Every successful MIT applicant has a flawless academic record, perfect or nearly perfect scores on standardized tests, and enormous skills beyond the classroom. Unfortunately, MIT rejects valedictorians every day of the admissions cycle, proving that these qualities are often essential but insufficient.
A Brief Overview of MIT
The private institution, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was established in 1861. The 168-acre campus is in an urban area and has a total undergraduate enrollment of 4,638 (fall 2021).
MIT, composed of five schools and a college situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, focuses on scientific and technical research. Government funding sources, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services, help universities spend more than $700 million annually on research.
The School of Engineering and Sloan School of Management, as well as vital programs in economics, psychology, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, physics, and mathematics, are among MIT’s highly-ranked graduate schools.
Academic Life in MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s student-faculty ratio is 3:1, and 69.4% of classes have fewer than 20 students. The popular majors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are mathematics and computer science. The average freshman retention rate is 99%, which indicates student satisfaction.
Overall – MIT Acceptance Rate
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology accepted 1,337 students for the Class of 2026 out of 33,976 applicants for a 3.94 percent acceptance rate, representing a 2% increase in Early and Regular Action applicants and a new high. Since 2020, the number of applications has increased by more than 66%. Last year, MIT accepted 1,457 students from a pool of 33,240 applicants for a 7.26 percent acceptance rate.
MIT Acceptance Rate for Regular Admission
The graph below depicts the significant increase in applicants over the last three years
| Class of 2024 | Class of 2025 | Class of 2026 | |
| Total 1st Year Applicants | 20,075 | 33,240 | 33,796 |
| Admitted Applicants | 1,457 | 1,340 | 1,337 |
| Overall Admission Rate | 7.3% | 4.1% | 3.9% |
Rankings of MIT 2022 – 2023
- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is ranked number two out of 443 national universities. Schools are ranked according to their performance across widely accepted excellence indicators.
- 2nd in National Universities
- 5th in Best Value Schools
- 4th in Most Innovative Schools
SAT and ACT Requirements for MIT
Students accepted for the Class of 2020-21 had SAT Math scores ranging from 790 to 800 and SAT ERW scores ranging from 730 to 780. MIT acceptance rate of ACT score ranged between 35 and 36. On average, 95 percent of students who apply for admission are in the top 10% of their high school class. The average GPA for admission to MIT is not provided.
SAT Requirements
| SAT RANGE | AVERAGE MIT SAT SCORE |
| SAT Reading | 730 – 780 |
| SAT Math | 790 – 800 |
| Total Average Combined SAT score | 1510 – 1570 |
| Students submitting SAT score | 77% |
ACT Requirements
| ACT RANGE | AVERAGE MIT ACT SCORE |
| ACT English | 35 – 36 |
| ACT Math | 34 – 36 |
| ACT Writing | 8 – 10 |
| Students submitting ACT score | 45% |
MIT Admissions Trends to Consider
- Acceptance rates for those scoring 750 or higher on the SAT Math section were 10%, compared to 1% for those scoring 700-740.
- California was the most represented state in the Class of 2025.
- MIT has stated that it will no longer be optional for applicants to the Class of 2027.
- The total number of applicants for the Class of 2026 increased by 2%.
- Only 25 680 students on the Class of 2025 waitlist were accepted.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is it difficult to get into MIT?
It is challenging to gain admission to MIT.
MIT accepted 4% of all applicants in 2021 or approximately 1,365 of the 33,240 students who applied.
Schools with extremely high admissions standards, such as MIT, accept less than 30% of all applicants. At least 75% of admitted students have GPAs in the top 10% of their high school class and SAT/ACT scores of 1310 or higher
- What is the minimum GPA required for admission to MIT?
An unweighted GPA is a ‘4’ point scale average grade in each Class. For example, 4.0. The range of unweighted GPAs is from 4.0 to less than 1.0. A weighted GPA considers your average grade and the difficulty of your classes. A weighted GPA raises your average by awarding bonus points for honors or AP courses
Turito helps the student prepare for the admission process, including test preparation courses, college counselling services, and online resources. It provides personalized learning, real-time doubt solving, AI-based assessments, and more for student’s success. Additionally, it is important for students to have strong grades, test scores on SAT and ACT and extracurricular activities, as well as well-written application essay for admission in colleges like MIT whose acceptance rate is 7%.