Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts along the bank of the Charles River Basin. MIT has five schools and has a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research. However, in the past 70 years, MIT’s educational disciplines have expanded beyond the physical sciences and engineering into fields like economics, philosophy, linguistics, political science, and management.

Founded by William Barton Rogers in 1861, MIT followed the European university model and emphasized laboratory instruction from an early date. The university was one of the pioneers in research and training collaborations between the academy, industry, and government.

Collaborative arrangements with industrialists like Alfred P. Sloan and Thomas Edison led the school to establish an Office of Corporate Relations and an Industrial Liaison Program in the 1930s and 1940s. These programs now permit over 600 companies to license research and consult with Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty and researchers. Undergraduates are required to complete an extensive core curriculum called the General Institute Requirements.

The science requirement, generally completed during freshman year as prerequisites for classes in science and engineering majors, comprises two semesters of physics classes covering classical mechanics and electricity and magnetism, two semesters of math covering single variable calculus and multivariable calculus, one semester of chemistry, and one semester of biology. Undergraduates are also required to take a laboratory class in their major, eight Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences classes (at least three in a concentration and another four unrelated subjects).

MIT eases freshmen into their undergraduate experience by grading all first semester courses on a pass/no entry basis. Second semester classes are scored with letter grades, but anything below a C is not reported on the student’s transcript. After that … well, MIT’s classes have a reputation for being very intense. But there is no doubt that the university’s students receive a world-class education. The university guarantees housing for all four years and freshmen are required to live on campus.

Undergraduates participate in research through something called UROP – the Institute’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. By the time they graduate, about 85 percent of Massachusetts Institute of Technology students will have collaborated on and helped produce real, ground breaking research. In fact, many undergraduates find their names appearing in published papers. A few even earn patents.

Early Action
Non-restrictive Early Action application deadline: November 1
Decisions are mailed by mid-December.

Regular Decision
Regular decision deadline: January 1
Decisions are mailed by mid-March.

Transfers
Transfer application deadline: March 15
Decisions are mailed by May 1.

Freshmen Admissions
Number of 2019 (Class of 2023) applicants: 21,312
Enrolled: 1,114
Yield: 76.1%
Acceptance rate: 6.6%

International applicant acceptance rate: 2.4%

Early Action Admissions
Number of applicants: 9,557
Admitted: 664
Acceptance rate: 6.9%

Waitlist Admission Statistics
Number of waitlisted applicants: 383
Waitlist acceptance rate: 0%

Transfer Admissions
Number of applicants: 538
Admitted transfer applicants: 23
Acceptance rate: 4.3%

Academic Qualifications
Average GPA: N/A
Top 10% of High School: 97%

Middle SAT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 720-770
SAT Math: 780-800

Middle ACT Range (25 to 75 Percentile)
ACT Composite: 34-36
ACT English: 34-36
ACT Math: 34-36

SAT/ACT required

Writing portion not required

SAT Subject Tests required — one in math (level 1 or 2), and one in science (physics, chemistry, or biology e/m)

Graduation Rates
4 years: 85.1%
5 years: 92.7%
6 years: 94.2%

Loan default rate: 1.0%

Total Rhodes Scholars: 48

Salary after attending: $104,700

R&D Expenditures: $952.0 million

Campus Safety
Sex offenses: 15
Robberies: 0
Aggravated assaults: 3
Burglaries: 16
Car thefts: 2

Tuition, room and board (2019-2020): $69,840

Total estimated cost of attendance (2019-2020): $73,160

Net Cost
Average: $18,971

By income
$0 to $30,000: $7,581
$30,001 to $48,000: $3,343
$48,001 to $75,000: $2,938
$75,001 to $110,000: $9,303
$110,001 and more: $40,757

Graduates with student debt: 29%

Average student debt at graduation: $22,696

Student to Faculty Ratio: 3 to 1

Women: 46%

Undergraduate Class Sizes
Under 20: 71%
20 to 39: 13%
40 to 99: 12%
100+: 4%

Student Population
Total: 11,574
Undergraduate: 4,602

Student Residence
In State: 9%
Out of State: 80%
International: 11%