MIT is one of the preeminent science and technology-focused universities in the world. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts right across the river from Boston, it attracts students from across the country, and around the world, through its STEM-centric offerings and history of being at the cutting edge of emerging technologies. MIT is also widely respected as a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship.
The university is home to more than 65 research centers and has collaborated with more than 700 companies on faculty and student research. Work at MIT has led to 105 Nobel Laureates, 84 MacArthur Fellows, and 99 National Medal recipients. It’s not a large university, either. There are only 4,500 undergraduates and fewer than 12,000 students overall.
Students are drawn to MIT because they have access to this unique mix of top-notch instruction, proximity to the best-of-the-best, opportunity to participate in research and contribute to innovation, and a community that both pushes and celebrates each other every step of the way. All of that, and it’s a tight-knit community that is genuinely a lot of fun.
It’s no surprise, then, that admission to MIT is hard to pull off. They received 28,232 first-year applications for the Class of 2028 and accepted 1,284 students total, or 4.5%. It’s critical, though, to analyze the MIT application process through the Early Action lens.
What is Early Action at MIT?
MIT heavily prioritizes Early Action applicants. A little under half of all applicants, over 12,000, applied Early Action to MIT. The MIT Early Action acceptance rate wasn’t markedly higher than the overall, only a modest increase to 5.3%. However, the 661 students admitted EA represent over half of the total number of students admitted.
This shows us how heavily MIT favors early applicants. While 5.3% of early applicants were admitted, 8,051, or 64% were deferred to the Regular Decision round. Of the students deferred, only 2.6% were eventually admitted. In fact, only 2.6% of all Regular Decision round candidates were admitted when first-time and deferred applicants are both accounted for.
This shows us that, while applying early is important, not being deferred is just as critical. While a deferral isn’t a rejection, it is close. In this post, we’ll break down everything you need to know as a potential Early Action applicant to MIT to amplifying your chances of acceptance.
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Choosing to apply to MIT Early Action is a critical decision. Early applicants have a higher chance of getting into MIT, even if the difference is only slim. But that difference only matters if the applicant is strong. Applying to MIT early does not fix having scores or grades or personal accomplishments that do not measure up. That is not to say that such a student is not fabulous and will not have an amazing future, but it probably won’t be at MIT.
We work with our students to become strong applicants whether they have years, months, or even only a few weeks left to boost their profile. This post is a peek into our playbook.
What can you do to increase your chances of admission Early Action to MIT?
When MIT assesses an application, there are a few things they look for before making a decision. They want to see top-notch quantitative measures of academic success, but also more than that. Simply having good grades isn’t enough. Below, we’ll break down each bucket you need to be addressing now to increase your chances of admission to MIT Early Action.
Grades
97% of accepted and enrolled students for the Class of 2028 were in the top 10th of their graduating class in high school. That is, honestly, an insane percentage. It speaks to the filter for academic excellence that MIT applies to applications. If you aren’t at the top of the pack through your transcript, it is extremely hard to stand out — even if you have unique characteristics, interests, and accomplishments. Rather, the things you do outside of class are the whipped cream on top of the sundae. It’s a final flourish, not a mask.
It isn’t enough, though, to be good at STEM courses, or those that come easiest to you. You have to be an exceptional student across the board. We often find that students considering MIT devalue humanities courses to the point that they receive lower grades in them, figuring that it won’t matter come decision time at MIT. This is fundamentally incorrect and ultimately self-sabotaging. You need to excel no matter the subject to stand out in an MIT review.
Scores
The SAT and ACT are important, required, and nearly required to be perfect. While MIT doesn’t have required minimum scores, they basically do. If you do not have an SAT Math score over 760 and an SAT ERW score over 740, adding up to a composite at or over 1550, it is very unlikely that you will be accepted unless you pull off an ACT score of a 35 or 36.
These scores are very hard to get, but they aren’t even stand-out for MIT. When nearly perfect is simply where the bar is, not even a stand-out, you know the expectations are sky high. We highly encourage our students to begin prepping for either the SAT or the ACT far in advance. Taking the test for the first time early in junior year widens the window for repeated attempts and opens up opportunities for growth. If applying early to MIT is the plan, we recommend working with a test prep coach as well. You may be naturally brilliant, but that doesn’t mean that you are preternaturally attuned to the nuances of standardized testing.
Most students who are accepted by MIT, and who choose to enroll, do submit SAT scores. That doesn’t mean you have to take the SAT, but it’s worth keeping in mind when picking between the two tests.
Activities
You can be in every STEM-oriented club at your school, and have impressive internships and fancy-sounding accomplishments, but none of this matters to MIT if you aren’t spotlighting a few crucial things.
First, you must be looking to improve the world. This doesn’t mean you’re doing something crazy impressive, yet. In MIT’s own words, “we’re not looking for applicants to have cured all infectious disease in the world by the time they’re 15.” Rather, they are most impressed by relationships. Tutoring one student, or advocating for a policy change are, they say, the kind of world change they like to see high school students participating in. This is why we don’t encourage our students to start a nonprofit by themselves or do some fancy sounding solo initiative that actually isolates them from their peers. What matters is working with others.
This leads into the next important thing to hit through your activities, “collaboration and cooperation.” Both of these are central to the MIT spirit. They want to see you working with others. Excelling in math competitions by yourself is less interesting to MIT than a less successful competitive experience, but a deeply fulfilling one, working with a team.
Finally, MIT wants you charting a path that prioritizes taking initiative and embracing measured risks. This includes pushing yourself creatively and not sticking to a set path. Doing what is normal and already a well-trod path will not serve you. You need to be trying new things, exploring, and embracing opportunity.
We love activities that hit on a number of these, so that you can highlight how strong of a fit you are for MIT quickly and succinctly in your supplements. For example, a student could lead the robotics team at school while also running a feeder program for middle school students designed to prepare them to join the team once in high school. These are both robotics, but they illustrate two varied ways of exploring and growing within the field.
A big takeaway here should be that leadership matters — and if you are the one putting yourself at the front (like independent research), that isn’t enough. MIT wants to see you excelling alongside others as much as they are also curious as to whether you can go it alone.
Essays
Students applying Early Action to MIT often overlook the essays, putting them off until the last minute. If they have the grades and the scores and the activities, they are also prone to having the misconception that their application will ‘speak for itself’. Well, it doesn’t. You need to pipe up and tell your story, and that is exactly what the essays are for.
There is no set formula for a strong MIT essay, but there is one thing that is massively important: tell a story. When we see applications to MIT succeed, the strongest throughline among qualified applicants is that they have a compelling narrative. “Compelling,” doesn’t mean a traumatic backstory or a dramatic life arc. Rather, a truly compelling story is small. It is focused, and it highlights two or three specific traits that a student wants to put front and center in the consideration of their application.
And these traits should not be “studious” and “committed.” Those are shown through grades and scores, as you can’t get straight-As without studying hard. We encourage our students to focus on amplifying traits like “community-minded,” “resilient,” “creative,” “caring,” and being a natural-born mentor. Showing this depth of character is crucial, as MIT isn’t simply looking for smart kids — they want to see applications from students who will actively contribute to their community and support their peers. The essays are the perfect place to do this, and it could mean writing about something like a mentor/mentee or other close relationship, or about a struggle in the field or in competition that was solved by working as part of a team. Whatever the story, it must hit on the two or three traits and must be written in a way that is narratively compelling — this is where we support students in particular. Turning experiences into impactful stories that lead to acceptances is our superpower.
Last, Apply Early
For the Class of 2029, the Early Action acceptance rate at MIT increased slightly to 6%. This is good news, but it should be taken with a grain of salt. We do not expect to see acceptance rates on an upwards trend in the coming years, so high school students shouldn’t bet on their chances getting better. Rather, it’s more likely that it will be increasingly difficult to get into MIT. So, you need to start preparing now. Beginning planning an MIT application in the freshman year of high school may sound excessive, but it is not too soon. We regularly being planning with students early in high school to launch them on a trajectory that leads to the types of leadership roles, recognitions, and opportunities as a junior — which is critical if you are planning on applying early.
All of this comes together in the fall of senior year. The successes, the struggles, the opportunities, and the contributions to others add up to an impressive application if you can also pull off the grades and scores.
Work with Us
We are passionate about amplifying the applications of driven students. If a student wants to work hard to reach a dream, we want to help them. With MIT, this is a unique challenge. Often students considering an early application to MIT are confident in their academics, but actually undifferentiated in their profile as a student beyond the numbers. They are impressive, but not eye-catching in a sea of impressive applicants. The challenge, then, is to develop your sense of self, as the applicant, and your particular interests and passions, such that they stand out and speak even louder than your exceptional grades. The grades are the foundation, but the activities are what sing. This is what makes slipping in through a miniscule acceptance rate achievable.
We care about helping strong students stand out, and get into their dream schools. Learn more.