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I'd think a bit more about what your actual goals are. To me, going to an renowned school like MIT is a means to an end not a goal. Depending on what you want to do after, it may or may not be a wise decision.

From your post, it sounds like intelligence isn't the problem, but rather one of motivation. While doing well academically does require a baseline intelligence, the more important thing (like most things in life) is a matter of effort. Perhaps this comes from your lack of any concrete goals.

I found myself similarly lost when I first started my university education. Actually, I started off by going to a community college, and while at first that was disappointing, it also gave me the chance to sample a wide variety of subjects, and eventually finding out CS was what I was passionate about. By finding my passion, I was able to overcome my previous motivation problems. Perhaps if you try new things as well, you might find something that sparks your drive.

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Completely agree here. Passion is what drives motivation. Paul Graham wrote extensively about that in one of his essays (Do what you love).

So I'd say :

1. Try to figure out what you'd love to do 2. Do it, and enjoy everyday of your life :)

The problem is, it's not always easy to find answer to point 1. To find, you must try a lot of different options, until you find what you really want to do. That's why I would suggest :

1. Try to work as an intern in small companies (startups). You'll get a very good contact with the founders, who are usually very smart guys. In other words : find a mentor

2. Try to be friends with people that have a passion for something, and see if you can share their passion

3. Be curious, go out, speak with people. And travel. Travel a lot.

Passion triumphs everything.

Just remember this all times.

I'm sympathetic to the idea of a goal-driven life and higher education as merely a means towards achieving those goals. But the fact of the matter is that goals are hard. Hard to achieve, surely, if ambitious enough, but more importantly, hard to conceive and define. The belief that action shouldn't be taken until a goal for that action is defined can be overwhelming and petrifying. Moving to an environment where many smart people are thinking about many hard problems can certainly be a worthwhile step towards the definition of goals, and should not be self-limited to people who already know what they want to be when they grow up.