Massachusetts Institute of Technology supplemental essays

Answer all four essays (about 100–200 words each) and all four short responses (40–50 words each).

Field of study
200 words max
What field of study appeals to you the most right now? (Note: Applicants select from a drop-down list.) Reflect on what has led you to this interest.
A different path
200 words max
While some reach their goals following well-trodden paths, others blaze their own trails achieving the unexpected. In what ways have you done something different than what was expected in your educational journey?
Problems you want to tackle
200 words max
How have your personal and academic experiences influenced the types of problems you would want to tackle with an MIT education and the impact you aim to make on your community?
An unexpected challenge
200 words max
How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?
Short response: just for fun
50 words max
What do you do just for fun?
Short response: someone you admire
50 words max
Who is someone you admire, whether you know them personally or look up to them from afar? Tell us why.
Short response: a topic for hours
50 words max
What’s a topic, academic or non-academic, that you could talk about for hours?
Short response: generalist or specialist
50 words max
MIT values both “generalists” with varied interests and “specialists” who focus deeply on one or a few passions. Which do you think best describes you, and why?

Field of study