What are MIT Admission Requirements?
What’s Covered:
- Stated vs. Unstated Admissions Requirements
- How Your Background Impacts Requirements
- MIT’s Unstated Requirements
- Recommended (and Encouraged) Coursework
- Standardized Test Requirements
- The MIT Application
MIT is one of the most selective colleges in the country, with an admission rate of just 4.5% for the Class of 2029—on par with, or even lower than, many Ivy League schools. Renowned for its world-class STEM programs in areas like engineering and computer science, MIT also offers strong opportunities beyond STEM, including in the humanities with courses in subjects such as creative writing.
If you hope to attend MIT, you’ll face stiff competition. Read on for the school’s admissions requirements, and learn how you can boost your chances of admission. Want to know your chances at MIT? Calculate your chances right now.
Stated vs. Unstated Admissions Requirements
The admissions process at top universities like MIT is holistic and fiercely competitive. One thing to understand before submitting your application is that there is a difference between stated and unstated admissions requirements.
College Admissions Process at Selective Schools
Selective college admissions is a two-step process. First, you must meet the minimum academic qualifications. This includes explicitly stated requirements, such as the classes you must take and the minimum standardized test scores and GPAs you must earn. Only after meeting these thresholds do holistic admissions factors such as essays, extracurricular profiles, and other, more subjective qualities come into play.
The requirements you’ll find on MIT’s website or college search portals are merely the stated admissions requirements. Do not trust them blindly—meeting these minimum requirements doesn’t mean you will be accepted to MIT. However, as long as you do meet these requirements, you won’t be actively prevented from matriculating at MIT.
Since tens of thousands of students meet those standards, the unstated requirements separate the roughly 1,000+ students accepted to a given class from the approximately 30,000 who meet the minimum requirements and apply. These are qualities like the strength of your extracurricular accomplishments, the quality of your essays and writing, and your alignment with what MIT is looking for on a cultural and skill set basis.
How Your Background Impacts Requirements
One of the biggest myths about admissions is that all 30,000-ish applicants to MIT are judged against each other. In reality, universities are looking for a rough number of students with unique skill sets. For example, a selective college like MIT might want a class with 20-30 journalists, 15-20 students with experience overcoming adversity, and a certain number of students with other characteristics (both objective and subjective).
Consequently, the criteria for admission are different based on your background. For instance, a student from an affluent suburban school district with a typical STEM profile will need to have higher scores and exceptional extracurricular achievements, compared to a student who grew up in the inner city and is a student-athlete who will not need as strong qualifications due to the other characteristics they bring to the class.
MIT’s Unstated Requirements
The main goal of your application is to demonstrate alignment with MIT’s culture of deep academic inquiry and theoretical foundations. It’s not just about being into STEM (a misconception many people have about MIT)—everyone at MIT, even those who pursue disciplines such as English and history, approaches their field with that ethos of theoretical inquiry.
Another common MIT archetype is the tinkerer or researcher—someone who pursues projects on their own and shows initiative. If this describes you, it must come across in your essays and extracurriculars.
For example, if you want to study history at MIT, the following profile:
- President of the Debate Club
- President of the Red Cross Club
- President of the Gardening Club
Is actually often less effective than:
- Creating an excellent independent National History Day project
- Working with a professor at a local college to research an arcane period in European History (e.g., Belarus from 1650-1800)
- Creating a YouTube series that breaks down a specific history topic (say Ukraine from 1850-present) with bite-sized, deeply researched videos
Even though the latter profile has fewer formal accomplishments, it offers better cultural alignment with what MIT is looking for in its class.
Recommended (and Encouraged) Coursework
While MIT doesn’t require specific high school courses for admission, it does recommend the following courses:
- One year of high school physics
- One year of high school chemistry
- One year of high school biology
- Math, through calculus
- Two years of a foreign language
- Four years of English
- Two years of history and/or social sciences
You should also strive to take a rigorous course load. Since 96% of students admitted to MIT graduated in the top 10% of their class, your grades need to be stellar to stand out and should include plenty of AP or IB and honors courses.
Standardized Test Requirements
MIT requires that applicants submit either an SAT or ACT score. However, MIT does not require the ACT writing section or the SAT optional essay. MIT does value writing and communication skills, but evaluates them through other application components. The score verification process takes place after admission, streamlining the application process for students.
MIT superscores the SAT and ACT, meaning the admissions committee will only consider your highest test scores on each section of each test, regardless of whether those scores occurred on the same test.
Applicants will want to fall within the 25th–75th percentile of accepted students to have a chance at admission—the closer their score is to the 75th percentile, the better their odds.
- Middle 50% SAT: 1520-1570
- Middle 50% ACT: 34-36
If you are not a native English speaker, you must achieve a minimum score of 90 on the TOEFL. (This is the minimum, but in reality, most international students score at least a 100.)
To improve your SAT/ACT score, check out these free CollegeVine resources:
The MIT Application
Students may apply to MIT under the early action or regular decision plan. Unlike many selective colleges, MIT doesn’t use the Common App or Coalition application. Rather, it uses an independent application specific to the school. However, it’s similar to other applications in that you will need to complete sections covering your biographical info and extracurricular activities.
Check out How to Write the MIT Application Essays 2025-2026 to learn more about the application and essay prompts.
Letters of Recommendation
MIT specifies that you should submit two teacher recommendations: one from a math or science teacher and one from a humanities, social science, or language teacher.
Deadlines
MIT has two deadlines, one for Early Action and one for Regular Decision.
- The Early Action deadline is November 1
- The Regular Decision deadline is January 5
Both Early Action and Regular Decision applicants must supply a February Updates and Notes Form, which is due mid-February. This form includes your official midyear grades, as well as an opportunity for you to update MIT on anything important that has happened since you submitted your application.
The MIT Interview
MIT offers interviews with alumni who are members of the MIT Educational Council whenever possible. After submitting the first two components of your applications, an Educational Counselor may contact you via email. Interviews are held in person when possible, but virtual interviews can be coordinated.
Most Early Action interviews take place in November, and most Regular Action interviews occur in January. (For more information on the MIT Interview, check out The MIT Interview: What It’s Like + My Experience.)
The Takeaway
Admissions are highly competitive at MIT, so you will need stellar grades, impressive SAT scores, and out-of-this-world extracurriculars to be accepted. It’s a great choice for STEM majors as well as students studying other specialties. In fact, if you’re interested in other programs, such as humanities disciplines, you might have a leg up in the admissions process, since having strong candidates for these programs will help MIT build up other fields.
CollegeVine can help you assess your odds of gaining admission to MIT. Our free chancing calculator uses metrics like GPA, course rigor, and test scores, along with qualitative factors like extracurriculars, to estimate your odds at MIT and more than 1,600 other colleges and universities nationwide.
