I recently graduated from @MIT with an undergrad and a master's.

To this day, I get asked the question from students, "How do I get into MIT?" I even had one of my answers on @Quora go viral and get ~1M views.

Figured I'd finally give away the secret formula. Thread

I was born into a lower-middle-class family in Kanpur, India. Neither of my parents went to college. I didn't have an intellectual culture at home. But I was exceptionally curious from the start.

When I was 10, I remember watching space and science shows on the Discovery channel. They blew my mind. The Universe, I learned, was expanding at a speed faster than that of light - which, in turn, is the speed limit of the Universe! I fell in love with Physics.

So as a kid, I spent my summers reading popular Physics books from @bgreene, @michiokaku, Stephen Hawking, etc. I even printed out their pictures and posted them across my room for inspiration. In retrospect, kinda silly! But I was obsessed.

I spent my middle and high school obsessively reading and learning Physics and Math. I would borrow Physics textbooks from seniors so I could learn Special Relativity.

Still reading? I promise this is gonna get to MIT. Bear with me.

In those same years, I worked relentlessly on polynomial summation formulas and discovered a few of my own. Why did I do that? Simply because I found those mathematical series fascinating! Luckily, I saved all my work in an old notebook.

Then in 11th grade, a mentor encouraged me to apply to a prestigious @Yale Science summer program. The program was extremely selective. I got in as one of the few Indian students in that cohort. There, I learned of a world beyond Indian IITs.

I spent the next 3 weeks at Yale's campus - learning all about the US college system. By the time I returned to India, my mind was set on applying to colleges abroad.

MIT became my top choice. After all, Richard Feynman - one of the greatest Physicists of all time - went there.

Initially, I didn't even tell my parents what I was up to. Thankfully, I had a few key mentors who believed in me and helped me apply - both logistically and financially.

When I wrote my MIT application, this is what I told them. They saw a first-generation student who went through numerous hurdles and was genuinely obsessed with Physics and achieving something more than what the society had told him.

Luckily I had something to show for it - Math research, Yale's summer program, top SAT/school grades, and a compelling story that tied it all together.

There you have it - my secret to getting into MIT as one of the few students ever from my region in India.

The main takeaway here is that there is no formula. But being genuinely obsessed with something important might go a long way. Just as important is finding 2-3 wise mentors who believe in your potential. With that, aim high and be ambitious.

That was 5 years ago. The next 5 years are going to be even more interesting as I execute on my plan and build a career. I continue to be obsessed with fundamental Sciences, now with a stronger interdisciplinary focus.

I plan to share my learnings, insights, as well as mental notes on Twitter. So stay tuned for more exciting things to come!