Hello Madhukar,

Ideally, you should aim to check all of the following things off of your to-do list:

1. Get a 4.0 GPA.
2. Get a 1600 on the SAT or 36 on the ACT. Make sure you get an 800 on all of your SAT subject tests.
3. Win big at internationally recognized competitions.Win Olympaids like IOI,IMO,etc or science fairs like Google Science Fair or Intel Science Fair or other internationally recognized competitions.
4. Become the class president or prefect.
5. Even after you have done all the above you could still get rejected from MIT, there’s even a luck factor that also decides your chances of getting in , since MIT rejects two qualified applicants for every student they accept.

That being said, even if you fail to get into MIT, You’re better off just doing the following:

1. Find a passion.
2. Find a job/internship where your work will relate to your passion.If you’re passionate about biology, join a biology research lab. If you love computer science, intern at a tech start-up. Whatever you choose to do, put in a lot of hours and do meaningful work.
3. Join clubs that relate to your passion. Love science? Join Science Olympiads. Want to be a businessman? Join DECA or Future Business Leaders. If there isn’t a club that relates to your passion, create one!
4. Get out of your comfort zone! As teenagers in this day and age, the idea of failing is absolutely terrifying. We’d rather be good at something we’re used to than take the risk of failing at something that challenges us. Well, fuck it! Do things that scare you! Apply for that job you think you’re unqualified for. Join speech and debate even though you’re scared of public speaking. Just do it! Hell, sometimes (especially as a teenager) you’ll learn more from failing than you would have had you succeeded.

Thank you