Acing The MITES – MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering and Science Essays 2025

2025?MITES?Prompts

MITES is a highly competitive and intensive summer STEM enrichment program that accepts high school juniors who have demonstrated a strong interest in STEM and come from underrepresented or economically underserved backgrounds. Its inclusion on an applicant's resume carries significant weight in the college admissions process. As a result, it is an opportunity that all high school juniors who fit the demographic priorities for this program and have taken advantage of every resource available to pursue their interests in STEM should apply for. This article will guide you on how to approach the various essays required as part of the application process.

1. Share with us how aspects of your lived experience and/or identity have shaped your aspirations. What are you passionate about? How have you spent time exploring this passion? (300 words or less)

Avoid discussing your childhood. Instead, focus on current experiences and how they demonstrate your identification with something related to your STEM interests. Examples of such identities include scientist, physics enthusiast, naturalist, mathematical Platonist, etc. As always, when discussing experiences, aim to show rather than tell. Provide detailed anecdotes that illustrate your identification as someone who is committed to pursuing a career in STEM. Ensure that your goals are stated clearly and phrased in a way that even a non-STEM person would understand and would root for you to achieve them. Be sure to tie your experiences to these goals. Finally, conclude with how much these goals mean to you personally and discuss the sense of purpose they provide you.

2. What are you passionate about? How have you spent time exploring this passion? (300 words or less)

Don't let the open-ended nature of this question fool you. They are looking for a very specific type of answer. If you answer with something that is not exclusively part of STEM, such as playing table tennis, it is key to show the reader how the type of thinking you possess, which is clearly applicable to STEM (such as analytical, quantitative, or deductive reasoning), enables you to derive more joy or perform better in this activity. For instance, if you enjoy reading science fiction, you could delve into how it inspires you to use your knowledge of physics to analyze and explain the plausibility of the feats described in the story. Alternatively, if you're passionate about playing card games like Yu-Gi-Oh, you might discuss how you use statistics to optimize your deck, ensuring the best possible chance of drawing a balanced hand.

You want to show the reader you're explicitly applying these same types of skills and thinking needed to succeed in STEM to this non-STEM activity. Give them a front-row seat either in or outside your mind as you apply said types of thinking and methods to exploring this passion.

If you answer with a passion that is within the realm of STEM, you should give clear anecdotes of how you pursue that passion in STEM. This could include participating in competitions, reading articles on Google Scholar, following popular science communicators, or engaging in hobbies that reflect your interest in STEM. It’s crucial to show the reader how you explore your passion rather than just listing activities. Make them feel as if they are right there with you, whether you’re bingeing educational content or solving textbook problems. To conclude, you want to talk about how exploring this passion has either personally impacted you or shaped your understanding of what can be achieved through STEM.

3. Tell us of a time you experienced a challenge or obstacle. How did you navigate the challenge and what hat did you learn? (300 words or less)

As is always the case, show, don't tell. It's key that you put the reader in your shoes as you faced the greatest duress while tackling this challenge. You want to set up a metaphorical dragon that you eventually slay. After showing them the worst you faced during this challenge, provide context on how you came to encounter it. After they are fully aware of the stakes and why you are in this situation in the first place, show them exactly how you overcame this challenge. It is key that you are descriptive and give them a front-row seat into your mind. Your reasoning should be clear and analytical. Even if the challenge is not STEM-related, you should approach it with the mindset of a scientist or engineer. Finally, the lesson you learned should be articulated clearly, and then explain how it has shaped you personally or shaped your goals or understanding of STEM.

4. What subject or field of study are you most interested in right now? Why? (300 words or less)

Before you nerd out about your favorite field of STEM or subfield of STEM, it is key that you give the reader a strong personal motivation for this field, so they'll be personally motivated to understand what you have to say about this subject. You don't want to start talking about some childhood fascination. The reader wants to know who you are as a person now, and if you still currently possess your childlike sense of curiosity and wonder for the unknown. You want to either present your recent personal motivation for this field or give an anecdote of how this field has personally enriched your life in some way. From there, you want to nerd out about it. Demonstrate that you have an understanding of its contemporary state, and convince the reader why solving contemporary problems in the field is something society should invest time and effort into. You want to teach them something about this field and get them to be at least a quarter as excited about it as you are. Finally, conclude with either a core message from this discipline that you believe everyone should be made aware of, your personal excitement in playing a role in solving the contemporary problems within it, or a vivid description of how advances in this discipline can change people's lives for the better.

5. The STEM field uses science, technology, engineering, and/or math to understand more about the world around us and to solve problems. If you could develop, invent, or innovate anything to change the world for the better using STEM, what would it be and why? (300 words or less)

Like the previous essay, you want to establish a personal connection to the problem you wish to tackle through STEM. When choosing the problem, avoid stating something without a clear definition, such as "the cure for cancer." Consider: what does a cure mean for a disease that can recur due to random mutations? Given all the different types of cancers, how could there be a single cure for all of them?

Instead, focus on a very specific subproblem within a broader issue that most people consider urgent. The subproblem you select should be one that only someone deeply invested in solving the broader problem would be aware of. Once you've identified both the broader problem and its subcomponent, provide your personal motivation for wanting to address the larger issue, then explain why solving this particular subproblem is critical to achieving that goal.

Discuss what makes the problem challenging to solve and explore some promising current approaches that you believe warrant further investigation. Convey to the reader the potential impact of solving this subproblem.

Conclude the essay by examining other subproblems that need to be solved to adequately address the broader issue. Reflect on how learning about the intricacies of this problem has shaped your understanding of making a real-world impact through STEM. 6. After learning more about our programs and mission, why do you feel you are a good fit for MITES programs in particular? You may choose to comment on one or more of the following points (400 words max.):

• How?you see your participation in our programs?supporting the mission of MITES to serve underrepresented and/or underserved students.
• How you would benefit from?participation in a program designed for underrepresented and/or underserved students.
• If aspects of your?background have served as an obstacle or barrier to educational access or opportunity.
• How?you have impacted your community to improve equity and inclusion for those from?underrepresented and/or underserved backgrounds.

We are finally at the last question of this behemoth of an application. The goal of MITES is to provide a transformative STEM opportunity to those from socioeconomic backgrounds with limited opportunities to pursue STEM at the level they wish. It also aims to help those who, through inadequate representation in media and history, may be led to believe there isn't a place for them in STEM.

It is better to go into detail about one or two points in 400 words than to cover all four of them superficially. The key is to show the reader that you would benefit from MITES in such a way that its mission is accomplished as it pertains to your continue pursuit of a STEM education. If you faced obstacles, ensure that you present them in ways that demonstrate they could not have been easily overcome by just "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" or using the internet.

If you have impacted your community, ensure you paint a vivid before-and-after picture of what you did, and explain how you overcame any challenges in the process. Finally, conclude by expressing your enthusiasm to meet fellow MITES members, and how inspiring it would be to connect with others like you who understand the struggles you went through to pursue your passion for STEM and get where you are today. Share how you'll contribute to MITES to ensure it fulfills its mission. If you want help applying to MITES or any other summer research program, or would just like someone to help you strengthen your overall extracurriculars, schedule a free consultation with us below.

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