1869 MIT Entrance Exam Goes Viral For Being Too Easy, Can You Crack It?

A question paper from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s entrance exam from 1869 has recently gained attention on social media for being “surprisingly easy.”

The paper, dated June 1869, released eight years after the institute’s founding. It was shared on social media by a Reddit user and had seven questions from the algebra section

MIT Entrance Examination for 1869-1870
byu/Sans010394 inDamnthatsinteresting

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, widely regarded as the leading institution for engineering, mathematics and science globally, has been home to over 101 Nobel laureates and 8 Fields Medalists, either as faculty or alumni since its founding in 1861, nearly 200 years ago

With an acceptance rate of just 4%, the institute is extremely hard to get into. Candidates must navigate multiple eligibility rounds and demonstrate exceptional academic performance. They must also perform impressive extracurricular activities, write essays. Even with these qualifications, securing a place at this renowned institution is not guaranteed.

The Reddit post has ignited a surge of curiosity and discussion among users, with many claiming that the exam paper is extremely easy to solve.

“None of the above problems require a calculator! They only require basic understanding of Algebra. Most can be solved mentally without even requiring to put pen on paper to be honest,” wrote a user on Reddit.

“Yeah these are surprisingly easy, I didn’t actually solve them but there is nothing here I don’t know how to solve, and I only have high-school level math from decades ago,” another user wrote.

While many users argued that the question paper was too easy to solve, others held a different opinion, suggesting it was harder to complete than it appeared.

“This just the entrance exam, and had multiple sections – it also had a geometry and arithmetic section.

On top of this, you’d be expected to do these calculations unaided (i.e. no slide rules). MIT hadn’t developed its reputation at this point in time and was only 8 years old,” wrote a user.

The original exam is reported to include additional sections covering geometry, arithmetic, English, and calculus.