples : The MIT application essays 2023-2024 are all about gauging your intellectual pursuits, community involvement, and engagements outside the classroom. Since the word limits for the prompts aren’t generous, each of your essays should focus on being as specific as possible in depicting your personality and interests. Adding specific examples lets admissions officers understand your perspective better and envision the areas of campus where you’d contribute and how you’d fit in with the MIT community.

When considering the MIT application essays for the 2023-2024 academic year, it is crucial to craft your responses in a manner that showcases your passions and unique perspective, setting you apart from other applicants. These essays serve as both your personal statement and supplemental essays, so make sure to put forth your most compelling arguments to convince admissions officers that you are a perfect fit for MIT. If they grasp your context and agree with your potential contributions to the institute, you will be one step closer to receiving that coveted acceptance letter. Best of luck on your journey!

If you are looking for a college admissions counselor to help maximize your chances of getting into your dream school, we can help! InGenius Prep has helped more than 6,000 students around the world gain admission into the most competitive schools including Harvard, Yale, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, NYU, and more. Sign up for a free strategy call today and join the 6,000+ students we've helped get accepted into their dream schools. 

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MIT Essays that Worked

Mit essays that worked – introduction.

In this guide, we’ll provide you with several MIT essays that worked. After each, we’ll discuss elements of these MIT essay examples in depth. By reading these sample MIT essays and our expert analysis, you’ll be better prepared to write your own MIT essay. Before you apply to MIT, read on for six MIT essays that worked.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university in Cambridge , Massachusetts. Since its founding in 1861, MIT has become one of the world’s foremost institutions for science and technology . With MIT ranking highly year after year, the low MIT acceptance rate is no surprise. Knowing how to get into MIT means knowing about MIT admissions, the MIT application, and how to write MIT supplemental essays.

MIT Supplemental Essay Requirements

The MIT application for 2022–2023 requires four short essays. Each essay should be up to 200 words in length.

MIT essay prompts :

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it., describe the world you come from (for example, your family, school, community, city, or town). how has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations.

• MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds and experiences together to better the lives of others. Our students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way you have collaborated with people who are different from you to contribute to your community.
• Tell us about a significant challenge you’ve faced (that you feel comfortable sharing) or something that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?

MIT changes the wording of these prompts a little bit every year. As a result, our MIT essay examples may look a little different from the prompts to which you will be crafting your own responses. However, there is a lot of overlap between current and past prompts and often the underlying questions are the same. In other words, even if the prompts differ, most of our MIT essays that worked are still helpful. Even MIT essay examples for prompts that are gone can be useful as a general sample college essay.

As one of the best universities worldwide, MIT is nearly impossible to get into without a good strategy . Even if you don’t have a stellar ACT or SAT score , your essays may impress admissions officers. Let’s briefly analyze each prompt so we know what to look for in MIT essays that worked.

MIT Essay Prompt Breakdown

1. extracurricular essay.

First, you’ll write about an activity you enjoy, whether it’s baking, doing magic tricks, or writing fanfiction. Remember, strong MIT essay examples for this prompt show genuine enthusiasm and explain why the activity is meaningful. Choose a hobby you can write about with gusto while also showing what it means to you.

2. Your Background Essay

Next, we have a prompt asking about your background. This is a classic question; in every other sample college essay, you find answers to this prompt. This question is intentionally open-ended, allowing you to write about any aspect of your background you’d like. In the MIT essays that worked, the “world” has something important to say about the author’s values or outlook.

3. Community Essay

Then, the third essay asks how you work with diverse groups to contribute to a larger community. MIT wants to see that you can work toward community goals while valuing diverse perspectives. But don’t worry. They don’t expect you to have solved world hunger—pick something that demonstrates what community means to you.

4. Significant Challenge Essay

Lastly, we have the failure essay, which seeks to answer how you persist in the face of adversity. Notice the prompt doesn’t mention “overcoming,” so this can be a time that you completely flat-out failed. Everyone handles setbacks differently, so effective MIT essay examples illustrate the author’s unique way of managing failure. It doesn’t have to be a particularly unique or unusual failure, although that may help you stand out .

How to Apply to MIT

MIT doesn’t accept the Common or Coalition Application. Instead, there’s a school-specific application for all prospective students. The 2022 Early Action MIT application deadline was November 1. The Regular Action MIT application deadline is usually January 1, but it’s been extended this year to January 5, 2023. The financial aid information deadline is February 15, 2023.

Depending on your admissions round, you need to submit all materials to the Apply MIT portal by the specified deadline.

MIT application requirements

• Basic biographical information, including your intended area of study
• Four supplemental essays
• A brief list of four extracurricular activities that are meaningful to you
• Self-reported coursework information
• A Secondary School Report from your guidance counselor, including your transcript
• Two letters of recommendation : MIT recommends one from a STEM teacher and one from a humanities teacher.
• SAT or ACT scores —MIT is not test-optional for 2022–2023!
• The February Updates form with your midyear grades (goes live in mid-February)

Furthermore, interviews are offered to many—but not all—students; not being offered an interview doesn’t negatively reflect on your application. At the end of this article, we compile more resources regarding the rest of the application. If you have specific questions about your application, reach out to the MIT admissions office .

Now that we’ve discussed the prompts and MIT admissions process, let’s read some MIT essays that worked. We have six sample MIT essays to help you learn how to write MIT supplemental essays. And, if you’re looking to test your knowledge of college admissions, take our quiz below!

MIT Essay Examples #1 – Cultural Background Essay

The first of our MIT essay examples responds to a prompt that isn’t exactly on this year’s list. Let’s take a look. The prompt for this MIT essay that worked is:

Please tell us more about your cultural background and identity in the space below (100 word limit). If you need more than 100 words, please use the Optional section on Part 2.

Although the wording isn’t identical to any of this year’s prompts, it is similar to prompt #2. Remember, essay prompt #2 asks about the world you come from, which is essentially your background. However, MIT essay examples for this prompt speak more specifically about cultural background. With a shorter word limit, concise language is even more critical in MIT essays that worked for this prompt.

MIT Essays That Worked #1

My dad is black and my mom is white. But I am a shade of brown somewhere in between. I could never wear my mom’s makeup like other girls. By ten, I was tired seeing confused stares whenever I was with my dad. I became frustrated and confused. I talked to my biracial friends about becoming confident in my divergent ancestral roots. I found having both an understanding of black issues in America and of the middle class’ lack of exposure gave me greater clarity in many social issues. My background enabled me to become a compassionate, understanding biracial woman.

Why This Essay Worked

MIT essays that worked effectively show that the author can think about the bigger picture. This author describes their experiences as a biracial woman while addressing the wider scope of racial issues. While you shouldn’t reach to reference irrelevant societal problems, MIT essays that worked do often incorporate big ideas.

In addition, this author mentions conversations with biracial friends. MIT essay examples often include collaboration and community, and this one is no different. Often, sample MIT essays about cultural background will connect that heritage with one’s community. It shows that you value what makes you unique and can find it in others.

Lastly, strong MIT essay examples display reflection and personal growth. Do you understand the ways your experiences have shaped you, and can you write about them? Can you point to areas where you’ve grown as a result of your experiences? MIT essays that worked link the topic and the writer’s personal growth or values.

MIT Essays That Worked #2 – Activities Essay

The second of our MIT essay examples answers a prompt that’s on this year’s list.

In other words, write about a hobby or extracurricular activity—and what it says about you. As we mentioned above, MIT essays that worked for this prompt aren’t all about lofty ambitions. If you don’t read textbooks in your spare time, don’t write an essay claiming that’s your hobby. Be honest, thoughtful, and enthusiastic while finding a way to make your uniqueness show through. Let’s read one of many MIT essays that worked for this prompt.

MIT Essays That Worked #2

Adventuring. Surrounded by trees wider than I am tall on my right and the clear, blue lake on my left. I made it to the top after a strenuous hike and it was majestic. There is no feeling like the harmony I feel when immersing myself in nature on a hike or running through the mud to train for my sprint triathlon or even fighting for a pair of cute boots on black Friday. I take pleasure in each shade of adventure on my canvas of life, with each deliberate stroke leading me to new ideas, perspectives, and experiences.

MIT essays that worked use precise language to appeal to readers’ emotions. Note words like “strenuous,” “majestic,” “harmony,” and “deliberate.” The strategic use of vivid words like this can strengthen MIT essay examples and heighten their impact. But don’t overuse them—like paintings use a variety of shades, you should play with the intensity of your words.

Another benefit of colorful language is conveying meaning more deeply and precisely. Well-written MIT essay examples layer on meaning: this author likes adventuring through nature as well as life. With effective diction, you can make the most of the words you’re given. Consider using metaphors like in this MIT essay conclusion, comparing life to a canvas.

Now, think about your impression of the author after reading this. They’re active, ambitious, and, above all, adventurous. We know they like to challenge themselves (training for a triathlon) but also like fashion (buying cute boots). And we see from their concluding sentence that they have no intention of slowing down or pulling back. In under 100 words, we’ve got a clear snapshot of their worldview and see their adventuring spirit fits MIT.

MIT Essay Examples #3 – Why Major Essay

The third of our MIT essays that worked answers a prompt that isn’t on our list for 2022.

Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why?

This is a classic “Why Major” essay, asked by hundreds of colleges every year. Obviously, the prompt asks about your academic interests . However, it subtly asks about school fit : why is MIT the best place for you to pursue this interest? Although this sample college essay prompt isn’t in this cycle, you should read as many sample MIT essays as possible. MIT essays that worked for the “Why Major” essay prompt illustrated the author’s academic interests and motivations. Let’s see what the next of our sample MIT essays has to say.

MIT Essays That Worked #3

My first step in to the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research was magical. My eyes lit up like Christmas lights and my mind was racing faster than Usain Bolt. I was finally at home, in a community where my passions for biology, chemistry, math, and engineering collided, producing treatments to save lives everywhere.

I pictured myself in a tie-dyed lab coat, watching a tumor grow in a Petri disk then determining my treatment’s effectiveness. If I am admitted to MIT, I look forward to majoring in bioengineering and shaping and contributing to the forefront of bioengineering research.

Earlier, we said that MIT essays that worked use vivid language to drive home their point. This sample college essay is no different. Describing their instantaneous reaction, the author pulls us into their headspace to share in their delight. Following that, they show us their vision for the future. Finally, they state directly how they’ll work toward that vision at MIT.

This author points out that bioengineering aligns with their interests across math and the sciences. There’s no rule saying you can’t be purely into math, but MIT strives to cultivate the world’s leading minds. Many MIT essays that worked present the author as a multifaceted person and intellectual. If you write a Why Major essay for a STEM field, it may be worth your while to take an interdisciplinary angle.

Among other parts of these MIT essays that worked in the author’s favor is the mention of an experience. Many model MIT essay examples directly reference the author’s life experiences to connect them with their interest. For instance, this author frames their essay with a visit to a cancer research institute. We don’t know if it’s a tour or an internship—the reason for their visit is less important than the impact.

MIT Essay Examples #4 – Community Essay

At this point, we’ve gone through half of our MIT essay examples. Moving on, we’ll read three MIT essays that worked for prompts (nearly) identical to this year’s. Next, we’ve got a prompt asking about community contributions.

At MIT, we bring people together to better the lives of others. MIT students work to improve their communities in different ways,  from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way in which you have contributed to your community, whether in your family, the classroom, your neighborhood, etc.

It’s very similar to this year’s third prompt, with one crucial difference. The current prompt asks for “one way you have collaborated with people who are different from you .” While past MIT essay examples for this prompt could have focused on individual efforts, now you should focus on group efforts. In particular, groups where “people who are different from you” also play key roles. This is intentionally open-ended, allowing for endless kinds of differences.

With that said, let’s continue with our MIT essay examples.

MIT Essays That Worked #4

“I’m going to Harvard,” my brother proclaimed to me. My jaw dropped. My little brother, the one who I taught to pee in the toilet, the one who played in the pool with me every day of the summer for 7 years, the one who threw me in the trash can 3 months ago, had finally realized the potential I have seen in him since he was a little kid. And I was thrilled.

He told me that after attending the Harvard basketball program, he knew that attending college was the perfect opportunity for him to continue playing the sport he loved as well as get a very good education. His end goal (this is where I almost cried) was to become an engineer at Nike. The best part, though, is that he asked me to help him achieve it. 

I was astounded that he thought so highly of me that he trusted me to help him. That night, we began discussing various fields of engineering that he could pursue, as well as the internship opportunities that he classified as “so cool.” As soon as school started, I bought him a planner and taught him to keep his activities organized. I go over homework with him and my baby brother almost every night.

I love using my knowledge to contribute to my family with my knowledge. I am so proud of my brother and our progress. I cannot wait to see him grow as he works to achieve his dream.

Perhaps while reading the prompt, you thought all MIT essays that worked discussed setting up a food bank or working at a hospital. Not so! What really matters for this essay is the impact the community has on you. In sample MIT essays like this one, we see just how important the writer’s family is to them. If your family means the world to you, don’t shy away from writing about them!

On the other hand, while many sample MIT essays discuss family, the best ones remember to center the author. It may seem selfish, but in an applicant pool of over 30,000 , you must stand out. You have to beat that low MIT acceptance rate by putting your best foot forward. Notice how the author’s feelings and thoughts show through in their interactions and reactions. Even in recounting their past with their little brother, you see them as a caring, playful older sibling. They’re thoroughly proud of their brother, his ambitions, and the trust he’s placed in them.

MIT Essay Examples #5 – Describe Your World 

The fifth of our MIT essay examples answers a prompt in circulation this year. Hooray!

This “world” is open-ended to allow writers to explore the communities and people that have shaped them. This essay calls for deep introspection; can you find a common thread connecting you to your “world”? Some MIT essays that worked discuss family traditions, other city identities, etc. Whatever you choose, it should reflect who you are now and who you want to become.

MIT Essays That Worked #5

I was standing on the top row of the choir risers with my fellow third graders. We were beside the fourth graders who were beside the fifth graders. My teacher struck the first chords of our favorite song and we sang together, in proud call and response “Ujima, let us work together. To make better our community. We can solve! Solve our problems with collective work and responsibility.”

Then the students playing African drums and the xylophones on the floor began the harmonious percussion section and we sang again with as much passion as nine-year-olds can muster. This was my world. As a child, my community was centered around my school. At my school we discovered that if you love something enough, and work hard enough for it, you can do great things for both yourself and others around you.

In the years since I left, I reflected back on the lessons I learned at school. I determined I wanted to focus on the things I love – mathematics, science, and helping others. I also want to harmonize my abilities with those of other people so that we can work together to make the world a better place. Today I aspire to work in integrative research as a bioengineer to address the pressing medical issues of today.

For those who don’t know, ujima is the Swahili word for collective work and responsibility. The most well-crafted MIT essay examples employ narrative devices like framing and theme to leave a lasting impression. This essay, for example, introduces ujima with the choir scene—which itself is collective work—then reflects on the general concept. In every sentence, this writer works with the idea of collaboration and the positive power of the collective.

Among sample MIT essays, this can be challenging if you haven’t thought critically about your past and present. This writer clearly values collective responsibility and sees their future through that lens. They speak directly to their interests and their aspirations of bioengineering. All in all, they show careful consideration of ideas that have influenced them and the direction they want to take.

MIT Essay Examples #6 – Significant Challenge

The last of our MIT essays that worked answers a prompt nearly identical to one from this year.

Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? 

The only difference is that this year’s prompt indicates you should feel comfortable sharing what you write about. This seems obvious, but you may be surprised how many students dredge up traumatic experiences in sample college essays. The issue isn’t that these experiences are unpleasant to read; on the contrary, they may be painful to write about. Although many MIT sample essays are somewhat vulnerable, you don’t have to write about experiences you’d rather keep to yourself.

With that said, let’s read the last of our MIT essay examples.

*Please be advised that the following essay example contains discussions of anxiety and panic attacks. 

Mit essays that worked #6.

Ten o’clock on Wednesday, April 2016. Ten o’clock and I was sobbing, heaving, and gasping for air. Ten o’clock and I felt like all my hard work, passion, and perseverance had amounted to nothing and I was not enough. It was ten o’clock on a Wednesday, but it all started in August of 2015. I moved cities in August 2015. I knew the adjustment would be hard, but I thought if I immersed myself in challenging activities and classes I loved, I would get through the year just fine.

I was wrong. With each passing month I experienced increased anxiety attacks, lack of satisfaction in any and every activity, and constant degradation of my personal happiness. By April, I was broken. Naked, bent over the toilet, sweating, shaking, choking on the tightening of my own throat, thinking “not enough, not enough, not enough.” 

It was extremely challenging to pick myself up after such a hard fall. When I finally made it out of the bathroom, I crawled to my room and read “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou. Her struggle encouraged me to rise to this challenge stronger than I had been before. I prioritized my own happiness and fulfillment, taking care of my body and mind.

I finally realized I did not have to do everything on my own, and began collaborating with my peers to finish the year strong and begin initiatives for the next year. I became a stronger, more confident woman than ever before.

Now, you may understand why this year’s wording includes “that you feel comfortable sharing.” While the author’s vivid description helps immerse us in the moment, a reader may hope they’re okay now. Again, you don’t need to strictly avoid traumatizing moments—but don’t feel obligated to share anything you don’t want to. In any case, the diction is indeed very precise and helps convey just how shaken the author was.

Furthermore, we see how the author dealt with this challenge: they were inspired by Maya Angelou. This ability to seek and find strength beyond yourself is crucial, especially in an ever more connected world. At the end of the essay, the writer notes how they’ve changed by working with others to accomplish goals. Their renewed confidence has made them even stronger and more willing to face challenges.

MIT Essay Examples – Key Takeaways

So after reading six sample MIT essays, what do you think? What are the takeaways from these MIT essays that worked? It goes without saying that you should read more sample MIT essays if you can. Additionally, when you draft your own MIT essays, take time to revise them and have other people read them.

MIT Essays that Worked Takeaways

1. discuss experiences.

The best MIT essay examples keep it real by talking about the author’s experiences. Can you think critically about how they have made you who you are? Find ways to address the prompt with your background and life experiences. You may also find sample MIT essays easier to write when they’re rooted in your reality.

2. Use precise language

Two hundred words are, in fact, not that much space. MIT essays that worked use every word to paint a vivid picture of the writer and their world. Mark Twain said it best: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is … the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.” Choose your words carefully to refine your meaning and strengthen your impact.

3. Reflect on yourself

In college essays, it’s all about you and your personal narrative . So don’t miss any opportunity to introspect on your experiences, community, and personal growth. Demonstrate that you know yourself well enough to point to specific influences on your worldview. We all move through the world in different ways—why do you move the way you do?

4. Be genuine

You’ve heard this a thousand times, and we’ll say it again: be yourself . While you hear all about the typical MIT student and what MIT looks for , we’re all unique individuals. As, or even more, important than good scores or a huge activities list is an accurate representation of you . Write about extracurriculars and subjects and communities that are important to you—not what you think will sound impressive.

Additional MIT Resources from CollegeAdvisor

We have a wealth of resources on how to get into MIT here at CollegeAdvisor.com. We’ve got a comprehensive article on the MIT admissions process, from the MIT acceptance rate to deadlines.

MIT Admissions

Speaking of the acceptance rate, we take a closer look at that, too.

MIT Acceptance Rate

If you’re wondering about MIT tuition and costs, read our breakdown .

MIT Tuition & MIT Cost

Finally, we’ve got a guide covering application strategy from start to finish.

Strategizing Your MIT Application

MIT Essays that Worked – Final thoughts

Placing among the top American universities, we see MIT ranking highly every year, and for good reason. By the same token, it’s very challenging to get admitted. So, in order to get in, you need to know how to write MIT supplemental essays.

We read through several MIT essays that worked and identified strengths in our MIT essay examples. Use these tips when writing your own essays to craft a strong application!

This article was written by  Gina Goosby . Looking for more admissions support? Click  here  to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how  CollegeAdvisor.com  can support you in the college application process.

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MIT Supplemental Essays 2023-2024

By Eric Eng

This comprehensive guide will delve into the specifics of MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024, plus insights and strategies.

How Many Supplemental Essays Does MIT Have?

For the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, MIT requires applicants to complete five supplemental essays . This requirement is a significant aspect of the application process, as it allows the admissions committee to understand better who you are beyond your academic achievements and test scores.

Each of these essays, ranging between 100 and 200 words, is an opportunity to reveal different facets of your personality and intellect. MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024 are designed to probe into your passions, thought processes, and ability to reflect on your experiences. They are a critical tool in MIT’s holistic review process, allowing you to stand out in a pool of highly qualified applicants.

What are the MIT Supplemental Essays 2023-2024?

Diving into the specifics, the five supplemental essays required by MIT for the 2023-2024 application season are concise yet profound. Each essay, with a word limit of 100 to 200 words, is a brief but powerful medium for expression.

What field of study appeals to you the most right now? Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you.

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.

How has the world you come from—including your opportunities, experiences, and challenges—shaped your dreams and aspirations?

MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together.

How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?

How to Write the MIT Supplemental Essays 2023-2024?

Writing the MIT supplemental essays for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle is a task that requires introspection, creativity, and precision. The key to crafting compelling essays is understanding what each question seeks to uncover about you. It’s not just about answering the questions; it’s about weaving your story, experiences, and aspirations into your responses in a way that resonates with the ethos of MIT.

As you embark on this journey, remember that MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024 allow you to show the admissions committee why you are a perfect fit for their community.

MIT Supplemental Essay Question 1

The first of MIT’s supplemental essays for 2023-2024 asks you to discuss the field of study that appeals to you the most. This question will gauge your academic interests and how they align with MIT’s offerings.

It’s not just about stating your chosen field; it’s about articulating why this particular area fascinates you and how studying it at MIT will help you achieve your goals. This essay is your chance to demonstrate your passion for your chosen field and to show that you have thought deeply about your academic journey.

Understanding MIT Supplemental Essay Question 1

To effectively address this essay prompt, it’s essential to understand its two-fold purpose. Firstly, it seeks to understand your current academic interests. This is not just about what you want to study but why it captivates you. What drives your interest in this field?

Secondly, the prompt asks why this field of study at MIT, in particular, appeals to you. This part requires research about MIT’s offerings. What specific programs, resources, or opportunities at MIT excite you? How do they align with your academic and career goals? This essay is an opportunity to showcase your knowledge about MIT and to demonstrate a clear connection between your interests and what MIT uniquely offers.

Brainstorming Your Response: MIT Supplemental Essay Question 1

• Reflect on your academic journey : Take a moment to delve deeper into your past and recall the vivid moments or experiences that triggered your curiosity and fascination with this field.
• Identify specific aspects of the field that excite you : Know more about your preferences regarding the topics, issues, or queries that catch your attention the most in this particular field. It would be helpful if you could research more detailed information.
• Research MIT’s programs : Take a closer look at the educational programs, renowned faculty members, cutting-edge research opportunities, and engaging extracurricular activities that MIT offers in your field of study. Exploring MIT’s diverse resources can broaden your horizons and enrich your academic experience.
• Connect your interests with MIT’s offerings : Identify and list the areas or aspects of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) program that closely correspond to your interests. This could include a specific course, research project, extracurricular activity, or any other facet of the program that resonates with your passions and goals.
• Think about your future : As you contemplate the prospect of attending MIT, take some time to ponder how embarking on a journey in this particular field of study can assist you in realizing your long-term academic and career aspirations. Consider MIT’s unique opportunities, resources, and expertise and how they can help you shape your academic journey and career trajectory meaningfully and fulfilling.

Structuring Your Answer for MIT Supplemental Essay Question 1

Begin your essay by briefly introducing your chosen field of study. This introduction should state the field and explain why it intrigues you. Follow this with a section that delves deeper into your passion for the field. You can include personal anecdotes or experiences highlighting your interest and dedication here.

The next part of your essay should focus on MIT. Discuss specific aspects of MIT’s program in your field that appeal to you. Be detailed – mention particular courses, professors, research opportunities, or facilities that excite you and explain why.

Finally, conclude by linking how MIT’s program will help you achieve your academic and career aspirations. This structure ensures that your essay is cohesive and engaging. Remember, throughout your response to MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024, your goal is to paint a picture of a motivated, curious, and goal-oriented individual who is a perfect match for MIT.

MIT Supplemental Essay Question 2

The second of MIT’s supplemental essays for 2023-2024 invites applicants to share a glimpse into their lives beyond academic and obligatory activities. This prompt is an opportunity to showcase your personality, interests, and what genuinely brings you joy.

It’s a chance to reveal another layer of who you are, separate from your academic achievements and responsibilities. The admissions committee at MIT is interested in understanding who you are as a whole person, and this essay allows you to share a part of your life that is purely for your enjoyment.

Understanding MIT Supplemental Essay Question 2

To effectively respond to this essay prompt, it’s crucial to understand what it seeks to uncover: your interests and what you do for self-enjoyment. This question is designed to understand your personality and what you value in your free time.

It’s an opportunity to show the admissions committee what you are passionate about outside of your academic and extracurricular obligations. The key here is authenticity. Choose an activity or interest that genuinely excites you and that you engage in regularly.

Brainstorming Your Response: MIT Supplemental Essay Question 2

• Reflect on your hobbies : Identify and reflect upon the leisure activities or hobbies you enjoy engaging in your free time unrelated to your academic or professional responsibilities. These activities can be anything enjoyable, like playing a musical instrument, reading books, watching movies, hiking, cooking, or anything else that helps you relax and unwind.
• Consider what relaxes you : Share some activities or practices you usually engage in when you feel stressed or overwhelmed. These activities help you unwind and rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul, feeling relaxed, refreshed, and recharged. It could be anything from taking a long walk, listening to music, reading a book, practicing yoga, or indulging in any hobby or leisure activity that brings you joy and peace.
• Think about what makes you happy : Identify the activities that make you happy and give you a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Engage in those activities regularly to increase your overall satisfaction and sense of well-being. Remember to take time out of your busy schedule to do things that bring you joy and help you relax. Your mental and emotional health will thank you for it.
• Recall memorable moments : Reflect on the most remarkable and unforgettable experiences you have had while engaging in your hobbies. It would be highly beneficial to recall the intricate details of those experiences, including the sights, sounds, and emotions you felt. By doing so, you may be able to relive those moments and further enrich your passion for your hobbies.
• Analyze why you enjoy it : Contemplate what aspects of this activity please you. Consider how it makes you feel, what emotions it evokes, and what it reveals about your values, motivations, and personality traits. Delve deeper into your thoughts and feelings to better understand yourself and your relationship with this activity.

Structuring Your Answer for MIT Supplemental Essay Question 2

Begin your essay by introducing the activity or interest that you do for pleasure. This introduction should not only name the activity but also explain its significance.

In the next section, delve deeper into your engagement with this activity. Describe what you do, how you got involved, and what a typical experience looks like. This part of the essay should paint a vivid picture for the reader, allowing them to visualize and understand your passion. Following this, reflect on why this activity is meaningful to you. Discuss what it brings to your life, how it complements or contrasts with your academic and extracurricular responsibilities, and what it reveals about your personality or values.

Conclude by tying this hobby or interest to the broader picture of who you are. This structure ensures that your response to MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024 is descriptive and reflective, providing a well-rounded view of your character and interests.

MIT Supplemental Essay Question 3

The third question in MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024 probes into the depths of your background, asking you to reflect on how your unique experiences, opportunities, and challenges have molded your dreams and aspirations.

This essay is a chance to provide the admissions committee with a narrative of your life journey and how it has influenced your future goals. It’s an invitation to share your story, highlighting the factors significantly shaping who you are today.

Understanding MIT Supplemental Essay Question 3

To effectively respond to this prompt, it’s essential to understand that it seeks to explore the intersection of your personal history and future goals. This question is not just about listing your experiences; it’s about articulating how these experiences have influenced your aspirations.

It requires introspection and a deep understanding of how your background has contributed to your current interests and plans. This is your opportunity to show how your unique experiences have given you a distinct perspective and how this perspective will contribute to the diverse MIT community.

Brainstorming Your Response: MIT Supplemental Essay Question 3

• Reflect on essential life experiences : Contemplate and delve deeply into the events or periods that have profoundly impacted your personal growth and development. These could be moments of great triumph or times of hardship and struggle that have shaped you into who you are today. Allow yourself to fully immerse in the memories and emotions associated with these experiences, and consider how they have influenced your beliefs, values, and perspectives.
• Analyze challenges and how you overcame them : Recollect the hurdles you encountered in the past and ponder upon the insights and skills you gained from those experiences. Consider how those obstacles shaped and helped you become who you are today.
• Identify opportunities that shaped you : Reflect on any specific choices or opportunities that have significantly shaped your present path or interests. Consider any instances where you had to decide or had the chance to take a specific path that ultimately led you to where you are today.
• Connect experiences to your aspirations : “Reflect on the various experiences you have had and how they have shaped your aspirations for the future. Consider the impact of each experience and how it has contributed to your personal and professional growth. This exercise can help you better understand your motivations and guide you towards achieving your goals.”
• Consider your unique perspective : Examine how your life experiences, cultural upbringing, family background, and other significant events have helped form and shape the unique lens through which you view and make sense of the world around you. Identify how these factors have influenced your beliefs, values, attitudes, and overall outlook on life.

Structuring Your Answer for MIT Supplemental Essay Question 3

Begin your essay by setting the scene of your background, briefly introducing the essential experiences, opportunities, or challenges that have significantly influenced you.

In the next section, delve into these experiences in more detail. Describe what happened and how these events or circumstances have shaped your perspective and aspirations. Be specific in illustrating how these experiences have molded your ambitions and who you are today. Then, transition to discussing your dreams and aspirations, linking them to your background. Please explain how your past has prepared you for your future goals and how it has motivated you to pursue specific paths.

Conclude by tying your story to how you envision contributing to and benefiting from the MIT community. This structure ensures that your response to MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024 reflects your past and indicates your future direction and potential impact at MIT.

MIT Supplemental Essay Question 4

The fourth question in MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024 focuses on collaboration, a cornerstone of the MIT experience. This prompt asks you to reflect on a time when you worked with others, whether to learn something new, teach, or contribute to your community.

The essence of this question lies in understanding your ability to engage with others, your teamwork skills, and how you view collaboration as a tool for mutual growth and community development. This essay is an opportunity to showcase your interpersonal skills, willingness to engage in shared learning experiences, and commitment to making a positive impact through teamwork.

Understanding MIT Supplemental Essay Question 4

To effectively respond to this prompt, it’s essential to understand that MIT values collaboration to foster innovation and solve complex problems. This question seeks to uncover how you function in a team setting and what you bring to collaborative efforts.

It’s not just about the task you accomplished but also about the process of working with others. Reflect on a situation where collaboration was vital – perhaps a group project, a community service initiative, or an extracurricular activity.

Consider the team dynamics, your role, and how the collaboration led to learning or community impact. This essay should highlight your ability to work effectively with others, your openness to different perspectives, and your capacity to contribute meaningfully in a team environment.

Brainstorming Your Response: MIT Supplemental Essay Question 4

• Identify a significant collaborative experience : Think of any specific instance when you had to work with a group of people towards a common goal, and the result made a substantial impact. It could be a project at work, a volunteer effort, or a personal accomplishment. Please provide as much detail as possible about the experience, including the challenges faced, the roles played by each team member, and how the collaboration led to something remarkable.
• Reflect on your role in the team : It’s essential to take some time to evaluate your contributions and how you interacted with your fellow team members. Think about how you positively impacted the team and the areas where you could have done better. Additionally, reflect on how you communicated and collaborated with your colleagues and identify any opportunities for improvement in this regard.
• Analyze the learning experience : Contemplate the knowledge and insights you have gained from your peers and colleagues throughout this collaborative effort. Consider the various perspectives and experiences shared with you, and think about how they have influenced your thinking and understanding of the subject matter. Reflecting on the lessons learned from others can be a valuable exercise that helps you grow personally and professionally.
• Recall challenges and resolutions : Reflect on any significant hurdles or difficulties your team experienced during a project or period. Describe these obstacles, how they affected the team’s progress, and how you collectively worked to overcome them. Think about any strategies or solutions implemented and the lessons learned from the experience.
• Consider the impact of the collaboration : As you look back on the collaboration, take some time to reflect on the specific ways in which it has had a positive impact on the team, yourself, or the community. Consider the various aspects of the partnership that have contributed to this success, including any challenges that were overcome or new opportunities that arose. By delving deeper into the details, you can gain a greater appreciation for this partnership’s value to all involved.

Structuring Your Answer for MIT Supplemental Essay Question 4

Begin your essay by setting the context of the collaborative experience. Describe the project or initiative, the team, and the goal.

In the next section, focus on your role within the group. Discuss your contributions, how you interacted with and learned from team members, and any leadership or support roles you played. Then, delve into the process of collaboration. Describe the team dynamics, challenges faced, and how you collectively worked to overcome them. Highlight any significant moments of learning or insight that occurred through this collaborative effort.

Conclude by reflecting on the impact of the collaboration. Discuss how it contributed to the team’s or community’s goals and influenced your understanding of teamwork and collaboration. This structure ensures that your response to MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024 effectively communicates your ability to work in diverse teams, your commitment to shared goals, and your capacity for mutual learning and growth.

MIT Supplemental Essay Question 5

The fifth and final question in MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024 invites applicants to reflect on their resilience and adaptability. This prompt asks you to describe how you managed an unexpected situation or challenge and what you learned from it.

The essence of this question is to understand your problem-solving skills, ability to navigate uncertainties, and capacity for personal growth. It’s an opportunity to showcase your ability to think on your feet, to remain composed under pressure, and to learn from experiences that don’t go as planned.

Understanding MIT Supplemental Essay Question 5

To effectively respond to this prompt, it’s essential to understand that MIT seeks evidence of your resilience and learning agility. This question aims to uncover how you handle unexpected challenges and what these experiences teach you.

It’s not just about the challenge itself, but more importantly, about your response to it and the lessons you derived. Reflect on a situation that caught you off guard and required you to adapt or think creatively. This could be a personal, academic, or extracurricular challenge.

Brainstorming Your Response: MIT Supplemental Essay Question 5

• Identify a significant unexpected challenge : Think of a time when you were faced with a situation that caught you off guard and demanded you to act quickly and decisively. Perhaps it was an emergency, a sudden change in plans, or a critical decision that needed to be made on the spot. Please share the details of the scenario, including what happened, how you responded, and what the outcome was.
• Reflect on your initial reaction : Recall the emotions you experienced initially when faced with the challenge and describe in detail the steps you took to overcome it.
• Analyze your problem-solving approach : Analyze and evaluate the strategies or solutions you implemented to manage the given situation effectively. Consider the various approaches you took, your actions, and the outcomes you achieved. This will help you better understand your problem-solving skills and how you can improve them in the future.
• Recall the outcome : Remember the specific steps or actions taken to resolve the situation, as well as the outcomes or consequences that immediately followed.
• Consider the lessons learned : After reflecting on the experience, take some time to delve deeper and analyze how this experience has impacted you as a person. Consider how you have grown or changed, what skills you have developed, and how you have learned to adapt to new and unexpected situations. Think about what challenges you faced and how you overcame them through problem-solving. By examining these aspects of the experience, you will better understand yourself and how you can continue to grow and develop in the future.

Structuring Your Answer for MIT Supplemental Essay Question 5

Begin your essay by setting the scene of the unexpected challenge. Please describe the situation briefly, focusing on why it was incredible and immediately impacted you.

In the next section, delve into your response to the challenge. Discuss your steps, the thought process behind your actions, and any creative or unconventional solutions you employed. Then, focus on the outcome of the situation. Describe how the challenge was resolved and the immediate effects of your actions.

Conclude by reflecting on the lessons you learned from this experience. Discuss how it impacted your approach to problem-solving, your understanding of resilience, and how it contributed to your personal or professional growth. This structure ensures that your response to MIT’s supplemental essays 2023-2024 effectively communicates your ability to handle unexpected situations, your capacity for learning and adaptation, and your growth mindset.

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September 8, 2023

2023-2024 MIT Supplemental Essay Prompts

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has released its essay prompts for applicants to the Class of 2028. The Institute, one of the last highly selective universities to release its essay prompts for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle , poses five required essay prompts to this year’s applicants in addition to an optional text box in which applicants can include anything else they wish to share. So what are this year’s MIT essay prompts? Let’s check them out!

2023-2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Essay Topics and Questions

Required essays.

MIT applicants are asked to answer the following five short answer essay prompts in 100-200 words.

1. What field of study appeals to you the most right now? (Note: Applicants select from a drop-down list.) Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you.

This essay is an opportunity for students to articulate the origin story of their interest in a specific discipline — a discipline that is ideally showcased through their activities section and other MIT essays (always in complementary, never redundant ways). Students should focus on how they became interested in the field as high schoolers rather than as children.

2. We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.

When answering this essay prompt, so many students choose to write about an activity that brings them joy that fails to showcase intellectual curiosity. The activity an applicant chooses need not relate to their hook that they’ve ideally showcased in other essays and their activities section. But it  must  showcase how an applicant thinks. Tie-dyeing a t-shirt isn’t an intellectual pursuit — until a student zeroes in on the math behind tie-dyeing. Do you get the idea?

3. How has the world you come from—including your opportunities, experiences, and challenges—shaped your dreams and aspirations?

In the majority opinion striking down Affirmative Action , Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts penned a loophole for colleges to still factor in the influence of a student’s race or background. This essay is an opportunity for applicants to capitalize on this loophole.

Of course, students need not be underrepresented minorities to answer this prompt. Applicants could instead focus on their faith, community, or experiences that have shaped who they are and who they hope to be.

4. MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together.

MIT’s admissions committee wants to see that an applicant can play well in the sandbox with others. Too many know-it-alls apply to MIT. MIT is sifting through applications to identify students who have strong opinions but are malleable to change them when presented with differing viewpoints.

Through a specific anecdote, applicants should describe an example of a time they worked with others to address a problem in their community — ideally related to their hook so that their application sings with a singular talent rather than well-roundedness. If an applicant’s hook is environmental science, their answer will hopefully focus on an environmental issue in their community.

5. How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?

Too many applicants choose to write about tough graders or rigorous exams. It’s a mistake. MIT’s admissions committee seek to admit students for whom learning comes easily rather than students who have to work hard to get great grades and scores. Besides, by writing about grades and tests, it implies that’s what matters to the applicant.

Students should instead focus on an anecdote that showcases their love of learning. It could be a time when an applicant was debating a hot-button political issue with a classmate in a political science course. Maybe the fellow student they were discussing raised a point the applicant didn’t foresee and for which they didn’t have a retort. So the applicant hit the library and learned more about the issue, only to come back the next day to either counter or further substantiate the fellow student’s position.

Optional Open-Ended Additional Information Textbox

MIT’s admissions committee also includes a final, open-ended text box with the below instructions and 650 words available in the text box:

There is also one final, open-ended, additional-information text box where you can tell us anything else you think we really ought to know.

In this free response, many students include their Common Application Personal Statement. So long as it fits like a puzzle piece with the MIT supplemental essays, we at Ivy Coach fully support that since any optional essay in elite college admissions should not be considered  optional . Instead, it should be viewed as an opportunity to inspire admissions officers to root for an applicant.

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46 Essays that Worked at MIT

Updated for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.

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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a world-renowned research university based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Known for its prioritization of intellectual freedom and innovation, MIT offers students an education that’s constantly on the cutting-edge of academia. The school’s star-studded roster of professors includes Nobel prize winners and MacArthur fellows in disciplines like technology, biology, and social science. A deeply-technical school, MIT offers students with the resources they need to become specialists in a range of STEM subjects. In many ways, MIT is the gold standard for creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving.

Unique traditions at MIT

1. "Ring Knocking": During the weeks preceding the MIT Commencement Ceremony, graduating students celebrate by finding a way to touch the MIT seal in the lobby of Building 10 with their newly-received class rings. 2. "Steer Roast": Every year in May, the MIT Science Fiction Society hosts a traditional event on the Killian Court lawn for incoming freshmen. During the Steer Roast, attendees cook (and sometimes eat) a sacrificial male cow and hang out outside until the early hours of the morning. 3. Pranking: Pranking has been an ongoing tradition at MIT since the 1960s. Creative pranks by student groups, ranging from changing the words of a university song to painting the Great Dome of the school, add to the quirkiness and wit of the MIT culture. 4. Senior House Seals: The all-senior undergraduate dormitory of Senior House is known for its yearly tradition of collecting and displaying seals, which are emblems that represent the class of the graduating seniors.

Programs at MIT

1. Global Entrepreneurship Lab (G-Lab): G-Lab provides undergraduate and graduate students with the skills to build entrepreneurial ventures that meet developing world challenges. 2. Mars Rover Design Team: This club is part of the MIT Student Robotics program that provides students with the engineering, design, and fabrication skills to build robots for planetary exploration. 3. Media Lab: The Media Lab is an interdisciplinary research lab that explores new technologies to allow individuals to create and manipulate communication presentation of stories, images, and sounds. 4. Independent Activities Period (IAP): A month-long intersession program that allows students to take courses and participate in extracurricular activities from flying classes to volunteering projects and sports. 5. AeroAstro: A club that provides students with the opportunity to learn about aerospace engineering and build model rockets.

At a glance…

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Real Essays from MIT Admits

Prompt: mit brings people with diverse backgrounds and experiences together to better the lives of others. our students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend. describe one way you have collaborated with people who are different from you to contribute to your community..

Last year, my European History teacher asked me to host weekly workshops for AP test preparation and credit recovery opportunities: David, Michelangelo 1504. “*Why* is this the answer?” my tutee asked. I tried re-explaining the Renaissance. Michelangelo? The Papacy? I finally asked: “Do you know the story of David and Goliath?” Raised Catholic, I knew the story but her family was Hindu. I naively hadn’t considered she wouldn’t know the story. After I explained, she relayed a similar story from her culture. As sessions grew to upwards of 15 students, I recruited more tutors so everyone could receive more individualized support. While my school is nearly half Hispanic, AP classes are overwhelmingly White and Asian, so I’ve learned to understand the diverse and often unfamiliar backgrounds of my tutees. One student struggled to write idiomatically despite possessing extensive historical knowledge. Although she was initially nervous, we discovered common ground after I asked about her Rohan Kishibe keychain, a character from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. She opened up; I learned she recently immigrated from China and was having difficulty adjusting to writing in English. With a clearer understanding of her background, I could now consider her situation to better address her needs. Together, we combed out grammar mistakes and studied English syntax. The bond we formed over anime facilitated honest dialogue, and therefore genuine learning.

Essay by Víctor

i love cities <3

Prompt: We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.

I slam the ball onto the concrete of our dorm’s courtyard, and it whizzes past my opponents. ******, which is a mashup of tennis, squash, and volleyball, is not only a spring term pastime but also an important dorm tradition. It can only be played using the eccentric layout of our dorm’s architecture and thus cultivates a special feeling of community that transcends grade or friend groups. I will always remember the amazing outplays from yearly tournaments that we celebrate together. Our dorm’s collective GPA may go significantly down during the spring, but it’s worth it.

Essay by Brian

CS, math, and economics at MIT

Prompt: Describe the world you come from (for example, your family, school, community, city, or town). How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?

The fragile glass beaker shattered on the ground, and hydrogen peroxide, flowing furiously like lava, began to conquer the floor with every inch the flammable puddle expanded. This was my solace. As an assistant teacher for a middle school STEM class on the weekends, mistakes were common, especially those that made me mentally pinpoint where we kept the fire extinguishers. However, these mishaps reminded me exactly why I loved this job (besides the obvious luxury of cleaning up spills): every failure was a chance to learn in the purest form. As we conducted chemical experiments or explored electronics kits, I was comforted by the kids’ genuine enthusiasm for exploration—a sentiment often lost in the grade-obsessed world of high school. Accordingly, I tried to help my students recognize that mistakes are often the most productive way to grow and learn. I encouraged my students to persist when faced with failure, especially those who might not have been encouraged in their everyday lives. I was there for students like Nathan, a child on the autism spectrum who reminded me of my older brother with autism. I was there for the two girls in a class of 17, reminding me of my own journey navigating the male-dominated world of STEM. I wanted to encourage them into a lifelong journey of pursuing knowledge and embracing mistakes. I may have been their mentor, but these lessons also serve as a crucial reminder to me that mistakes are not representative of one’s overall worth.

Essay by Sarah J.

CS @ Stanford

One of my earliest memories is pouring over National Geographic magazines with my older brother. As I examined the photographs and illustrations, he attempted to explain the intricacies of the solar system or the mysteries of deep-sea creatures. I have always been enthralled by the expanse of scientific knowledge and the infinite list of unanswered questions.

[Place Redacted], where I grew up, has been a breeding ground for innovation since its days revolutionizing the steel industry. More recently, [Place Redacted] has become a center for medicine, information technology, and robotics. Growing up near the University of [Place Redacted] and Carnegie Mellon University, I’ve been fortunate to pursue unique biomedical research opportunities and participate in the [Place Redacted] Regional Science and Engineering Fair, from which I was selected to compete at ISEF.

[Place Redacted] is also a center for the arts, with world class music and dance. I’ve had the opportunity to study at [Place Redacted] Ballet Theatre for 13 years, performing alongside professional dancers in productions such as Romeo and Juliet and the Nutcracker. Beyond the technicalities of pliés and tendus, ballet taught me about discipline and collaboration – lessons I apply to everyday life. Ballet also encompassed community service. I have enjoyed performing for children with autism and recognize how our ballet community brings joy to other communities.

Each of these experiences has fueled my desire to explore STEM fields and will continue to as I collaborate on biomedical research to improve the lives of others.

Essay by Z.L.

Dancing, crafting, and studying Computer Science at Stanford!

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, mit's application essay prompts: what to expect.

Hi everyone, I'm working on college applications, and I wanted to get a head start on MIT's application essays. What are the essay prompts they usually ask? Are they similar to other universities or are there any unique prompts specific to MIT?

Hi! MIT usually has a fairly extensive package of supplemental essay prompts, some of which are similar to questions asked by other schools, some of which are more unique. You can take a look at this year's prompts, as well as breakdowns of how to respond to each one, on CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-the-mit-application-essays.

Do note that, while these can give you an idea of what to expect, you won't want to start actually writing your responses until August 1st before your senior year. Prompts can change year to year, and you don't want your hard work to go to waste if one of them is changed or removed.

Once you do have drafts in hand, consider checking out CollegeVine's Free Peer Essay Review Tool, or submitting your essay for a paid review by an expert college admissions advisor through CollegeVine's marketplace. Sometimes, getting a second set of eyes on your essay is just the thing that takes it from good to great.

Best of luck with your application to MIT!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

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College Essay Prompts: Complete List, Analysis, and Advice

College Admissions , College Essays

When talking about college essays, we tend to focus on the Common Application prompts , and it's true that many students will need to write a Common App essay. However, there are actually quite a few schools, including both public and private universities, that don't use the Common App and instead ask applicants to respond to their own college essay prompts.

Luckily, college essay prompts tend to be pretty similar to each other. In this guide, I'll list all the college essay questions for popular schools in the US (and a few abroad) and then break down the patterns to help you brainstorm topics and plan how to approach multiple essays efficiently. After reading this guide, you'll be able to strategize which essays you'll write for which colleges.

Feature image: Mayr /Flickr

Why Do Colleges Ask For an Essay?

The short answer: the essay gives admissions committees a sense of your personality beyond the statistics on the rest of your application. The essay is your chance to show the committee your unique perspective and impress them with your maturity and insight.

College application essay prompts are written with this goal in mind. Admissions officers want to give you the chance to share your interests, aspirations, and views on the world, so most prompts ask about how your experiences have shaped you or what you're excited about studying or doing in college. I've collected a ton of examples below and provided some analysis to help you begin planning and crafting your own essays.

Keep in mind that the personal statement alone won't be enough to get you in— your grades and test scores are still the most important factors in your application . That being said, a stellar essay can help bring a borderline applicant over the top or give an excellent but not extraordinary student the opportunity to stand out in a competitive applicant pool.

As such, the essay tends to matter most for very competitive schools. Non-competitive schools generally don't ask you to submit an essay.

Complete List of College Essay Prompts

This list collects the 2022 college essay prompts for major state universities, top-50 schools, and other popular schools which have their own unique questions. They're divided by region, with all optional essays listed at the end.

I left off the Common App supplements, as those often require a substantially different approach. I also stuck to four-year schools, meaning I didn't include special two-year programs, such as Deep Springs College or Miami Dade College's Honors Program (both of which require essays).

Finally, note that these prompts are for freshman applicants, so the requirements might be different for transfer students .

General Applications

There are three general applications you can use to apply to many different schools at once:

Common Application

Universal college application, coalition application.

Each application has its own personal statement requirement. Some schools will ask for additional supplemental essays.

Many more schools accept the Common App than they do the UCA or Coalition Application , though some will accept more than one of these applications.

For the Common App essay, you pick one of the prompts and write 250-650 words about it. Here are the prompts for the 2022-2023 school year:

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

The UCA essay prompt is completely open ended and has a 650-word limit. Here is the 2022-2023 prompt:

Please write an essay that demonstrates your ability to develop and communicate your thoughts. Some ideas include: a person you admire; a life-changing experience; or your viewpoint on a particular current event.

For the Coalition Application, you'll pick one of five prompts listed below. While there is no hard word limit, the range guidelines are 500-650 words. Here are the prompts for 2022-2023:

What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?

Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?

Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?

What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?

Now that you know the essay requirements for the three general applications, let’s look at the application essays for specific schools . To keep things organized, we’ve grouped schools based on the region of the US in which they’re located.

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic

The Great Dome at MIT

Georgetown University

Georgetown asks applicants to write one short essay (about half a single-spaced page) and two longer essays (approximately one single-spaced page each). Each applicant must respond to the first two prompts and can choose among the other four based on the specific program she's interested in.

Short Essay: Briefly (approximately one-half page, single-spaced) discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.

All Applicants: As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.

Applicants to Georgetown College: What does it mean to you to be educated? How might Georgetown College help you achieve this aim? (Applicants to the Sciences and Mathematics or the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics should address their chosen course of study).

Applicants to the School of Nursing & Health Studies: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care. Please specifically address your intended major (Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, Human Science, or Nursing).

Applicants to the Walsh School of Foreign Service: The Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders to solve global problems. What is motivating you to dedicate your undergraduate studies to a future in service to the world?

Applicants to the McDonough School of Business: The McDonough School of Business is a national and global leader in providing graduates with essential ethical, analytical, financial and global perspectives. Please discuss your motivations for studying business at Georgetown.

For more Georgetown application tips, check out our articles on the Georgetown essays and how to get into Georgetown .

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT doesn't ask for a single personal statement but rather asks applicants to respond to a series of questions with just a paragraph or two of about 200 words each .

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.

Describe the world you come from (for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town). How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?

MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds and experiences together to better the lives of others. Our students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way you have collaborated with people who are different from you to contribute to your community.

Tell us about a significant challenge you've faced (that you feel comfortable sharing) or something that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?

For more details on how to get into MIT , read our other articles on the MIT application process , tips for MIT essays , and an example of a real MIT acceptance letter !

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Indiana University Bloomington

IU asks for 200-400 words on your plans and interests.

Describe your academic and career plans and any special interest (for example, undergraduate research, academic interests, leadership opportunities, etc.) that you are eager to pursue as an undergraduate at Indiana University. If you encountered any unusual circumstances, challenges, or obstacles in pursuit of your education, share those experiences and how you overcame them. Please note that this essay may be used in scholarship consideration.

University of Illinois

The University of Illinois asks for two essays (or three only if you selected a second-choice major other than what's noted on your application). All responses should be approximately 150 words.

You'll answer two to three prompts as part of your application. The questions you'll answer will depend on whether you're applying to a major or to our undeclared program, and if you've selected a second choice. Each response should be approximately 150 words. If You're Applying to a Major: 1.  Explain, in detail, an experience you've had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else. 2.  Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from UIUC and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them. If You're Applying to Our Undeclared Program in the Division of General Studies: 1.  What are your academic interests and strengths? You may also include any majors you are considering. 2.  What are your future academic or career goals? If You've Selected a Second-Choice Major (Including Undeclared): Please explain your interest in your second-choice major or your overall academic or career goals.

If you're applying to UIUC, check out our UIUC essay tips article as well!

University of Wisconsin–Madison

All applicants must complete two essays for UW–Madison. The essays should be 250-650 words in length and may be used for scholarship and campus program review.

If you apply through the Common Application, you’ll be asked to reply to one of the freshman Common Application essays in lieu of the first essay prompt below, but you’ll be required to respond to the second prompt below. 

If you apply through the UW System Application, the following two essays are required:

This part is all about you. Tell us about something you've done — academically or personally — and what you've learned from it. Was it a success or a challenge? Did it represent a turning point in your life? How did this particular moment in your life influence you, and how will it continue to influence you as you pursue your college education?

Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided please describe your areas of possible academic interest.

Kyle Field at Texas A&M ( Ed Schipul /Flickr)

The ApplyTexas application is used by all Texas public universities and some private colleges. There are four ApplyTexas essay prompts. Which ones you need to respond to will depend on where you're applying. UT Austin, for example, requires applicants to submit at least one essay responding to Topic A on the ApplyTexas application. .

While there's no set word limit, the online application will cut off each essay at 120 lines (~1000 words).

Topic A: Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?

Topic B: Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself.

Topic C: You've got a ticket in your hand – Where will you go? What will you do? What will happen when you get there?

Topic D: Please Note: The essay in this section is specific to certain college majors and is not required by all colleges/universities that accept the Apply Texas Application. If you are not applying for a major in Architecture, Art, Art History, Design, Studio Art, Visual Art Studies/Art Education , you are not required to write this essay.

Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?

We go into all the ApplyTexas prompts in detail here !

University of Georgia

For UGA, applicants must write two essays, one 200-300 words and one 250-650 words . Both essays are required for all applicants. The longer personal essay uses the Common Application prompts for 2023 ; the prompt for the shorter essay is as follows:

The c ollege admissions process can create anxiety. In an attempt to make it less stressful, please tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself from your high school years that you have not already shared in your application.

For a more detailed discussion of the UGA essays, read this article .

The Campanile at UC Berkeley

University of California

Students applying to the UC system must respond to four out of eight short personal insight questions. The maximum word count for each response is 350 words.

• Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
• Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
• What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
• Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
• Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
• Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
• What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
• Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?

Learn more about the UC essays , the UC application , and how to choose which UC schools to apply to with our complete guides .

University of Oregon

Applicants to the University of Oregon are required to submit one essay of 650 words or fewer. You also have the option to write a second essay (maximum of 500 words), but it’s not required.

The essay prompts are as follows:

The UO is interested in learning more about you. Write an essay of 650 words or less that shares information that we cannot find elsewhere on your application. Any topic you choose is welcome. Some ideas you might consider include your future ambitions and goals, a special talent, extracurricular activity, or unusual interest that sets you apart from your peers, or a significant experience that influenced your life. If you are applying to the UO's Robert D. Clark Honors College, feel free to resubmit your honors college application essay.

Optional second essay: As you've looked into what it will be like to attend Oregon, you've hopefully learned what makes Ducks Ducks. No two are alike, though, so tell us what makes you you, and how that connects to our campus community. We are interested in your thoughts and experiences recognizing difference and supporting equity and inclusion, and choosing one of these two options will guide you in sharing those thoughts. You can learn more about equity and inclusion at Oregon by visiting the Equity and Inclusion website . Maximum statement length is 500 words. This statement is not required.

University of Washington

In addition to its specific prompts, the University of Washington gives specific advice about what its admissions officers consider to be good writing before the prompts:

"At the UW, we consider the college essay as our opportunity to see the person behind the transcripts and the numbers. Some of the best statements are written as personal stories. In general, concise, straightforward writing is best, and good essays are often 300-400 words in length.

Essay Prompt (Required): Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped shape it. Maximum length: 650 words.

Short Response (Required): Our families and our communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW. Maximum length: 300 words

You can also find more tips on the University of Washington essays in this blog article .

International

Generally speaking, international schools are less likely to ask for an essay, since admission tends to be heavily focused on grades and test results. However, a few popular international schools do ask for a personal statement as part of their application.

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UK Schools)

UCAS is a general application for UK schools (similar to the Common App in the US). There's no specific prompt for the personal statement—instead, applicants are required to write an essay describing what they want to study, why they want to study it, and what they bring to the table. There is a 4,000-character/47-line limit.

University of British Columbia

UBC asks applicants to fill out a personal profile consisting of five to seven short-answer questions that vary depending on the program you're applying to. Answers should be 50-200 words.

Depending on which degree program you apply to, you’ll be asked to answer some or all of the following questions on the UBC application:

• Tell us about who you are. How would your family, friends, and/or members of your community describe you? If possible, please include something about yourself that you are most proud of and why.
• What is important to you? And why?
• Family/community responsibilities
• Creative or performing arts
• Work/employment
• Service to others
• Tell us more about one or two activities listed above that are most important to you. Please explain the role you played and what you learned in the process. You will be asked for a reference who can speak to your response.
• Additional information: You may wish to use the space below to provide UBC with more information on your academic history to date and/or your future academic plans. For example: How did you choose your courses in secondary school? Are there life circumstances that have affected your academic decisions to date? What have you done to prepare yourself specifically for your intended area of study at UBC?
• Please submit the names of two referees who know you well and can comment on your preparedness for study at UBC. Examples of referees include an employer, a community member, a coach, a teacher/instructor, or anyone who knows you well. One of the referees you select must be able to speak to one of the activities/experiences described in one of your long-answer responses above. For applicants who are currently attending a high school, one of your referees must be a school official (e.g., Grade 12 or senior year counsellor, teacher, or IB coordinator). Neither referee should be a friend, family member, or paid agent.

Some programs of study may ask applicants to respond to the questions above and some additional, program-specific questions when completing the personal profile.

University of Cambridge

Optional Essays

Some schools don't require an essay from all applicants but do recommend or require an essay for certain programs. I've listed a selection of those prompts below.

Arizona State University

Students applying to the Barrett Honors College at ASU must submit one essay of 300 to 500 words in response to one of the following prompts (your response may be critical or creative):

Prompt 1 Discuss how a specific piece of art (painting, literature, photograph, etc.) or popular culture (song, comic book, etc.) helped you realize something new about yourself or the world. What was that realization, and how did the piece of art or pop culture bring about this change in your thinking? Do not simply describe the piece of art or pop culture; instead, focus on its effect on you and how it makes you a good fit for the Barrett Honors College experience. Prompt 2 Tell us about a habit or way of thinking that others would recognize as “uniquely you.” This is something you value and would hesitate to give up because it is a distinct part of who you are or what makes you different - why is it so? Be sure to share how this aspect of your identity makes you a good fit for the Barrett Honors College experience.

City University of New York

Applicants to Macaulay Honors College must write two essays: an “about you” essay, and an essay describing your plans for college. Each response should be around 500 words, give or take a few within reason.

Essay 1: About you. (Select one of the options below.) Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. OR Tell us about an area or activity, outside of academics, in which you have invested a lot of time and effort. Tell us why. What did you learn? How was it meaningful?

Essay 2: About your plans for college. Please discuss all points below. Why do you want to go to an honors college ? There are many benefits of being a Macaulay student, such as the Macaulay community, special courses, Honors advisement, cultural passport, opportunities funds, and other financial benefits. Please describe how these features will shape you and your college experience, including, what you expect to bring to the college community and what you expect to get out of your college experience.

Florida International University

Only applicants who don't meet the criteria for automatic admissions and whose applications undergo holistic review will need to submit a 500-word essay:

Students requesting appeal or additional review of their admission status must submit a written statement including:

Your goals and educational or professional objectives

A summary/explanation of past academic performance

Information and/or circumstances that may have affected past academic performance

• Any other information the student wishes to have considered

Ohio University

For the Ohio University application, students who've been out of school for more than a year must submit an essay explaining what they've done in their time off from school.

Applicants who have been out of high school for more than one year must submit an essay detailing activities since graduation.

Additionally, applicants to the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism are encouraged, though not required, to submit an essay detailing how they want to help shape the future of journalism.

For all other applicants, submitting an essay here is optional; however, if you do wish to write an essay, the application suggests that you describe any academic challenges you’ve faced, academic and career objectives, or involvement in community affairs (recommended length is 250-500 words).

Those interested in Ohio University's OHIO Honors Program (including the Cutler Scholars Program) are required to answer the following essay prompt (limit 250 words):

Students in the OHIO Honors Program represent all majors on campus and take engaging honors courses while applying what they learn outside of the classroom. Students choose from classes and experiences across three pathways: community engagement, research and creative activity, and leadership . Students in OHP can move among the three pathways as their interests evolve and they develop their goals. What pathway is most exciting to you right now, and why?

Finally, those interested in the Honors Tutorial College are must answer the following two essay prompts (in about 500 words each):

HTC Question 1: Please explain why you have chosen your particular program(s) of study.

HTC Question 2: We expect that one reason you seek a tutorial education is for the one-on-one interaction with faculty, but other than that, what interests you about pursuing a tutorial-based undergraduate education? What aspects of your education and life experience have prepared you for a tutorial education with its emphasis on research and creative activity?

Type 1: Questions About a Meaningful Experience

This type of college essay question is the most common. The exact focus of these prompts can vary quite a bit, but they all ask you to reflect on an important experience. Some questions specify a type of experience whereas others don't, simply opting to have applicants write about whatever matters to them.

There are three basic sub-types that you'll see when dealing with these prompts. Let's look at an example of each.

#1: Overcoming a Challenge

These prompts ask about how you dealt with a particular challenge or solved a problem. Below is a typical example of this question type from the MIT application:

Tell us about the most significant challenge you've faced or something important that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?

To address a question like this, you need a topic that has real stakes —that is, something that you genuinely struggled with. Even though it can seem as though you should only discuss positive experiences and feelings in your college essay (you want to impress your readers with how awesome you are!), unwavering positivity actually hurts your essay because it makes you seem fake.

Instead, be honest : if you're writing about a negative experience, acknowledge that it was unpleasant or hard and explain why. Doing so will just make your overcoming it that much more impressive.

#2: Engaging With Diversity

Questions about diversity ask how you interact with those who are different from you . See an example below from the Common Application:

When approaching this type of question, you need to show that you're thoughtful about new ideas and perspectives. Colleges are full of students from all kinds of backgrounds, and admissions officers want to know that you'll be accepting of the diversity of other students, even if you don't necessarily agree with them.

Also, make sure to pick a specific instance to focus on. Writing a general essay about how you accept others won't impress admissions officers—you need to show them an example of a time that you did so.

#3: Growing Up

Finally, this type of prompt asks about a transitional experience or rite of passage that made you feel like an adult. I've reprinted another example from the Common App:

For these types of prompts, you want to show personal growth. Explain to the reader not just who you are but also how you've changed . (Really, this is a good idea no matter which prompt you're addressing!)

College can be challenging, so admissions officers want to know that you have the maturity to deal with (likely) living on your own, managing your own life, and planning for your future.

Regardless of the exact prompt, the key to this type of college essay is to show what you've learned from the experience. Admissions officers don't care that much about what happened to you—they care about what you think and feel about that event. That's what will give them a sense of who you are and what kind of college student you'll make.

Once you write a first draft, put it in a drawer for a week. Taking some time away from it will allow you to come back to it with fresh eyes. Then, try to read your essay from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about you. Would they be able to understand the story? Do you explain clearly what you learned? Does your intro grab the reader's attention?

It can also be helpful to ask someone you trust, such as a parent, teacher, or peer, to read your essay and give you feedback. Really listen to what they say and think about how you can improve your writing.

Finally, try reading your essay aloud. This will help you catch any weird or awkward phrasings.

What's Next?

If you're struggling with how to approach your personal statement, consider looking at some college essay examples .

The essay is just one part of the college application process. Check out our guide to applying to college for a step-by-step breakdown of what you'll need to do.

Finally, if you're planning to take the SAT or ACT , consider taking a look at our expert test-prep guides for some helpful advice on whatever you might be struggling with.

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Alex is an experienced tutor and writer. Over the past five years, she has worked with almost a hundred students and written about pop culture for a wide range of publications. She graduated with honors from University of Chicago, receiving a BA in English and Anthropology, and then went on to earn an MA at NYU in Cultural Reporting and Criticism. In high school, she was a National Merit Scholar, took 12 AP tests and scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and ACT.

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How to Write the Smith College Supplemental Essay 2024-2025

Smith College is a private liberal arts women’s college in Western Massachusetts. The school boasts small class sizes and close advising for over 50 areas of study. Smith is also part of both the Five College Consortium , which allows students to take courses and participate in extracurriculars at Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Hampshire College, and UMass Amherst.

Smith is pretty selective, so writing a strong essay can definitely help increase your chances of acceptance. Here’s how to respond to their supplemental essay prompt.

Smith College Supplemental Essay Prompt

What personal experiences, background or abilities would you bring to this residential environment to share with your neighbors and what would you hope your neighbors would share with you (250 words).

Smith wants to know about your individuality and worldview through your experiences, backgrounds, and abilities, and this aligns most with the Diversity archetype . Showcase how your unique perspective benefits the community and how you engage with others. As there is an emphasis on “neighbors,” make sure to prioritize community as a theme, whether that’s about embracing differences, serving the people around you, or any other variation of being a contributing member of your community. 

Essentially, you are being asked to reflect on the aspects of your identity, skills, and personality that will shape how you engage with Smith College’s residential campus community. Admissions officers want to know how you can enrich the experiences of your future neighbors, as well as what you hope to gain from living in a diverse and tight-knit environment. It’s an opportunity to highlight your ability to contribute to a communal space, while also demonstrating humility and openness to learning from others.

To brainstorm some ideas for what you’ll write about, think about the following questions:

• What personal experiences or aspects of your identity (culture, family background, hobbies, talents) would shape your role in a residential community?
• How have you contributed to your community in the past? How would that translate to a college campus or dorm environment?
• What specific values or qualities do you want your living space to reflect?
• What are you curious about learning from others who may have different backgrounds or interests than your own?
• How do you envision creating meaningful relationships with your neighbors?

Like any supplemental essay, a good response will be specific and personal. Make sure to share details about your life that impact how you interact with others; this could include any aspect of your identity, including ethnicity, race, culture, religion, socioeconomic class, gender and sexual orientation, hometown, illness or disability, and even interests and hobbies. 

How can your experiences or abilities related to one of these dimensions enrich the lives of the people around you? Think about how you contribute to your community or how you will. Then, dive into what you hope to gain from your peers to express your openness to learning from others—engagement is mutual, so don’t neglect this part of the prompt. 

Check out these examples below:

Good Example : “ I’ve always felt that food is a way to bring people together. Growing up in a Filipino household, Sunday afternoons were spent cooking lumpia and adobo with my cousins. I want to recreate this sense of warmth and familiarity in my life at Smith by hosting cooking nights where we can share our favorite family dishes. I can already imagine the smell of sizzling garlic and soy sauce filling the kitchen as we cook and talk about the comfort foods that remind us of home. But more than that, I hope my neighbors will share their own stories and traditions with me—whether it’s teaching me a new dance move, introducing me to their favorite songs, or showing me a special recipe that I can add to my collection .”

This example gives a vivid picture of how the student will contribute to the residential community by sharing memories and traditions related to their cultural background. It also balances their desire to learn from others, creating a sense of true exchange. The focus on food as a way to connect adds a personal and tangible element with elements of storytelling.

Bad Example: “ In the Smith dorms, I would bring a positive attitude and help others when needed. I’ve always been someone who people can count on, and I hope that my neighbors will see that I am trustworthy to talk to when they need help. I also hope that I will meet people from different backgrounds who can teach me about their experiences when they come to me to talk something out. It will be great to live with people who are different from me and learn from them. Creating authentic connections with my neighbors is an important way to create a community and make sure everyone feels supported. ”

This example is generic and doesn’t show any specific aspects of the student’s background or personality. While it mentions wanting to help others and learn from peers, it lacks detail on how the student plans to engage with the community. It could be written by anyone and doesn’t provide any personal reflection or depth to the writing.

Your response should be intentional and reflective when it demonstrates how your personal background and abilities will enrich your residential community at Smith. This will help show admissions officers that you’re ready to be an active, engaged, and open-minded member of the campus community who contributes to the culture of the college.

Where to Get Your Smith College Essays Edited for Free

Do you want feedback on your Smith College essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

Need feedback faster? Get a free, nearly-instantaneous essay review from Sage, our AI tutor and advisor. Sage will rate your essay, give you suggestions for improvement, and summarize what admissions officers would take away from your writing. Use these tools to improve your chances of acceptance to your dream school!

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MIT after SFFA by Stu Schmill '86

technology and the dream, deferred

August 21, 2024

• in Announcements ,
• MIT History & Culture ,
• Process & Statistics ,
• Public Statements

Today I spoke with MIT News about the impact the Supreme Court’s decision in the SFFA case had on the composition of the Class of 2028 , why it matters, and what we plan to do next. You should read that interview , as well as an accompanying message from President Sally Kornbluth .

Here, on the blogs, I want to share some personal reflections on what this means to me, both because I am ultimately responsible for the makeup of our undergraduate student body, and also because MIT has been my home for more than forty years. 

One hot summer day, many years ago now, I packed a green Army surplus duffle bag full of all my clothes and boarded a Greyhound bus to Boston. I arrived at South Station, took the Red Line to Kendall Square, and walked along Memorial Drive until I got to Killian Court. I remember standing there, seeing the Great Dome for the first time, all on my own ⁠ 01 My parents — who were born and raised in the tenements on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, speaking Greek and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaeo-Spanish">Ladino</a> at home — did not attend college, and did not accompany me to campus. In fact, the first time they set foot on the MIT campus was to see me graduate, four years later. and feeling just enormously intimidated by the place. ⁠ 02 I remember that when I got my admission letter in the mail, at first I was excited, but almost immediately after felt the concern that I had been admitted by mistake. And today, at our admitted student program each spring, the number one question I get from students is some version of: “How did I get in?” Many of our students feel this impostor syndrome prospectively to some degree or other, and to them I say — unequivocally — that every student we admit belongs here, period, and has demonstrated the academic and personal qualifications to thrive at MIT and beyond. It was freshman orientation in August 1982, and I — a skinny seventeen year old Jewish kid from a public high school in Queens — was about to begin my college education at the most famous institution of science and technology on the planet. 

I moved into New House — a dorm known even in the eighties for its multicultural community —  where I shared a forced triple ⁠ 03 I later learned the Class of ‘86 had over-enrolled by several dozen students, due to high yield rate that caught the Admissions office off guard. I only knew it was a forced triple decades afterward, once I started working in admissions - we all just thought it was supposed to have three people in it. with Scott from New Jersey and Victor from Lynn, two guys I met by chance in the barbecue line and with whom I became fast friends. ⁠ 04 </span>...despite the fact that they liked to spin records late at night while I was trying to wake up to be on the river at 6AM for crew. That said, serendipity reigned: the three of us briefly ran a DJ business together after graduation. In those days, Paul Gray was the President of MIT, ⁠ 05 It is hard to exaggerate the degree to which <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_E._Gray">Paul</a> — who was not a tall man — towers in MIT history, alongside his wife Priscilla, after whom our <a href="https://pkgcenter.mit.edu/">Center for Public Service</a> is named. After earning his bachelors, masters, and doctorate in electrical engineering, he served sequentially as Professor, Dean of Engineering, Associate Provost, Chancellor, President, and finally Chair of the MIT Corporation, our board of trustees. The house occupied by the President of MIT is named after them, as is the walkway across campus along which he and Priscilla would daily wander, greeting students, faculty, and staff along the way. In 1997, when he stepped down as Chair of the MIT Corporation, his successor Chuck Vest <a href="https://infinite.mit.edu/video/special-place-celebration-honor-paul-and-priscilla-gray-5171997">said in a speech</a>, “Is Paul the image of MIT, or is MIT the image of Paul? Both, I suppose. Indeed, he personifies our institution — integrity, loyalty, tenacity, and, of course, his championing of our meritocracy.” Everything we have done in MIT Admissions — before and during my tenure as Dean — has been in this tradition set out by Paul and the students of the Task Force (below) more than a half-century ago. and could often be seen trundling across campus making spirited conversation with freshmen and faculty alike. Because I was small, but loud, I was recruited to be a coxswain of the crew team. ⁠ 06 Crew is a sport I didn’t even know existed before I arrived, but would become the center of my world for the next twenty years. After four years as an MIT undergraduate, I became the MIT crew coach for thirteen more, and still compete annually at the Head of the Charles. I figured out pretty quickly that I was practical and liked working on projects with my hands, so I declared Course 2 , where I took 2.03 with Jim Williams , ⁠ 07 Jim taught me <a href="https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/2-003sc-engineering-dynamics-fall-2011/">2.03: Dynamics</a>; he was an incredible instructor, lecturing without notes while making complex topics easy to grasp; his skill as a teacher made this probably one of the few courses that I understood all the way through. Later, as part of his hunger strike for more diversity among the MIT faculty, Jim once <a href="https://fnl.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fnl35.pdf#page=9">memorably described</a> the kind of diversity to which he thought MIT should aspire: “a broad intellectual, sociological, action-oriented and multi-ethnic community.” This vision has stayed with me ever since. 2.70 with Woodie Flowers , ⁠ 08 “Introduction to Design and Manufacturing,” now known as 2.007, and the class that inspired <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRST_Robotics_Competition">FIRST Robotics</a>, which Woodie would co-found with the inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen in 1992. I took it with my friend and classmate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Smith">Megan Smith</a>, who would go on to run GoogleX and PlanetOut, and later became the Chief Technology Officer of the United States. Like FIRST today, 2.70 was a great example of how people with different backgrounds can come up with different ways to solve problems, as <a href="https://infinite.mit.edu/video/interview-woodie-flowers-origins-270-robotics-competition-11997)" class="broken_link">Woodie once said in an interview</a>; I remember I was the only person with my design that year (I lost in an early round of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDnSFQ4YZLc">1984 competition</a>, but to the eventual winner, which softened the blow somewhat). and 2.72 with Ernesto Blanco , ⁠ 09 2.72 was, then as now, <a href="https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/2-72-elements-of-mechanical-design-spring-2009/">Elements of Mechanical Design</a>, which taught students how to synthesize, model and fabricate a design from scratch and subject to real-world constraints. Ernesto — who was born in Cuba and frequently consulted with the State Department on engineering education in Latin America — was a legendary instructor and inventor, most notably of <a href="https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/ernesto-blanco">many breakthrough medical and assistive devices</a>; like many other of his students, I was in awe of his mission-minded technical creativity. among others.   

Jim, Woodie, Ernesto, and the rest of my professors taught me a lot, but like most college students, I learned even more from my friends. Like many MIT students before and since, I could not believe my good fortune to be surrounded by such incredible company. When I think back, most of what I learned at MIT and its value wasn’t even really in the classroom itself. The laws of physics are the same everywhere, and I could have picked up the basic principles of engineering from a textbook at the New York Public Library. ⁠ 10 As Matt Damon’s MIT-janitor character says to a rival from Harvard in <em>Good Will Hunting</em>, “You wasted ⌈your tuition⌋ on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.” But of course — and as Damon’s character later learns from his therapist, played by Robin Williams — what you can’t get from a book are the humans you meet along the way, and what they can teach <em>you</em>. It was my fellow students — who hailed from Georgia to Guyana and everywhere in between — that made being at MIT so special. 

I found myself surrounded by smart, kind, creative people, who came from around the country and the world to attend MIT because we all wanted to solve hard problems in the company of brilliant peers. ⁠ 11 I cannot emphasize enough the centrality of learning to collaborate with others who are different from you as a core feature of our education. I briefly went to General Motors and was a design engineer for a little while after graduating from MIT. The engineering part of it was frankly simple, and I could have learned it anywhere. The challenging part of that job was working with people on big, complex projects under pressure. So that is the part of the MIT education that I think was the most valuable for me: it was all project-based work that we did, because I learned how to to generate new ideas and execute on them with other people who had different ideas and perspectives and experiences from mine. What we didn’t realize, but soon learned, is that what enabled us to actually teach and learn from each other was that we had such different ideas and experiences, ⁠ 12 As we argued at length in a <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/amicus-briefs-and-the-abcs-of-a-diverse-mit/">joint industry-academia amicus brief with Stanford, IBM, and Aeris Communications</a>, the educational benefits of diversity are a <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/reaffirming-our-commitment-to-diversity/#annotation-32">consistent empirical finding across a variety of disciplines</a>. More intuitively, anyone who has ever worked on any creative problem solving knows that nothing kills creativity and innovation like a monoculture, while a meritocratic pluralism of brilliant and diverse perspectives is a dynamic source of new ideas. In his classic article “<a href="https://www.bebr.ufl.edu/sites/default/files/Burt%20-%202004%20-%20Structural%20Holes%20and%20Good%20Ideas.pdf">Structural Holes and Good Ideas</a>,” the sociologist Ronald Burt studied how successful innovators in business are often people who “bridge” homogenous groups, because they “have earlier access to a broader diversity of information and have experience in translating information across groups…⌈providing⌋ a vision of options otherwise unseen.” Any MIT alum will recognize the Institute as a training ground for these kinds of bridge figures. but were united by a shared standard of academic excellence, ⁠ 13 As I told <em>MIT News</em>, in my time as Dean of Admissions, all admitted students, from all backgrounds, have been required to demonstrate rock-solid academic readiness for the MIT education through their performance in high school and on standardized tests. And in recent years, as MIT has grown more diverse, collective academic performance has improved, as have retention and graduation rates, which are now at all-time highs for students from all backgrounds. I emphasize this essential fact because many people have told me over the years that they think MIT ought to only care about academic excellence, not diversity. But this is a false choice, because every student we admit, from any background, is <em>already</em> located at the far-right tail of the academic distribution. a collective interest in science and technology, ⁠ 14 Though not <em>only</em> science and technology, and certainly not for their own sake. As Paul said in his <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2017/former-mit-president-paul-gray-dies-0918">inaugural address</a> as MIT’s President in 1980, “We continue to hear the complaint that...many of our human and social ills are the direct result of unanticipated and deleterious artifacts of technology, foisted upon the world by technicians with tunnel vision...What is clear, however, that the future development not only of this nation, but of the world, is inexorably tied to continued scientific progress and to the humane and thoughtful applications of science...What is needed is not a retreat from science and technology, but a more complete science and technology. We must strive to develop among ourselves, among our students, and in the public at large, an understanding of the fact that engineering and science are, by their very nature, humanistic enterprises.” and a sense of mission to use our interests and aptitudes to serve the nation and the world. ⁠ 15 As the <a href="https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/reports/1949-12_Report_of_the_Committee_on_Educational_Survey.pdf">Lewis Report</a> described the purpose of the MIT education all the way back in 1949: “We believe that the mission of the Institute should be to encourage initiative, to promote the spirit of free and objective inquiry, to recognize and provide opportunities for unusual interests and aptitudes; in short, to ⌈develop⌋ individuals who will contribute creatively to our society, in this day when strong forces oppose all deviations from set patterns.” The modern <a href="https://www.mit.edu/about/mission-statement/">MIT mission</a> directs us to “educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.”

I wasn’t all on my own after all. I had all of them, from every walk of life, with me every step of the way down the Infinite Corridor. 

My classmates and I benefited from the fact that, even back in 1982, MIT already had a long history ⁠ 16 The best guide to this history is Dr. Clarence Williams’ indispensable <a href="https://dusp.mit.edu/people/clarence-g-williams"><em>Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience at MIT, 1941–1999.</em></a> Clarence and I first became friends in the 1990s, when I was the head crew coach, and he was Special Assistant to the President of MIT for Minority Affairs. Back then, I volunteered coaching a rowing team of teenagers from the Mandela Apartments in Roxbury. In addition to borrowing some of our boats, I opened the MIT Boathouse to them so they could train alongside MIT undergrads, and they eventually became <a href="https://news.mit.edu/1997/crew-1119">the first team of all Black and Hispanic students to compete in the Head of the Charles</a>, for which they were celebrated by ABC’s <a href="https://youtu.be/c_zRkCAyVps"><em>World News Tonight</em></a>. Clarence, who was <a href="https://dusp.mit.edu/news/clarence-williams-honored-mlk-celebration-gala">honored earlier this year</a> with a lifetime achievement award at the 50th Anniversary MIT MLK Celebration, was a central advocate of this initiative and helped manage the relationships and build support; we saw it as a way that MIT could share its intellectual, social, and material resources with the community, in keeping with our mission and our land-grant charter. Later, when I ran the Educational Council, I shared an office in N52 — the old MIT Museum building — with Clarence, while he was finishing work on this book. “MIT served as a pioneer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, developing admissions criteria so that black students would get an opportunity to attend this institution,” he wrote in its introduction. “Among schools of engineering and science, MIT’s criteria became a model for other institutions to increase the numbers of young minority scientists and engineers.” of advancing equal opportunity and racial integration in STEM education. Seventy years ago, in May 1954, the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education ; a few months later, MIT hosted what is believed to be the first national conference on the topic of anti-discrimination in higher education. During the early days of the Civil Rights Era, the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid (CUAFA) directed more recruitment at predominantly minority high schools , and the student-run MIT Science Day Camp ⁠ 17 Described by the 1969 MIT President’s Report as “a remarkable demonstration of student initiative at its most creative and sophisticated level,” as so many of the student initiatives in this area have been in our history. evolved into the federally-funded national program Upward Bound . 

Then, in 1968, MIT launched the Task Force on Educational Opportunity, chaired by then-Professor Paul Gray and including faculty, staff, and student leaders. ⁠ 18 Among them a young <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Ann_Jackson">Shirley Ann Jackson</a>, who would go on to become first African-American woman to earn a doctoral degree from MIT; she later ran the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and served as the 18th President of RPI. The MIT Black Student Union she helped found was crucially involved with recommending and starting the Task Force, and led many of its key initiatives. The Task Force had a clear sense of purpose ⁠ 19 When asked, at a faculty meeting in 1969, why MIT was embarking on these efforts to expand opportunity, Paul said: “⌈S⌋ome of those who have in recent months commented on this program have expressed concern that the Institute has embarked, for reasons that are seen to be essentially political, on a course that will lead it away from its responsibility for the education of an elite, and will compromise its capability and its contributions in this respect. This view seems to me to overlook several important aspects of both the Institute’s traditional role, and its responsibility to the society in which it functions. Over most of its history, MIT has provided, in educational terms, the skills, knowledge, and qualities of mind that have been required to work out solutions to the problems posed by our developing society and to enable individuals to become more effective, more mobile, in that society...it seems to me that we must not fail to make those opportunities accessible on a broad scale by getting hung up on a narrow, self-serving, conception of education for an elite.” and moved rapidly to greatly expand MIT’s recruitment ⁠ 20 Specifically, the Task Force directed the admissions office to begin a nationwide talent-search for students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds who might do well at MIT. John Mims — the first African-American admissions officer at MIT — developed an at-the-time innovative plan to individually recruit students who had performed well on the PSAT or SAT; his initiative immediately octupled the number of admitted students from historically under-represented backgrounds. In 1996, Paul Gray <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/chapter-pdf/2410074/9780262286305_c001400.pdf" class="broken_link">told</a> Clarence Williams: “We did then what we really still do to increase the flow of applicants, that is, we send material by mail to all those high-school students who have taken the SAT’s who at that time indicated that they were African-American—now other minorities are included—and who have scores in the range that at MIT might make sense. A little brochure went out that first year that was produced by the task force...and resulted in sort of a ten-fold increase in the number of minority applicants. That’s been the core of the effort ever since.” <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_James_Gates">Dr. Sylvester James Gates</a> — a member of the first class of students recruited via this initiative — <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/5038/chapter/2977126/Sylvester-J-Gates-Jr" class="broken_link">told Williams</a>: “It was almost like an athlete being recruited to go to college to play ball,” except for a STEM education. and financial aid, ⁠ 21 Among them, an early initiative to guarantee sufficient grant-aid scholarships to Black undergraduates in the 1970s so that they could attend MIT without having to take out loans, which was especially salient given the contemporary issues with redlining. Today, all admitted students from all backgrounds <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/afford/cost-aid-basics/access-affordability/">receive scholarships that meet 100% of financial need</a> without any expectation of loans. incubate the student-led programs that became MITES and Interphase , and undertake other bold initiatives, ⁠ 22 I should note that in addition to of the specific efforts of the Task Force, MIT faculty also launched their own initiatives, creating new areas of teaching and research in in urban affairs, offering pro bono legal services to Cambridge minorities, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trilling">cofounding</a> the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/METCO#History)">METCO</a>) the largest and second-longest continuously running voluntary school desegregation program in the United States. including student-run tutoring programs for Cambridge youth that exist to this day . In a report reflecting on the early years of these initiatives, Paul described the vision and values that guided these initiatives in his plainspoken manner: 

We undertake these actions and adopt these policies not because we are required to, but because it is right and proper that we do so, [for] we are persuaded that the Institute becomes a stronger, more effective place as it draws on the full range of human talent and experience.

Decades later, long after his presidency and subsequent chairmanship of the MIT Corporation, Paul led the search committee that hired me as the Dean of Admissions in 2008; he also served on CUAFA. In my first few years in this role, he and I got lunch several times a semester, and I have always been grateful for his mentorship, guided as it was by both his mind and his heart. Paul never stopped being an MIT professor, first and foremost; he helped teach me everything I learned about the important work with which I had been entrusted. 

What sticks with me most from those invaluable conversations was Paul’s personal conviction that his initiatives to diversify MIT ⁠ 23 In addition to the Task Force, his service to CUAFA, and his many years of leadership support, Paul, in the best <em>mens et manus</em> tradition, did hands-on work too. I remember him telling me stories about how, when chairing the Task Force, he would take trips to drive around in an old Cadillac with <a href="https://alum.mit.edu/aboutleadershipleadership-nominationsannual-awards/2024-award-winners#:~:text=67%20Award%20Winners-,George%20B.%20Morgan%20%E2%80%9920%20Award,-The%20George%20B">legendary Educational Counselor George B. Morgan</a> visiting high schools in Texas. So Paul — just like an admissions officer today — could see on the ground the extent of inequality of opportunity, state to state, district to district, school to school, and sometimes even within schools. That was part of what informed his deep knowledge and driving passion for this work. constituted the most important work he had done in all of his time in our leadership. Paul knew, as well as anyone ever has, that the key lesson an MIT education teaches is the skillful self-confidence that no problem is too hard to tackle, and he thought it was crucial that this lesson be made more broadly available. ⁠ 24 The <a href="https://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59050">1969 President’s Report</a> includes a section — likely authored by Paul, and certainly summarizing his statements at faculty meetings about the Task Force — explaining that there “are several compelling reasons for undertaking intensive efforts to increase the number of Black Americans who study at the Institute. First, the science-based education for leadership, which has long been our strength, is as relevant and as essential in the Black community as it has proved to be for others in this society. Second, our commitment to areas of science and technology which bear on critical social problems, such as the broad area of urban affairs, requires that Black Americans, who have a major stake in these concerns, participate fully in the development of solutions...The Institute has much to offer in terms of the kind of education that elevates, empowers, and liberates people, and it seems to me that we must not fail to make those opportunities accessible on a broad scale.” He impressed upon me that carrying on this legacy of meritocratic pluralism — the synthesis of diversity and excellence — was an essential responsibility for the Dean of Admissions at a place like MIT. 

This responsibility looms large in my mind, and weighs heavily in my heart, as I contemplate the change to MIT brought about by the Supreme Court’s decision in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA) case last year. In an interview with MIT News today, I discussed the impact of the Court’s decision, why it matters, and what we plan to do next. I encourage you to read the full interview , but here are the five key things you really need to know:   

• After the SFFA decision, we expanded our recruitment ⁠ 25 We have long conducted focused recruiting on under-represented and under-served students, and expanded our recruitment budget for these efforts this year, including our <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2023/3-questions-stuart-schmill-mit-admissions-stars-college-network-0404">ongoing partnership with the STARS Network</a>. We also have long offered visit weekends hosted on the MIT campus for those who would benefit from an introduction to STEM, sent direct mail about MIT to students from under-represented and under-served backgrounds with unusually strong testing, and so on, as I have described above. Of course, we can (and must) always improve recruiting, but as I describe below, the challenges are more fundamental than that. and financial aid initiatives ⁠ 26 As a first-generation college student who relied on scholarships to attend MIT myself, I am proud that <a href="https://sfs.mit.edu/undergraduate-students/the-cost-of-attendance/making-mit-affordable/">we operate one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country</a>, with around $160M in grants distributed to our ~4,500 undergraduates to help them meet 100% of their financial need. Today, the <b>median</b> need-based MIT Scholarship is $66,663, and 39% of our undergraduates receive grants at least equal to the cost of tuition. In addition to the new policy described in this bullet point for families making less than $75K a year, and our continued policy of being tuition-free for families making less than $140K a year, we also expanded our spring yield program budget to cover all transportation costs for any admitted students receiving any amount of financial aid to attend Campus Preview Weekend, Ebony Affair, and/or Sin LíMITe, to ensure any admitted student could afford to come experience the MIT community. to further improve access to the Institute for students from all backgrounds, led by a new policy whereby students from families earning less than $75,000 a year pay nothing to attend ⁠ 27 This is the kind of clear commitment that has been <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20200451)" class="broken_link">empirically demonstrated</a> to lower barriers for low-income applicants. It also allowed us to quintuple the number of students we match through <a href="https://www.questbridge.org/">QuestBridge</a>, a program for high-achieving, low-income students that requires students receive full scholarships covering the total cost of attendance in order to match them.  
• Despite these initiatives, and as we expected, ⁠ 28 <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/reaffirming-our-commitment-to-diversity">As I wrote last year</a>, we had closely reviewed what happened in states that banned race-conscious admissions before <em>SFFA</em>, including Professor Bleemer’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004727272300021X">landmark study of the University of California system after Proposition 209;</a> <a href="https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/kidder_paper.pdf)" class="broken_link">Kidder and Gándara’s expansive report</a> on what the University of California system had tried to reverse the decline in the decades since; the University of Michigan’s <a href="https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-files-amicus-brief-in-support-of-harvard-and-unc/">amicus brief</a> in the <em>SFFA</em> case; and Ellison & Pathak’s <a href="https://blueprintlabs.mit.edu/research/the-efficiency-of-race-neutral-alternatives-to-race-based-affirmative-action-evidence-from-chicagos-exam-schools/">study of Chicago’s exam schools</a>. In short, all of these studies showed a significant decline in students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic groups after prior state or secondary school bans on race-conscious admissions. The strongest effects were seen at the most selective, and most STEM oriented, programs; MIT is at the molten core of this intersection. We believe our research-informed initiatives — in particular our major expansion of financial aid — likely attenuated, but did not forestall, the decline in students from under-represented and under-served backgrounds, which is what we would have predicted based on these studies. there was still a decline in the proportion ⁠ 29 <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/composite-profile/ ‎">In this composite profile</a>, we have averaged the demographic composition of the first-year classes of 2024-2027; i.e., the MIT student body as an undergraduate attending MIT last year would have experienced the composition of their own class on average. Over that time period, around 25% of recent MIT undergraduates have identified as Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American and Pacific Islander; this year, it is closer to 16%, about a 40% decline. By comparison, according to <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/2024/cge_508c.pdf">recent data</a> from the National Coalition on Educational Statistics (NCES), 45% of public elementary and secondary school students are classified as members of these groups. It is important to note that there is year-to-year variance, as we have never had a quota for the number of students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds admitted to MIT; this was illegal long before <em>SFFA</em>, and also against MIT policy set in 1968 by the Task Force. However, the decline this year is far outside the bounds of normal variance, and is more consistent with the proportion of students from these backgrounds typically seen at MIT in the late 1980s and early 1990s. of enrolling first-years from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds ⁠ 30 As I <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/reaffirming-our-commitment-to-diversity/#annotation-10)">explained last year</a>, for the purposes of interpreting the descriptive statistics reported on the class profile, we adopt the convention of using “historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds” to count Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students, who are historically under-represented in STEM education. This is a crude standard, and one that has been (rightly) criticized for subsuming other groups — <a href="http://asianamerican.mit.edu/recs/">particularly Asian-American students</a> — into monoliths, as well as for sidestepping the sovereign status of Indigenous peoples; we acknowledge the limitations of these ways we currently <a href="http://(https://data-feminism.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/h1w0nbqp/release/3)." class="broken_link">count people</a>. We are also aware of <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2024/03/28/omb-publishes-revisions-to-statistical-policy-directive-no-15-standards-for-maintaining-collecting-and-presenting-federal-data-on-race-and-ethnicity/">the new OMB standards for collecting and presenting racial and ethnic data</a>, as well as the <a href="https://aapidata.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Report%25E2%2580%2594Strengthening-the-Federal-Governments-Data-Disaggregation-Pillar.pdf" class="broken_link">recommendations</a> from the advocacy group AAPI Data on strengthening data disaggregation. Because of limitations in how past data was collected and stored, it is not possible for us to implement these new recommendations retroactively on this long-term data, and our data use is consistent with long-term guidance from other federal agencies that collect statistics such as the NSF.
• This is because the SFFA decision effectively bans our ability to consider race and ethnicity ⁠ 31 When the Court prohibited the consideration qua race, the majority opinion noted that “nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” However, it continues, “universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today.” to assemble a broadly diverse class, and students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds are under-represented due to persistent and profound racial inequality in American K-12 education ⁠ 32 As Kidder & Gándara put it in their <a href="https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/kidder_paper.pdf">study</a> of the California system, “While two thirds of all Latino and African American students are found in the lowest performing half of the state’s schools, a much smaller percentage of White and Asian American students attend these schools...The more shocking story, however, is told in the percentage of each group found in the top-most decile—the very highest performing schools in the state. These are the schools that prepare the bulk of incoming UC students. Here is where one third of all Asian American students are found and one in five of all White students. Yet barely 3% and 4% of Latinos and African Americans are in these schools.” Meanwhile, <a href="https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Inequities-in-Advanced-Coursework-Whats-Driving-Them-and-What-Leaders-Can-Do-January-2019.pdf">according to the Education Trust</a>, “Black and Latino students across the country experience inequitable access to advanced coursework opportunities. They are locked out of these opportunities early when they are denied access to gifted and talented programs in elementary school, and later in middle and high school, when they are not enrolled in eighth grade algebra and not given the chance to participate in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and dual enrollment programs. As a result, these students are missing out on critical opportunities that can set them up for success in college and careers.” Similarly, <a href="https://research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/Understanding_Racial_Ethnic_Performance_Gaps_in_AP_Exam_Scores.pdf">according to the College Board</a>, “we find that racial/ethnic gaps in AP Exam scores in the ten most popular AP subjects are nearly fully explained by differences in prior academic experiences, with only minimal differences attributable to other student and school background data. Students who enter the AP Program with similar academic preparation in prior grades, earn similar AP Exam scores regardless of their racial/ethnic subgroup, gender, parental education level, eligibility for an AP exam fee reduction, or school context.” In other words, these racial gaps are primarily due to the cumulative effects of unequal educational opportunity. These findings are also consistent with new research from the <a href="https://edopportunity.org/">Educational Opportunity Project</a> at Stanford, which shows that important measures of racial and economic segregation between schools have <a href="https://ed.stanford.edu/news/70-years-after-brown-v-board-education-new-research-shows-rise-school-segregation">grown steadily over the past three decades</a>, leading to <a href="https://edopportunity.org/discoveries/segregation-leads-to-inequality/">increasing achievement gaps</a> produced by the <a href="https://edopportunity.org/discoveries/white-black-differences-scores/">cumulative effect of differences in educational opportunity</a>. that is especially pronounced in the areas of math and science ⁠ 33 NCES data <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-educational-opportunities-report.pdf">shows</a> nearly two-thirds of American high schools where three-quarters of students enrolled are Black and/or Hispanic do not offer any form of calculus, more than half do not offer any form of computer science, and nearly half do not offer any form of physics. And even within schools where such preparation for the postsecondary study of STEM is notionally available, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/equity/indicator_f11.asp&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1721389082578614&usg=AOvVaw042FF-u59aJiTcKUSb9iC_" class="broken_link">participation remains strongly associated with race</a>, an effect compounded by socioeconomic inequality. <a href="https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Inequities-in-Advanced-Coursework-Whats-Driving-Them-and-What-Leaders-Can-Do-January-2019.pdf">According to the Education Trust</a>, “Nationally, inequities are largely due to ⌈1⌋ schools that serve mostly Black and Latino students not enrolling as many students in advanced classes as schools that serve fewer Black and Latino students, and ⌈2⌋ schools — especially racially diverse schools — <a href="https://www.smith.edu/sites/default/files/media/Francis_Counselors_BEJEAP_0.pdf">denying Black and Latino students access to those courses</a>.” Herein lies the double-bind of many common “race-neutral alternatives.” Students from under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds who are <b>also</b> socioeconomically disadvantaged tend to be concentrated in school districts that do not offer access to foundational STEM coursework, as I discuss further in annotations below. <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-educational-opportunities-report.pdf">According to NCES</a>, 25% of graduates from schools where 25% or less of the students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) had completed calculus, whereas this completion rate was only 9% among graduates from schools where greater than 75% of students were eligible for FRPL. Meanwhile, the subset of students from under-represented racial and ethnic groups students who <em>do</em> have notional access to these courses tend to be relatively more socioeconomically advantaged — because <em>you have to be</em>, in order to live in a school district that offers these courses — and therefore are not reached by alternatives that focus on economic and educational disadvantage <em>even as </em>they are routinely denied access to these courses. Students from these historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds are thus squeezed from both sides in a way that is not as true, in the statistical aggregate, for white and Asian students. most important for preparing students to study STEM in college ⁠ 34 In a study of more than 76,000 STEM majors, Radunzel et al <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED581664">show</a> that success in earning a degree in a STEM field depends on both intrinsic interest and prior preparation. In recent years, there has been a great deal of progress made in awakening interest in STEM fields among students from historically under-represented and under-served backgrounds, but, as noted in the prior annotations, much less in improving preparation, which cannot be easily remediated after the fact. As I <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-reinstating-our-sat-act-requirement-for-future-admissions-cycles/#annotation-5">explained</a> in our test reinstatement post, we have no evidence that “bridge” programs like <a href="https://ome.mit.edu/programs/interphase-edge-empowering-discovery-gateway-excellence">Interphase</a> can “make up for” significant preparatory deficits in high school (although they have been empirically shown to have <em>other</em> considerable social and academic benefits). This was also found in Kidder & Gándara’s <a href="https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/kidder_paper.pdf">study</a> of the UC system, which found that the Student Academic Preparation and Educational Partnerships (SAPEP) bridge programs established after Proposition 209 had great expense and limited efficacy at closing the gaps in preparation for the UC system. It should not be surprising that short-term enrichment programs cannot entirely compensate for long-term structural deprivation linked to race and class.
• This significant change in class composition comes with no change to the quantifiable academic characteristics of the class ⁠ 35 Here, as before, I am referring primarily to performance on high school performance and standardized tests, the key things we find to be predictive in evaluating <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/foundations">preparation for MIT</a>. I know some readers may be surprised by this fact, because of the widespread misperception that race-conscious admissions pre-<em>SFFA</em> necessarily involved admitting unqualified students from under-represented backgrounds in order to achieve diversity. That widespread belief was untrue. As I told <em>MIT News</em>, in my time as Dean of Admissions, all admitted students have been required to demonstrate rock-solid academic readiness for the MIT education before we admit them. That is why we are not surprised that, in all the ways we can quantitatively measure, there is no difference predicted in the academic outcomes between the Class of 2027, which had the highest proportion of students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds in MIT history, and the Class of 2028, which has the lowest proportion of these students in decades. There may, however, be <em>qualitative</em> differences, which I address in the bullet point immediately below. that we use to predict success at MIT
• However, if MIT cannot find a way ⁠ 36 That complies with the new law. to continue to draw on the full range of human talent and experience in the future, it may threaten the qualitative strength of the MIT education, both by a relative reduction in the educational benefits of diversity and by making our community less attractive to the best students from all backgrounds. ⁠ 37 As I told <em>MIT News</em>, as MIT has become more diverse, more of the most talented students in the country from all backgrounds have chosen to enroll here, and they specifically tell us in surveys that it is because attending a diverse institution is important to them and they like how diverse MIT has become. Today’s students come from the most multiracial, multiethnic, multicultural generation of Americans that has ever existed; it is not surprising they prefer a campus that reflects these qualities. So another reason we care about diversity is because it makes us the strongest magnet of talent for the next generation of scientists and engineers and provides them with the best educational setting.  

For a very long time, there has been no topic in college admissions more controversial than the consideration of race. In my sixteen years as Dean of Admissions, I have heard every complaint and critique you can imagine from every political, professional, and personal perspective. There are those who believe that MIT has cared too much about diversity, and there are those who believe we have never cared enough. There are those who believe we have been racist by using race-conscious admissions to enroll diverse classes, and those who believe we have been racist by reinstating our testing requirement. These viewpoints are so diametrically opposed, and so deeply held, that it can feel impossible to reconcile them and persuade people to find common ground. ⁠ 38 Even with all of the differences of opinion I outlined above, I think most MIT students and alumni can agree with the basic proposition that they learn best when surrounded by brilliant people from a wide variety of backgrounds, who are empowered by our education to bring their skill and insight to bear on to a broad array of scientific and social concerns. If we can hold onto that commonsense and longstanding belief, then I think we can get somewhere together.

So I’m not going to attempt that in this post. 

Instead, I want to tell you what I believe. 

I believe that every student we have admitted on my watch was admitted because they were demonstrably well-qualified for, and well-matched to, the MIT education, and because we saw how their presence in the class would improve the collective experience for everyone. We have long valued potential over pedigree, ⁠ 39 This phrase comes from the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/values/#:~:text=Belonging%20and%20Community">MIT Values statement</a>. As we say in our <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/about/about-mit-admissions/#:~:text=and%20our%20institution.-,We%20are%20egalitarian,-For%20us%2C%20egalitarian">policies</a>: “Before any applicant is accepted, that person’s application passes through at least five distinct stages of review and is evaluated by several different committees composed of admissions officers and faculty reviewers. This process, which is unique in its particular design and has held fast for more than 50 years, guards against an individual’s biases, preferences, or familiarity with a given applicant swaying a decision unfairly. All applicants meet the same demanding standard, regardless of legacy status, donor affiliation, or athletic recruitment. We have no quotas by school, state, region, or socioeconomic background, but we also value diversity and believe that it contributes to the merit of each class.” and our egalitarian approach ⁠ 40 For example, work from Chetty et al <a href="https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CollegeAdmissions_Paper.pdf">demonstrating MIT’s lack of preference for wealth in its selection process</a>, and finding that <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w23618/w23618.pdf">our process contributes substantially to socioeconomic mobility</a>. According to the <em>New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/07/24/upshot/ivy-league-elite-college-admissions.html">coverage of the research</a>, “⌈MIT⌋ stands out among elite private schools as displaying almost no preference for rich students.” I was quoted in this article as saying, as I will repeat here now: “I think the most important thing here is talent is distributed equally but opportunity is not, and our admissions process is designed to account for the different opportunities students have based on their income...It’s really incumbent upon our process to tease out the difference between talent and privilege.” to evaluating excellence across contexts ⁠ 41 This is another way diversity matters: because in different soil, different plants bloom, and so you need an open mind, above a high bar of academic preparation, about what “excellence” looks like. As my predecessor B. Alden Thresher once <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/college-admissions-in-the-public-interest/">wrote</a>, “the process of admission to college is more sociologically than intellectually determined...to understand the process, one must look beyond the purview of the individual college and consider the interaction of all institutions with the society that generates and sustains them.” That is why we still consider many kinds of diversity: prospective fields of study and areas of research, extracurricular activities and accomplishments, as well as economic, <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/reaching-for-the-stars/">geographic</a>, and educational background. We are just no longer permitted to consider race. has enabled us to select students whose potential might have been otherwise masked or limited ⁠ 42 This language borrows from the charge to the 1968 Task Force; we revive it to hold in focus students whose intellectual star burns bright and hot to our sensitive instruments even if, to the naked eye, it is obscured behind the interstellar dust of unequal opportunity. I should note here that the Class of 2027 — admitted last year under our <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-reinstating-our-sat-act-requirement-for-future-admissions-cycles/">reinstated testing requirement</a> — had the highest proportion of students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds in MIT history, because universal testing helped us identify objectively well-qualified students who lacked other opportunities to demonstrate their preparation and potential. The decline in students from these backgrounds for the Class of 2028 thus cannot be attributed to our reinstatement, but instead to the Supreme Court’s constraint on the use of race. Standardized tests are not the only way to demonstrate otherwise masked or limited potential, but in the context of <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-reinstating-our-sat-act-requirement-for-future-admissions-cycles/#annotation-10">broader inequality of opportunity in K-12 education</a>, they remain an important tool. without compromising the quality of the class. I believe this not only because I have read applications, seen what we demand for academic standards, ⁠ 43 When I was admitted, in 1982, the admit rate was 33%. It was so long ago that things like SAT scores, retention rates, and graduation rates were not tracked or recorded; however, anyone from that generation can tell you that many students entered MIT without sufficient preparation, as evidence by how many did not succeed or graduate. Now, the admit rate is ~5%, the 25th percentile SAT math score is 780, and we admit no students unless we are confident in their academic preparation, as demonstrated by a first year retention rate of 99% and a six year graduation rate of 93%. I know some alumni and faculty from my generation sometimes grumble (because they grumble to me!) that the MIT education has been watered down; the data clearly shows the opposite is true in every way we can reasonably measure. There is only one way into MIT, and it is a very hard road with an absurdly narrow gate in terms of academic preparation. And there is no question in my mind that the students we are admitting today are, in aggregate, more academically prepared for our rigorous education than at any time in MIT’s history. and advised generations of first-year students, but also because as MIT has become more broadly diverse, academic outcomes have improved for all students ⁠ 44 As measured by things like performance at MIT, retention after the first year, and graduation within six years. These are not the only outcomes that matter; they don’t include things like research innovations or social impact. They are, however, the things we can straightforwardly measure as a baseline set of academic outcomes. and we have simultaneously become more attractive to the most talented students from all backgrounds. ⁠ 45 I <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/mit-after-sffa/#annotation-37">mentioned above</a> about how strongly we see this signal for the current generation. Since I’m already dating myself by comparing 33% admit rates to 5% admit rates, I’ll also mention the yield rate — the percentage of students to whom MIT offered admission who decided to enroll at MIT — was 58% in 1982, and is 86% now. It is clearly the case that MIT is a more attractive school to attend today than it was for much of its history, and our survey responses suggest that its increasing diversity plays a significant role in that. As in metals and magnets, the strongest materials are alloys , where many different materials are mixed together to achieve composite strength that can collectively withstand the greatest challenges. The same is true of our student body. 

I believe that MIT’s longtime strategy of using standardized tests to recruit students and validate academic preparation, ⁠ 46 As I explained <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-reinstating-our-sat-act-requirement-for-future-admissions-cycles/">when we reinstated testing</a>, our research — which has been ongoing since the 1970s — shows that we cannot reliably predict academic success at MIT without relying on standardized testing, and that it further helps us to identify objectively well-prepared students who do not have access to advanced math and science coursework at their high schools and is in this respect <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-reinstating-our-sat-act-requirement-for-future-admissions-cycles/#annotation-10">less racially unequal than other predictive measures</a> we have so far been able to find. Given this, we do not believe that removing our testing requirement would help diversify MIT after <em>SFFA</em>; indeed, it would likely do the reverse. More generally, I’d note Professor Sue Dynarski’s <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/act-sat-for-all-a-cheap-effective-way-to-narrow-income-gaps-in-college/">report on using universal testing to identify and recruit</a> high-achieving low-income students who would have otherwise not attended college. However, I should <em>also </em>note that this approach has been <a href="https://www.goodwinlaw.com/en/insights/blogs/2024/06/college-board-settles-for-750000-penalty-for-sharing-and-selling-student-data-in-violation-of-new-yo">challenged by new privacy laws</a> which — while doubtless well-intentioned — make it harder to individually recruit standout students from unexpected places. combined with the narrow consideration of race before SFFA to draw from the full breadth of human talent, ⁠ 47 As I said above, we can and do draw on other forms of diversity, as we actively seek out <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2023/3-questions-stuart-schmill-mit-admissions-stars-college-network-0404">rural students</a>, students from most countries of the world, students from families with less economic and social capital, and students from a range of academic interests and professional aspirations. We are simply no longer permitted to consider race among the kinds of breadth we can intentionally draw on. had long helped diversify and strengthen MIT, as well as the industries and institutions downstream of the Institute. I believe this because according to the American Society for Engineering Education , over the last decade ⁠ 48 While this statistic was only tabulated for the last decade for the purposes of this blog post (in part because earlier data collection was spotty and from a smaller number of schools, and in part because this time period consists of most of my time as Dean so I feel comfortable speaking on it) the basic trend of us being a top ~20 institution overall, and the top private institution period, appears to hold true for as long as the ASEE has been collecting and publishing data. The last decade of MIT graduates also coincides with the career of <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/author/dldj/">David duKor-Jackson</a>, who began in 2009 as as our Director of Minority Recruitment in one of my earliest and best hires as the new Dean of Admissions; today, David is our Director of Admissions. David — who himself holds a science degree from the Florida Institute of Technology, taught high school biology for a time, and understands well what is demanded of our rigorous education — deserves a great deal of credit for pioneering initiatives and processes that helped enable these recent outcomes. MIT has graduated more engineers from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds ⁠ 49 For the purposes of the ASEE data, this is again students who are classified as Black, Hispanic, or Native American/Pacific Islander. Note that because ASEE uses federal <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/">Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data</a> — which uses legacy racial categories, and classifies most self-reported biracial or multiracial students as a separate category of “Two or more races” — this is likely a substantial <b>undercount</b> relative to how students would self-identify, but in a way consistent across all universities. Unfortunately, the limitations of the IPEDS data does not allow us to report on other under-represented ethnic groups, particularly those included within the Asian or “Two or more races” categories. than any other private college or university (and the vast majority of public universities) in the United States. ⁠ 50 As well as the vast majority of public universities. According to data collected by ASEE from 478 ABET-accredited colleges or universities, MIT ranks #25 overall in absolute number of individual Black, Hispanic, and/or Native students who graduated with engineering degrees from 2013-2023, the most recent decade available. All those ranking above us in absolute terms are large public universities; most (though not all) educate a much lower proportion of students from historically under-represented backgrounds among their engineering graduates. These students have gone on to thrive as leaders in academia, ⁠ 51 According to the most recent <a href="https://www.rti.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023-11/Exploring%20the%20Education%20Experiences%20of%20Black%20and%20Hispanic%20PhDs%20in%20STEM.pdf">NSF data</a>, from 2010-2020 MIT graduated more Black STEM PhDs than any private university that is not an HBCU, ranking 14th in the nation overall across all universities of any status or size. During the same time range, MIT also graduated more Hispanic STEM PhDs than any private university, ranking 8th in the nation overall across all universities of any status or size. industry, government, and many other fields. We should be proud of this legacy and the alumni who constitute it, and we must find ways to continue to educate future generations of diverse STEM leaders in this new legal landscape.  

I believe that the answer to the question of “how much diversity is necessary to benefit the MIT education?” is fundamentally qualitative, not quantitative. ⁠ 52 As it is put in the <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/policies/#diversity">CUAFA diversity statement</a>: “How much diversity is necessary to achieve our goals? Every student should feel that ‘there are people like me here’ and ‘there are people different from me here.’ No student should feel isolated; all students should come into contact with members of other groups and experience them as colleagues with valuable ideas and insights.” I understand that this answer may frustrate the characteristically analytical MIT mind, but it is important to understand that, as I have said before, we do not, and have never, operated by target or quota. However, I also believe that when there are now fewer African-American first-years enrolling at MIT than when I was a freshman more than forty years ago, that cannot possibly be the right outcome for our community; not in a country as large and increasingly diverse as ours, and not at an institution with our history and our values . While we must comply with the law, we also must also find a way to hold our pathways to leadership open, ⁠ 53 It’s worth noting that the majority opinion in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grutter_v._Bollinger"><em>Grutter</em></a> — the primary precedent governing our work before the <em>SFFA</em> case — also held that “because universities...represent the training ground for a large number of the Nation’s leaders, the path to leadership must be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity” as an additional compelling interest. Given MIT’s role as a major training ground of the nation’s scientific and technical leadership, we have historically taken this responsibility particularly seriously. In <em>SFFA</em>, however, the Court held that while the Grutter interests “are commendable goals, they are not sufficiently coherent” to justify the consideration of race. or we may all experience long-term downstream consequences concentrated in the already-unequal area of STEM, ⁠ 54 As I write this, I do not know what has happened at other universities, and I do not want to claim that this decline at MIT will alone account for dramatic changes in the academic and industry ecosystem. However, Professor Zach Bleemer <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/137/1/115/6360982?guestAccessKey=95fdbb6a-a289-4d5e-850f-cc3e162b0426&login=true">shows</a> that Proposition 209 created a durable “cascade effect” within California that discouraged historically under-represented students from applying to university, while pushing those who <em>did</em> enroll in STEM majors out of the STEM workforce <em>regardless of their academic performance</em>. This is also consistent with Dr. Chelsea Barabas’ <a href="https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/97992">research</a> demonstrating as-yet intractable insular recruiting practices that steered companies away from universities that educate more under-represented students. Given this research, and because we know that MIT has been one of the largest national sources of students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds who hold STEM degrees, we are concerned that the decline we see here may have outsize impact well beyond university admissions at our small institution, in addition to whatever effects there are across the national landscape. where we most need the creativity and insight generated by broadly diverse teams ⁠ 55 It is perhaps worth noting here that, in addition to Ronald Burt’s classic article on the <a href="https://www.bebr.ufl.edu/sites/default/files/Burt%20-%202004%20-%20Structural%20Holes%20and%20Good%20Ideas.pdf">diverse origins of good ideas</a> I noted in a prior annotation, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15534225/)">contemporary research on intelligent agents</a> suggests that groups of problem solvers with diverse functional approaches outperform agents with more specialized individual ability. inventing the future of the nation and the world. 

These convictions underpin our recommitment to the institutional mission — articulated in the message that President Sally Kornbluth sent the MIT community today — that Paul defined for the Task Force ⁠ 56 The following quote contains sentences concatenated from Paul’s remarks as recorded from the November 1968 and April 1969 faculty meetings, as well as sections of the 1969 President’s Report that summarize them. more than half a century ago: 

The Institute has much to offer in terms of the kind of education that elevates, empowers, and liberates people, and it seems to me that we must not fail to make those opportunities accessible on a broad scale [through] the development of programs [that include] persons whose promise, talent, and potential have been masked or limited by second-rate educational experiences, by poverty, or by social prejudice and discrimination…[We must recognize] the limitations of any educational environment that fails to come to grips with problems growing out of a long history of inequality of opportunity [and our] responsibility to contribute toward the ultimate resolution of the social crisis which divides this nation and imperils its future.

As I told MIT News , throughout the last year, my team and I have been meeting with student leaders, faculty committees, and President Kornbluth and her team to explore what we can do to uphold this mission while complying with the law. In addition to the expanded recruitment and financial aid initiatives we launched last year with their support, we have also created new pathways for students to demonstrate their math and science preparation beyond what is locally available. These initiatives proved necessary, but not sufficient; we are dismayed, but not discouraged. We believe, as generations of MIT’s leaders have, that no problem is too hard for us to tackle as a team. 

We do not know, yet, where these initiatives will take us. When navigating unknown territory, we must often rely on compasses over maps: guided not by a well-trodden path to a certain destination, but instead oriented by the powerful magnetism of our longstanding institutional conviction that MIT becomes, as Paul put it, a stronger, more effective place as it draws on the full range of human talent and experience. 

This compass point remains, as I wrote last year , “the North Star by which we will steer through uncertain waters ahead.” Like any long, hard voyage, we will need favorable winds, an able crew, and a steady hand at the tiller to make the passage together. My four decades at MIT give me confidence that no matter what else is happening in the world, on this matter, we will all be rowing together, hard against the current, until we reach the shore.

• My parents — who were born and raised in the tenements on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, speaking Greek and Ladino  at home — did not attend college, and did not accompany me to campus. In fact, the first time they set foot on the MIT campus was to see me graduate, four years later. ⁠ back to text ↑
• I remember that when I got my admission letter in the mail, at first I was excited, but almost immediately after felt the concern that I had been admitted by mistake. And today, at our admitted student program each spring, the number one question I get from students is some version of: “How did I get in?” Many of our students feel this impostor syndrome prospectively to some degree or other, and to them I say — unequivocally — that every student we admit belongs here, period, and has demonstrated the academic and personal qualifications to thrive at MIT and beyond. ⁠ back to text ↑
• I later learned the Class of ‘86 had over-enrolled by several dozen students, due to high yield rate that caught the Admissions office off guard. I only knew it was a forced triple decades afterward, once I started working in admissions - we all just thought it was supposed to have three people in it. ⁠ back to text ↑
• ...despite the fact that they liked to spin records late at night while I was trying to wake up to be on the river at 6AM for crew. That said, serendipity reigned: the three of us briefly ran a DJ business together after graduation. ⁠ back to text ↑
• It is hard to exaggerate the degree to which Paul — who was not a tall man — towers in MIT history, alongside his wife Priscilla, after whom our Center for Public Service is named. After earning his bachelors, masters, and doctorate in electrical engineering, he served sequentially as Professor, Dean of Engineering, Associate Provost, Chancellor, President, and finally Chair of the MIT Corporation, our board of trustees. The house occupied by the President of MIT is named after them, as is the walkway across campus along which he and Priscilla would daily wander, greeting students, faculty, and staff along the way. In 1997, when he stepped down as Chair of the MIT Corporation, his successor Chuck Vest said in a speech , “Is Paul the image of MIT, or is MIT the image of Paul? Both, I suppose. Indeed, he personifies our institution — integrity, loyalty, tenacity, and, of course, his championing of our meritocracy.” Everything we have done in MIT Admissions — before and during my tenure as Dean — has been in this tradition set out by Paul and the students of the Task Force (below) more than a half-century ago. ⁠ back to text ↑
• Crew is a sport I didn’t even know existed before I arrived, but would become the center of my world for the next twenty years. After four years as an MIT undergraduate, I became the MIT crew coach for thirteen more, and still compete annually at the Head of the Charles. ⁠ back to text ↑
• Jim taught me 2.03: Dynamics ; he was an incredible instructor, lecturing without notes while making complex topics easy to grasp; his skill as a teacher made this probably one of the few courses that I understood all the way through. Later, as part of his hunger strike for more diversity among the MIT faculty, Jim once memorably described the kind of diversity to which he thought MIT should aspire: “a broad intellectual, sociological, action-oriented and multi-ethnic community.” This vision has stayed with me ever since. ⁠ back to text ↑
• “Introduction to Design and Manufacturing,” now known as 2.007, and the class that inspired FIRST Robotics , which Woodie would co-found with the inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen in 1992. I took it with my friend and classmate Megan Smith , who would go on to run GoogleX and PlanetOut, and later became the Chief Technology Officer of the United States. Like FIRST today, 2.70 was a great example of how people with different backgrounds can come up with different ways to solve problems, as Woodie once said in an interview ; I remember I was the only person with my design that year (I lost in an early round of the 1984 competition , but to the eventual winner, which softened the blow somewhat). ⁠ back to text ↑
• 2.72 was, then as now, Elements of Mechanical Design , which taught students how to synthesize, model and fabricate a design from scratch and subject to real-world constraints. Ernesto — who was born in Cuba and frequently consulted with the State Department on engineering education in Latin America — was a legendary instructor and inventor, most notably of many breakthrough medical and assistive devices ; like many other of his students, I was in awe of his mission-minded technical creativity. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As Matt Damon’s MIT-janitor character says to a rival from Harvard in Good Will Hunting , “You wasted ⌈your tuition⌋ on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.” But of course —  and as Damon’s character later learns from his therapist, played by Robin Williams —  what you can’t get from a book are the humans you meet along the way, and what they can teach you . ⁠ back to text ↑
• I cannot emphasize enough the centrality of learning to collaborate with others who are different from you as a core feature of our education. I briefly went to General Motors and was a design engineer for a little while after graduating from MIT. The engineering part of it was frankly simple, and I could have learned it anywhere. The challenging part of that job was working with people on big, complex projects under pressure. So that is the part of the MIT education that I think was the most valuable for me: it was all project-based work that we did, because I learned how to to generate new ideas and execute on them with other people who had different ideas and perspectives and experiences from mine. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As we argued at length in a joint industry-academia amicus brief with Stanford, IBM, and Aeris Communications , the educational benefits of diversity are a consistent empirical finding across a variety of disciplines . More intuitively, anyone who has ever worked on any creative problem solving knows that nothing kills creativity and innovation like a monoculture, while a meritocratic pluralism of brilliant and diverse perspectives is a dynamic source of new ideas. In his classic article “ Structural Holes and Good Ideas ,” the sociologist Ronald Burt studied how successful innovators in business are often people who “bridge” homogenous groups, because they “have earlier access to a broader diversity of information and have experience in translating information across groups…⌈providing⌋ a vision of options otherwise unseen.” Any MIT alum will recognize the Institute as a training ground for these kinds of bridge figures. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As I told MIT News , in my time as Dean of Admissions, all admitted students, from all backgrounds, have been required to demonstrate rock-solid academic readiness for the MIT education through their performance in high school and on standardized tests. And in recent years, as MIT has grown more diverse, collective academic performance has improved, as have retention and graduation rates, which are now at all-time highs for students from all backgrounds. I emphasize this essential fact because many people have told me over the years that they think MIT ought to only care about academic excellence, not diversity. But this is a false choice, because every student we admit, from any background, is already located at the far-right tail of the academic distribution. ⁠ back to text ↑
• Though not only science and technology, and certainly not for their own sake. As Paul said in his inaugural address as MIT’s President in 1980, “We continue to hear the complaint that...many of our human and social ills are the direct result of unanticipated and deleterious artifacts of technology, foisted upon the world by technicians with tunnel vision...What is clear, however, that the future development not only of this nation, but of the world, is inexorably tied to continued scientific progress and to the humane and thoughtful applications of science...What is needed is not a retreat from science and technology, but a more complete science and technology. We must strive to develop among ourselves, among our students, and in the public at large, an understanding of the fact that engineering and science are, by their very nature, humanistic enterprises.” ⁠ back to text ↑
• As the Lewis Report described the purpose of the MIT education all the way back in 1949: “We believe that the mission of the Institute should be to encourage initiative, to promote the spirit of free and objective inquiry, to recognize and provide opportunities for unusual interests and aptitudes; in short, to ⌈develop⌋ individuals who will contribute creatively to our society, in this day when strong forces oppose all deviations from set patterns.” The modern MIT mission directs us to “educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.” ⁠ back to text ↑
• The best guide to this history is Dr. Clarence Williams’ indispensable Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience at MIT, 1941–1999. Clarence and I first became friends in the 1990s, when I was the head crew coach, and he was Special Assistant to the President of MIT for Minority Affairs. Back then, I volunteered coaching a rowing team of teenagers from the Mandela Apartments in Roxbury. In addition to borrowing some of our boats, I opened the MIT Boathouse to them so they could train alongside MIT undergrads, and they eventually became the first team of all Black and Hispanic students to compete in the Head of the Charles , for which they were celebrated by ABC’s World News Tonight . Clarence, who was honored earlier this year with a lifetime achievement award at the 50th Anniversary MIT MLK Celebration, was a central advocate of this initiative and helped manage the relationships and build support; we saw it as a way that MIT could share its intellectual, social, and material resources with the community, in keeping with our mission and our land-grant charter. Later, when I ran the Educational Council, I shared an office in N52 — the old MIT Museum building — with Clarence, while he was finishing work on this book. “MIT served as a pioneer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, developing admissions criteria so that black students would get an opportunity to attend this institution,” he wrote in its introduction. “Among schools of engineering and science, MIT’s criteria became a model for other institutions to increase the numbers of young minority scientists and engineers.” ⁠ back to text ↑
• Described by the 1969 MIT President’s Report as “a remarkable demonstration of student initiative at its most creative and sophisticated level,” as so many of the student initiatives in this area have been in our history. ⁠ back to text ↑
• Among them a young Shirley Ann Jackson , who would go on to become first African-American woman to earn a doctoral degree from MIT; she later ran the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and served as the 18th President of RPI. The MIT Black Student Union she helped found was crucially involved with recommending and starting the Task Force, and led many of its key initiatives. ⁠ back to text ↑
• When asked, at a faculty meeting in 1969, why MIT was embarking on these efforts to expand opportunity, Paul said: “⌈S⌋ome of those who have in recent months commented on this program have expressed concern that the Institute has embarked, for reasons that are seen to be essentially political, on a course that will lead it away from its responsibility for the education of an elite, and will compromise its capability and its contributions in this respect. This view seems to me to overlook several important aspects of both the Institute’s traditional role, and its responsibility to the society in which it functions. Over most of its history, MIT has provided, in educational terms, the skills, knowledge, and qualities of mind that have been required to work out solutions to the problems posed by our developing society and to enable individuals to become more effective, more mobile, in that society...it seems to me that we must not fail to make those opportunities accessible on a broad scale by getting hung up on a narrow, self-serving, conception of education for an elite.” ⁠ back to text ↑
• Specifically, the Task Force directed the admissions office to begin a nationwide talent-search for students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds who might do well at MIT. John Mims —  the first African-American admissions officer at MIT —  developed an at-the-time innovative plan to individually recruit students who had performed well on the PSAT or SAT; his initiative immediately octupled the number of admitted students from historically under-represented backgrounds. In 1996, Paul Gray told Clarence Williams: “We did then what we really still do to increase the flow of applicants, that is, we send material by mail to all those high-school students who have taken the SAT’s who at that time indicated that they were African-American—now other minorities are included—and who have scores in the range that at MIT might make sense. A little brochure went out that first year that was produced by the task force...and resulted in sort of a ten-fold increase in the number of minority applicants. That’s been the core of the effort ever since.” Dr. Sylvester James Gates — a member of the first class of students recruited via this initiative — told Williams : “It was almost like an athlete being recruited to go to college to play ball,” except for a STEM education. ⁠ back to text ↑
• Among them, an early initiative to guarantee sufficient grant-aid scholarships to Black undergraduates in the 1970s so that they could attend MIT without having to take out loans, which was especially salient given the contemporary issues with redlining. Today, all admitted students from all backgrounds receive scholarships that meet 100% of financial need without any expectation of loans. ⁠ back to text ↑
• I should note that in addition to of the specific efforts of the Task Force, MIT faculty also launched their own initiatives, creating new areas of teaching and research in in urban affairs, offering pro bono legal services to Cambridge minorities, and cofounding the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity ( METCO ) the largest and second-longest continuously running voluntary school desegregation program in the United States. ⁠ back to text ↑
• In addition to the Task Force, his service to CUAFA, and his many years of leadership support, Paul, in the best mens et manus tradition, did hands-on work too. I remember him telling me stories about how, when chairing the Task Force, he would take trips to drive around in an old Cadillac with legendary Educational Counselor George B. Morgan visiting high schools in Texas. So Paul —  just like an admissions officer today —  could see on the ground the extent of inequality of opportunity, state to state, district to district, school to school, and sometimes even within schools. That was part of what informed his deep knowledge and driving passion for this work. ⁠ back to text ↑
• The 1969 President’s Report includes a section — likely authored by Paul, and certainly summarizing his statements at faculty meetings about the Task Force — explaining that there “are several compelling reasons for undertaking intensive efforts to increase the number of Black Americans who study at the Institute. First, the science-based education for leadership, which has long been our strength, is as relevant and as essential in the Black community as it has proved to be for others in this society. Second, our commitment to areas of science and technology which bear on critical social problems, such as the broad area of urban affairs, requires that Black Americans, who have a major stake in these concerns, participate fully in the development of solutions...The Institute has much to offer in terms of the kind of education that elevates, empowers, and liberates people, and it seems to me that we must not fail to make those opportunities accessible on a broad scale.” ⁠ back to text ↑
• We have long conducted focused recruiting on under-represented and under-served students, and expanded our recruitment budget for these efforts this year, including our ongoing partnership with the STARS Network . We also have long offered visit weekends hosted on the MIT campus for those who would benefit from an introduction to STEM, sent direct mail about MIT to students from under-represented and under-served backgrounds with unusually strong testing, and so on, as I have described above. Of course, we can (and must) always improve recruiting, but as I describe below, the challenges are more fundamental than that. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As a first-generation college student who relied on scholarships to attend MIT myself, I am proud that we operate one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country , with around $160M in grants distributed to our ~4,500 undergraduates to help them meet 100% of their financial need. Today, the  median need-based MIT Scholarship is $66,663, and 39% of our undergraduates receive grants at least equal to the cost of tuition. In addition to the new policy described in this bullet point for families making less than $75K a year, and our continued policy of being tuition-free for families making less than $140K a year, we also expanded our spring yield program budget to cover all transportation costs for any admitted students receiving any amount of financial aid to attend Campus Preview Weekend, Ebony Affair, and/or Sin LíMITe, to ensure any admitted student could afford to come experience the MIT community. ⁠ back to text ↑
• This is the kind of clear commitment that has been empirically demonstrated to lower barriers for low-income applicants. It also allowed us to quintuple the number of students we match through QuestBridge , a program for high-achieving, low-income students that requires students receive full scholarships covering the total cost of attendance in order to match them. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As I wrote last year , we had closely reviewed what happened in states that banned race-conscious admissions before SFFA , including Professor Bleemer’s landmark study of the University of California system after Proposition 209;   Kidder and Gándara’s expansive report on what the University of California system had tried to reverse the decline in the decades since; the University of Michigan’s amicus brief  in the SFFA case; and Ellison & Pathak’s study of Chicago’s exam schools . In short, all of these studies showed a significant decline in students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic groups after prior state or secondary school bans on race-conscious admissions. The strongest effects were seen at the most selective, and most STEM oriented, programs; MIT is at the molten core of this intersection. We believe our research-informed initiatives — in particular our major expansion of financial aid — likely attenuated, but did not forestall, the decline in students from under-represented and under-served backgrounds, which is what we would have predicted based on these studies. ⁠ back to text ↑
• In this composite profile , we have averaged the demographic composition of the first-year classes of 2024-2027; i.e., the MIT student body as an undergraduate attending MIT last year would have experienced the composition of their own class on average. Over that time period, around 25% of recent MIT undergraduates have identified as Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American and Pacific Islander; this year, it is closer to 16%, about a 40% decline. By comparison, according to recent data from the National Coalition on Educational Statistics (NCES), 45% of public elementary and secondary school students are classified as members of these groups. It is important to note that there is year-to-year variance, as we have never had a quota for the number of students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds admitted to MIT; this was illegal long before SFFA , and also against MIT policy set in 1968 by the Task Force. However, the decline this year is far outside the bounds of normal variance, and is more consistent with the proportion of students from these backgrounds typically seen at MIT in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As I explained last year , for the purposes of interpreting the descriptive statistics reported on the class profile, we adopt the convention of using “historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds” to count Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students, who are historically under-represented in STEM education. This is a crude standard, and one that has been (rightly) criticized for subsuming other groups — particularly Asian-American students — into monoliths, as well as for sidestepping the sovereign status of Indigenous peoples; we acknowledge the limitations of these ways we currently count people . We are also aware of the new OMB standards for collecting and presenting racial and ethnic data , as well as the recommendations from the advocacy group AAPI Data on strengthening data disaggregation. Because of limitations in how past data was collected and stored, it is not possible for us to implement these new recommendations retroactively on this long-term data, and our data use is consistent with long-term guidance from other federal agencies that collect statistics such as the NSF. ⁠ back to text ↑
• When the Court prohibited the consideration qua race, the majority opinion noted that “nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” However, it continues, “universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today.” ⁠ back to text ↑
• As Kidder & Gándara put it in their study of the California system, “While two thirds of all Latino and African American students are found in the lowest performing half of the state’s schools, a much smaller percentage of White and Asian American students attend these schools...The more shocking story, however, is told in the percentage of each group found in the top-most decile—the very highest performing schools in the state. These are the schools that prepare the bulk of incoming UC students. Here is where one third of all Asian American students are found and one in five of all White students. Yet barely 3% and 4% of Latinos and African Americans are in these schools.” Meanwhile, according to the Education Trust , “Black and Latino students across the country experience inequitable access to advanced coursework opportunities. They are locked out of these opportunities early when they are denied access to gifted and talented programs in elementary school, and later in middle and high school, when they are not enrolled in eighth grade algebra and not given the chance to participate in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and dual enrollment programs. As a result, these students are missing out on critical opportunities that can set them up for success in college and careers.” Similarly, according to the College Board , “we find that racial/ethnic gaps in AP Exam scores in the ten most popular AP subjects are nearly fully explained by differences in prior academic experiences, with only minimal differences attributable to other student and school background data. Students who enter the AP Program with similar academic preparation in prior grades, earn similar AP Exam scores regardless of their racial/ethnic subgroup, gender, parental education level, eligibility for an AP exam fee reduction, or school context.” In other words, these racial gaps are primarily due to the cumulative effects of unequal educational opportunity. These findings are also consistent with new research from the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford, which shows that important measures of racial and economic segregation between schools have grown steadily over the past three decades , leading to increasing achievement gaps produced by the cumulative effect of differences in educational opportunity . ⁠ back to text ↑
• NCES data shows nearly two-thirds of American high schools where three-quarters of students enrolled are Black and/or Hispanic do not offer any form of calculus, more than half do not offer any form of computer science, and nearly half do not offer any form of physics. And even within schools where such preparation for the postsecondary study of STEM is notionally available, participation remains strongly associated with race , an effect compounded by socioeconomic inequality. According to the Education Trust , “Nationally, inequities are largely due to ⌈1⌋ schools that serve mostly Black and Latino students not enrolling as many students in advanced classes as schools that serve fewer Black and Latino students, and ⌈2⌋ schools — especially racially diverse schools — denying Black and Latino students access to those courses .” Herein lies the double-bind of many common “race-neutral alternatives.” Students from under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds who are also socioeconomically disadvantaged tend to be concentrated in school districts that do not offer access to foundational STEM coursework, as I discuss further in annotations below. According to NCES , 25% of graduates from schools where 25% or less of the students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) had completed calculus, whereas this completion rate was only 9% among graduates from schools where greater than 75% of students were eligible for FRPL. Meanwhile, the subset of students from under-represented racial and ethnic groups students who do have notional access to these courses tend to be relatively more socioeconomically advantaged — because you have to be , in order to live in a school district that offers these courses — and therefore are not reached by alternatives that focus on economic and educational disadvantage even as they are routinely denied access to these courses. Students from these historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds are thus squeezed from both sides in a way that is not as true, in the statistical aggregate, for white and Asian students. ⁠ back to text ↑
• In a study of more than 76,000 STEM majors, Radunzel et al show that success in earning a degree in a STEM field depends on both intrinsic interest and prior preparation. In recent years, there has been a great deal of progress made in awakening interest in STEM fields among students from historically under-represented and under-served backgrounds, but, as noted in the prior annotations, much less in improving preparation, which cannot be easily remediated after the fact. As I explained in our test reinstatement post, we have no evidence that “bridge” programs like Interphase can “make up for” significant preparatory deficits in high school (although they have been empirically shown to have other considerable social and academic benefits). This was also found in Kidder & Gándara’s study  of the UC system, which found that the Student Academic Preparation and Educational Partnerships (SAPEP) bridge programs established after Proposition 209 had great expense and limited efficacy at closing the gaps in preparation for the UC system. It should not be surprising that short-term enrichment programs cannot entirely compensate for long-term structural deprivation linked to race and class. ⁠ back to text ↑
• Here, as before, I am referring primarily to performance on high school performance and standardized tests, the key things we find to be predictive in evaluating preparation for MIT . I know some readers may be surprised by this fact, because of the widespread misperception that race-conscious admissions pre- SFFA necessarily involved admitting unqualified students from under-represented backgrounds in order to achieve diversity. That widespread belief was untrue. As I told MIT News , in my time as Dean of Admissions, all admitted students have been required to demonstrate rock-solid academic readiness for the MIT education before we admit them. That is why we are not surprised that, in all the ways we can quantitatively measure, there is no difference predicted in the academic outcomes between the Class of 2027, which had the highest proportion of students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds in MIT history, and the Class of 2028, which has the lowest proportion of these students in decades. There may, however, be qualitative differences, which I address in the bullet point immediately below. ⁠ back to text ↑
• That complies with the new law. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As I told MIT News , as MIT has become more diverse, more of the most talented students in the country from all backgrounds have chosen to enroll here, and they specifically tell us in surveys that it is because attending a diverse institution is important to them and they like how diverse MIT has become. Today’s students come from the most multiracial, multiethnic, multicultural generation of Americans that has ever existed; it is not surprising they prefer a campus that reflects these qualities. So another reason we care about diversity is because it makes us the strongest magnet of talent for the next generation of scientists and engineers and provides them with the best educational setting. ⁠ back to text ↑
• Even with all of the differences of opinion I outlined above, I think most MIT students and alumni can agree with the basic proposition that they learn best when surrounded by brilliant people from a wide variety of backgrounds, who are empowered by our education to bring their skill and insight to bear on to a broad array of scientific and social concerns. If we can hold onto that commonsense and longstanding belief, then I think we can get somewhere together. ⁠ back to text ↑
• This phrase comes from the MIT Values statement . As we say in our policies : “Before any applicant is accepted, that person’s application passes through at least five distinct stages of review and is evaluated by several different committees composed of admissions officers and faculty reviewers. This process, which is unique in its particular design and has held fast for more than 50 years, guards against an individual’s biases, preferences, or familiarity with a given applicant swaying a decision unfairly. All applicants meet the same demanding standard, regardless of legacy status, donor affiliation, or athletic recruitment. We have no quotas by school, state, region, or socioeconomic background, but we also value diversity and believe that it contributes to the merit of each class.” ⁠ back to text ↑
• For example, work from Chetty et al demonstrating MIT’s lack of preference for wealth in its selection process , and finding that our process contributes substantially to socioeconomic mobility . According to the New York Times coverage of the research , “⌈MIT⌋ stands out among elite private schools as displaying almost no preference for rich students.” I was quoted in this article as saying, as I will repeat here now: “I think the most important thing here is talent is distributed equally but opportunity is not, and our admissions process is designed to account for the different opportunities students have based on their income...It’s really incumbent upon our process to tease out the difference between talent and privilege.” ⁠ back to text ↑
• This is another way diversity matters: because in different soil, different plants bloom, and so you need an open mind, above a high bar of academic preparation, about what “excellence” looks like. As my predecessor B. Alden Thresher once wrote , “the process of admission to college is more sociologically than intellectually determined...to understand the process, one must look beyond the purview of the individual college and consider the interaction of all institutions with the society that generates and sustains them.” That is why we still consider many kinds of diversity: prospective fields of study and areas of research, extracurricular activities and accomplishments, as well as economic, geographic , and educational background. We are just no longer permitted to consider race. ⁠ back to text ↑
• This language borrows from the charge to the 1968 Task Force; we revive it to hold in focus students whose intellectual star burns bright and hot to our sensitive instruments even if, to the naked eye, it is obscured behind the interstellar dust of unequal opportunity. I should note here that the Class of 2027 — admitted last year under our reinstated testing requirement — had the highest proportion of students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds in MIT history, because universal testing helped us identify objectively well-qualified students who lacked other opportunities to demonstrate their preparation and potential. The decline in students from these backgrounds for the Class of 2028 thus cannot be attributed to our reinstatement, but instead to the Supreme Court’s constraint on the use of race. Standardized tests are not the only way to demonstrate otherwise masked or limited potential, but in the context of broader inequality of opportunity in K-12 education , they remain an important tool. ⁠ back to text ↑
• When I was admitted, in 1982, the admit rate was 33%. It was so long ago that things like SAT scores, retention rates, and graduation rates were not tracked or recorded; however, anyone from that generation can tell you that many students entered MIT without sufficient preparation, as evidence by how many did not succeed or graduate. Now, the admit rate is ~5%, the 25th percentile SAT math score is 780, and we admit no students unless we are confident in their academic preparation, as demonstrated by a first year retention rate of 99% and a six year graduation rate of 93%. I know some alumni and faculty from my generation sometimes grumble (because they grumble to me!) that the MIT education has been watered down; the data clearly shows the opposite is true in every way we can reasonably measure. There is only one way into MIT, and it is a very hard road with an absurdly narrow gate in terms of academic preparation. And there is no question in my mind that the students we are admitting today are, in aggregate, more academically prepared for our rigorous education than at any time in MIT’s history. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As measured by things like performance at MIT, retention after the first year, and graduation within six years. These are not the only outcomes that matter; they don’t include things like research innovations or social impact. They are, however, the things we can straightforwardly measure as a baseline set of academic outcomes. ⁠ back to text ↑
• I mentioned above about how strongly we see this signal for the current generation. Since I’m already dating myself by comparing 33% admit rates to 5% admit rates, I’ll also mention the yield rate —  the percentage of students to whom MIT offered admission who decided to enroll at MIT —  was 58% in 1982, and is 86% now. It is clearly the case that MIT is a more attractive school to attend today than it was for much of its history, and our survey responses suggest that its increasing diversity plays a significant role in that. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As I explained when we reinstated testing , our research — which has been ongoing since the 1970s — shows that we cannot reliably predict academic success at MIT without relying on standardized testing, and that it further helps us to identify objectively well-prepared students who do not have access to advanced math and science coursework at their high schools and is in this respect less racially unequal than other predictive measures we have so far been able to find. Given this, we do not believe that removing our testing requirement would help diversify MIT after SFFA ; indeed, it would likely do the reverse. More generally, I’d note Professor Sue Dynarski’s report on using universal testing to identify and recruit high-achieving low-income students who would have otherwise not attended college. However, I should also  note that this approach has been challenged by new privacy laws which —  while doubtless well-intentioned —  make it harder to individually recruit standout students from unexpected places. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As I said above, we can and do draw on other forms of diversity, as we actively seek out rural students , students from most countries of the world, students from families with less economic and social capital, and students from a range of academic interests and professional aspirations. We are simply no longer permitted to consider race among the kinds of breadth we can intentionally draw on. ⁠ back to text ↑
• While this statistic was only tabulated for the last decade for the purposes of this blog post (in part because earlier data collection was spotty and from a smaller number of schools, and in part because this time period consists of most of my time as Dean so I feel comfortable speaking on it) the basic trend of us being a top ~20 institution overall, and the top private institution period, appears to hold true for as long as the ASEE has been collecting and publishing data. The last decade of MIT graduates also coincides with the career of David duKor-Jackson , who began in 2009 as as our Director of Minority Recruitment in one of my earliest and best hires as the new Dean of Admissions; today, David is our Director of Admissions. David — who himself holds a science degree from the Florida Institute of Technology, taught high school biology for a time, and understands well what is demanded of our rigorous education —  deserves a great deal of credit for pioneering initiatives and processes that helped enable these recent outcomes. ⁠ back to text ↑
• For the purposes of the ASEE data, this is again students who are classified as Black, Hispanic, or Native American/Pacific Islander. Note that because ASEE uses federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data — which uses legacy racial categories, and classifies most self-reported biracial or multiracial students as a separate category of “Two or more races” — this is likely a substantial undercount relative to how students would self-identify, but in a way consistent across all universities. Unfortunately, the limitations of the IPEDS data does not allow us to report on other under-represented ethnic groups, particularly those included within the Asian or “Two or more races” categories. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As well as the vast majority of public universities. According to data collected by ASEE from 478 ABET-accredited colleges or universities, MIT ranks #25 overall in absolute number of individual Black, Hispanic, and/or Native students who graduated with engineering degrees from 2013-2023, the most recent decade available. All those ranking above us in absolute terms are large public universities; most (though not all) educate a much lower proportion of students from historically under-represented backgrounds among their engineering graduates. ⁠ back to text ↑
• According to the most recent NSF data , from 2010-2020 MIT graduated more Black STEM PhDs than any private university that is not an HBCU, ranking 14th in the nation overall across all universities of any status or size. During the same time range, MIT also graduated more Hispanic STEM PhDs than any private university, ranking 8th in the nation overall across all universities of any status or size. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As it is put in the CUAFA diversity statement : “How much diversity is necessary to achieve our goals? Every student should feel that ‘there are people like me here’ and ‘there are people different from me here.’ No student should feel isolated; all students should come into contact with members of other groups and experience them as colleagues with valuable ideas and insights.” I understand that this answer may frustrate the characteristically analytical MIT mind, but it is important to understand that, as I have said before, we do not, and have never, operated by target or quota. ⁠ back to text ↑
• It’s worth noting that the majority opinion in Grutter — the primary precedent governing our work before the SFFA case — also held that “because universities...represent the training ground for a large number of the Nation’s leaders, the path to leadership must be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity” as an additional compelling interest. Given MIT’s role as a major training ground of the nation’s scientific and technical leadership, we have historically taken this responsibility particularly seriously. In SFFA , however, the Court held that while the Grutter interests “are commendable goals, they are not sufficiently coherent” to justify the consideration of race. ⁠ back to text ↑
• As I write this, I do not know what has happened at other universities, and I do not want to claim that this decline at MIT will alone account for dramatic changes in the academic and industry ecosystem. However, Professor Zach Bleemer shows that Proposition 209 created a durable “cascade effect” within California that discouraged historically under-represented students from applying to university, while pushing those who did enroll in STEM majors out of the STEM workforce regardless of their academic performance . This is also consistent with Dr. Chelsea Barabas’ research demonstrating as-yet intractable insular recruiting practices that steered companies away from universities that educate more under-represented students. Given this research, and because we know that MIT has been one of the largest national sources of students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic backgrounds who hold STEM degrees, we are concerned that the decline we see here may have outsize impact well beyond university admissions at our small institution, in addition to whatever effects there are across the national landscape. ⁠ back to text ↑
• It is perhaps worth noting here that, in addition to Ronald Burt’s classic article on the diverse origins of good ideas I noted in a prior annotation, contemporary research on intelligent agents  suggests that groups of problem solvers with diverse functional approaches outperform agents with more specialized individual ability. ⁠ back to text ↑
• The following quote contains sentences concatenated from Paul’s remarks as recorded from the November 1968 and April 1969 faculty meetings, as well as sections of the 1969 President’s Report that summarize them. ⁠ back to text ↑

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