OP - One of my D’s best friends totally overshot his list of colleges two cycles ago. He’s at a safety school his GC forced him to apply to at the last minute. I joined CC to try to help students avoid ending up at a school they hate. Students need to understand how fierce the competition is, have realistic expectations, and most of all, have a balanced list of schools where there is at least one guaranteed acceptance where a student would be happy to attend.
I honestly didn’t mean to attack you.
MIT admits fewer than 8% of their applicants. A 33 composite ACT is below their 25th percentile for admitted students. Generally speaking, students below the 25th percentile have major hooks - like parents donated a building level hooks.
By all means apply to MIT but if you haven’t already applied to match and safeties, get those applications done with as much care as you are taking for the app to MIT.
Best of luck to you.