“How can I get admit into MIT?”

If you are aiming for fall-2026, this is a great time to get started

“How can I get admit into MIT?”

This is the most frequently asked question that I get. In Jan 2016 I decided to apply for PhD at US universities for fall 2017. And I asked the above question myself. I had not much idea how to build my profile and pitch my story, let alone secure admission from top-ranked universities.

I knew what was in my favor- I had a good GPA at IITM (9.60/10). Everything else was in poor shape.

-My undergrad research projects were in their infancy
-I had no idea when to write or prepare for GRE, TOEFL/IELTS
-I did not know which universities to choose for maximizing the chance of good admits
-I had absolutely no clue what was a good SOP
-My resume looked exactly like a boring LaTeX template
-I had not built good connections with professors in my department. So I was unsure about getting good LoRs.
-I did not know which research topic interested me. The only thing I knew was I did not want to do anything related to chemistry.

I had 10+ months to prepare. So I decided to take some specific actions to put myself in better shape by Dec 2016- the deadline month for most universities. Those actions changed my life. Fast-forward to April 2017, I secured admits from MIT, Berkeley, Purdue, CMU, GeorgiaTech, UIUC, UMich, and UTAustin.

Although all my applications were successful, I made several mistakes.

-I did not know how to properly evaluate my own profile. I assumed that Stanford, Caltech, Harvard, and Princeton will 100% reject me and ended up not applying to those universities altogether.

-I pushed everything to the last minute to perfect my application. MIT deadline was Dec 15th. From Dec 6th-13th, cyclone Vardah happened in Chennai. There was no electricity or internet at IITM, and I was yet to submit MIT application. My friends and I somehow managed to find transportation to home. I eventually submitted MIT application a few hours before the deadline.

The takeaway from my experience is that it is natural to be confused at various stages of application, and there are chances that you might make a lot of big mistakes. But it is important to take a series of focused and actionable steps.

Here is a comprehensive 90 minute video on our YouTube channel where we cover the following aspects in detail about grad school application. If you aim for apply for Fall-2026, right now is a great time to get started!

1. University shortlisting
2. Building research profile
3. SoP crafting - how to tell a compelling story
4. LoR is not fully out of your control. How so?
5. Making a good, crisp resume?
6. Dealing with tests- GRE/TOEFL/IELTS