Getting into MIT is crazy hard. Obviously, if you’re here, you probably already know this. But while it’s hard, it’s not impossible – because, obviously, MIT is graduating full classes every single year. Your internal monologue around getting into extremely selective schools like MIT needs to change from “Can I get in?” to “What do I need to do to get in?” Because, look, getting into MIT isn’t something you can just decide you want to do in your junior year, you need to spend your high school career working towards this goal.
There are lots of moving pieces to a successful MIT application, almost all of which are entirely within your control. If you’re serious about getting into MIT, we’ve spelled out the most important things you’ll need to have on your checklist. Let’s get into it.
Step 1: Get the grades and scores
If you take one thing away from this blog post, it should be this: getting all As and as-close-to-perfect-as-possible standardized test score is 100% necessary to get into MIT. Take a look at their stats for class rank and test scores:
| Class Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Top 10th of HS graduating class | 96% |
| Top Quarter of HS graduating class | 99% |
| Top Half of HS graduating class | 100% |
| Bottom Half of HS graduating class | 0.00% |
| Total submitting class rank | 30% |
| Test | 25th Percentile | 50th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT Composite | 1520 | 1550 | 1570 |
| ACT Composite | 34 | 35 | 36 |
96% of enrolled MIT students are in the top 10% of their respective high schools, and the average SAT/ACT scores are 1550 and 35, respectively. Average! For our clients, we recommend a minimum of 1550 or 35 to be competitive at MIT and other Ivy+ schools, and the data doesn’t lie.
Another note on grades: you need to be getting the best grades possible in the hardest classes your school offers. Whether that’s IB, Honors, or AP, you need to get into these courses to give yourself the best shot possible. And especially for MIT, you should be taking advanced math classes – even if you’re a #humanities student. By "advanced," we don't mean AP Stats, but rather AP Calc BC and even beyond, if your school offers it.
Step 2: Figure out what you’re passionate about
The next thing under your control is deciding what you want to study. A lot of students are told it’s okay to apply undecided – even some schools say it’s fine to apply undecided, and we’re here to tell you to not do that. The best way to stand out amongst a crowd of qualified students is by knowing, and deliberately pursuing, your academic interests. But before you go sicko mode trying to get hyperspecific, it’s best to start by figuring out what you are truly interested in.
Start by thinking about what classes you really enjoy, which adults you look up to in your life, books you’ve read that you enjoy, maybe even YouTube rabbit holes you’ve gone down, or documentaries you’ve seen! A lot of students think they need to pick something super impressive or “standard” (we see a lot of business, poli sci, bio, econ, computer science, etc.), but you’ll actually go further if you choose something adjacent, but less popular. Really think about what you like about your topic of choice. If you like poli sci, are you drawn to international or national politics? Or are you interested in the theory or how humans interact with political systems? You can look at things like specific cultural majors for the countries with political systems you like, or maybe philosophy, American studies, sociology, or even psychology. Then you go deeper from there.
At The Koppelman Group, our counselors work one-on-one with students to actually learn what it is they’re passionate about. At 14 or 15, it’s totally normal to not know! That’s why we build individualized plans to help introduce students to fields they might not know about, or help them build a deeper interest in something they’re already excited about.
Step 3: Find your niche
The next step after identifying your interest area is to go deeper. It is not enough to just say you want to study biology and only do surface-level biology stuff at school. Think about what you want to do with biology? There are a million types of biology! Do you like plants? Animals? Bugs? Humans? Cells? A lil bio + chem action? Birds? You need to start pursuing this interest outside of school to figure out your niche. Not just summer programs, either. Start reading books, taking online classes, watching documentaries, etc.
Once you figure out what you really like about your stated major, you need to take time to develop the interest further. Just saying you want to study the bugs of North America isn’t enough if you haven’t already started studying the bugs of North America in your free time. This is one of the main things we help clients with. We take students who are interested in ambiguous fields and break them down into specifics, from things like “political science” to “US policy changes during the Cold War.”
To help students build their niche, we continue to follow them down the path we created to help them discover their initial interests. We talk with our students every week, ask what they really enjoyed about a given topic, and then add more resources to help them explore those interests further. As we continue to dive deeper, we help students become more active in extracurriculars, both in and out of school. We might have them email professors interested in that area and then ask to speak with them about their work, or have them job-shadow someone in their prospective field. All of these things can help students find their niche even more, especially with help.
Step 4: Develop solid extracurriculars
As you develop your niche, you should be developing a robust group of extracurricular activities alongside it. Extracurriculars can be lots of things, but the ones you dedicate the most time to should be tailored to your academics, especially for a school like MIT. Some extracurriculars you might pursue include:
Research
Internships
Outside classes
Summer programs
Clubs at school
Sports
Jobs
Volunteer work
Now, it’s not enough to just have a smattering of these things and call it a day. It’s fine to have a few non-academic extracurriculars – we’re all human, and MIT does want smart kids who also have lives, but the activities you do in the academic sphere need to be serious. Conducting and publishing independent research, working closely with a company aligned with your goals through an internship, starting a club at school, or an outside organization that’s tailored to your interests are all great ways to show initiative.
At TKG, we can help you sort through your extracurricular options and help you choose the right ones for you. Most students and parents only know about the run-of-the-mill extracurriculars like sports and school clubs. We encourage students to go deeper and build an extracurricular profile that’s more unique and allows them to stand out amongst a huge pool of applicants. We can help you start a club at school, cold-email professors and professionals to secure an internship or research position, or find the perfect summer program or project to showcase your niche.
Step 5: Apply!
Once you’ve done all the things you need to do – get good grades, good scores, explore a niche, and build out a resume to back it up, the next step is to apply! MIT offers Restricted Early Action (which means you can’t apply ED anywhere if you apply REA to MIT) and Regular Decision. Unlike most schools, MIT tells us the data on both RD and REA, as you can see below:
| Early Action | Number |
|---|---|
| REA Applicants | 12,052 |
| REA Admits | 721 |
| REA Acceptance rate | 6% |
| REA Rejections | 3,845 |
| REA Rejection Rate | 31.90% |
|---|---|
| Deferred to RD | 7,486 |
| REA Deferral Rate | 62.10% |
| Deferred applicants admitted during RD | 175 |
| Deferred Acceptance Rate | 2.34% |
| Regular Decision | Number |
|---|---|
| RD Applicants | 17,229 |
| Total Considered in RD (including deferred) | 24,715 |
| RD Admits (not including deferred) | 428 |
| RD acceptance rate w/o deferred | 2.48% |
| RD Admits (including deferred) | 603 |
| RD Overall Acceptance Rate | 2.44% |
As you can see, MIT does let in a lot more students in REA, but that’s still with an acceptance rate of 5.98% compared to RD’s 2.44%. Tough numbers! Beyond just your academic performance, there is also a list of non-academic factors that MIT cares about:
| Nonacademic Factors | Very Important | Important | Considered | Not Considered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interview | X | |||
| Extracurricular activities | X | |||
| Talent/ability | X | |||
| Character/personal qualities | X | |||
| First generation | X | |||
| Alumni/ae relation | X | |||
| Geographical residence | X | |||
| State residency | X | |||
| Religious affiliation/commitment | X | |||
| Volunteer work | X | |||
| Work experience | X | |||
| Level of applicant’s interest | X |
With this checklist, we hope we’ve proven that what you do outside of school matters (a lot) to MIT. They want your extracurriculars to be solid and your application to show who you are. Like most schools, MIT has supplemental essays that will help you show them what you care about and who you are. The questions are short, but they will tell you what they want to see from you:
What field of study appeals to you the most right now? (Note: Applicants select from a drop-down list.) Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you.
We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.
While some reach their goals following well-trodden paths, others blaze their own trails achieving the unexpected. In what ways have you done something different than what was expected in your educational journey?
MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together.
How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?
We promise we know what we’re talking about here — we have an incredibly high success rate with MIT, and we know what they’re looking for. MIT has a number of essays, as you’ve seen, that might seem like they want something straightforward; however, MIT has a bit more personality than many students assume. By working with a private counselor, like us, we can help you write essays that perfectly fit the personality MIT is looking for. By answering these questions in a voice that matches an MIT student, you will find yourself in a much better place than if you just absolutely wing it. Every year, we help countless students brainstorm and write essays that not only reflect who they are but also align with what colleges look for in prospective students.
Conclusion
Applying to MIT is hard – with that crazy low acceptance rate and reputation, we know you knew it. While nothing is a guarantee in admissions, following this guide will give you the best shot possible at creating a profile and application that will stand out to admissions officers.
If you have your sights set on MIT, hiring a counselor is a strategic move. By hiring a firm like us, TKG, you will have expert one-on-one guidance from experienced counselors who can help you craft a killer application from day 1.
If you want help crafting the perfect application for MIT, reach out to us today.