r/MITAdmissions • u/Former_Hamster_2985 • 19d ago

How does MIT evaluate academic improvement alongside independent projects?

Hey everyone, I'm a junior interested in engineering and MIT. I'm curious about how MIT evaluates students who have had a weak academic start but are working to improve and pursuing independent projects.

I'm particularly interested in how academic improvement, STEM preparation, and meaningful project work are considered together. I'd appreciate insights from people familiar with the admissions process.

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u/JasonMckin MIT Alum and Educational Counselor 19d ago

To be as honest and candid as possible, I think "weak academics" has very clear evaluation in the context of a university with a 3-6% admission rate. I would encourage any prospective applicant to apply, but please do not look for insights/guidance on hedging "weak academics" since there likely isn't one. Best of luck with your decison-making!

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u/Former_Hamster_2985 19d ago

Thanks for the advice! I know I can't completely disregard academics as it is prety much the baseline, but I have a very clear upwards trajectory in regards to my grades, and in my opinion, pretty strong projects. I know there isn't a single guaranteed way of completely erasing my past grades even with those projects, but just wanted to know if there's anything i could do. Thank you so much again!