Facts
for prospective students
MISSION
To advance knowledge and
educate students in science,
technology, and other areas of
scholarship that will best serve
the nation and the world in the
21st century
CULT URE
MIT is made up of smart,
ambitious, and hardworking
people who work together
students are famous for their
hacks—playful pranks they
pull on campus that showcase
their ingenuity.
COMMUNIT Y
incredibly diverse; 62.5% of
the undergraduate student
body represents U.S. minority
groups, 48% of our students
of our students are the first in
HISTORY
Incorporated in 1861, MIT
was founded to accelerate
the nation’s industrial
revolution through a new
education rooted in both
theory and practice—mind
and hand.
For more than 150 years,
MIT has produced a
stream of world-changing
advancements, inventions,
and discoveries.
MOT TO
Mens et Manus
(Mind and Hand)
MASCOT
original engineer
COLORS
Cardinal red
and silver gray
Who you will find here What you will study
Students Faculty When you apply to MIT, you apply to the entire university,
not to a specific major or school, so all first-year students
4,361 1 ,064
are free to choose from any of our majors offered in our
undergraduate students full-time faculty schools of study: Engineering; Science; Management;
10
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; and Architecture
6,893 graduate students and Planning.
First-year class geography Nobel Laureates Aerospace Engineering Finance
Abroad 1 3% American Studies French
2
Mid-Atlantic 20% Ancient & Medieval Studies German
Midwest & Plains States 9% Anthropology History
New England 9% Archaeology & Materials Latin American & Latino/a Studies
Pulitzer Prize winners
South & Puerto Rico 1 6% Architecture Linguistics
Southwest & Mountain 1 4%
23
Art & Design Literature
U.S. Territories 0% Asian & Asian Diaspora Studies Management
West Coast, Alaska Biological Engineering Materials Science & Engineering
& Hawaii 18 % MacArthur Fellows Biology Mathematics
Brain & Cognitive Sciences Mathematics with Computer Science
Business Analytics Mathematical Economics
Chemical-Biological Engineering Mechanical Engineering
Where you will live Chemical Engineering Mechanical & Ocean Engineering
Chemistry Music
Chemistry & Biology Nuclear Science & Engineering
MIT housing is guaranteed for your entire undergraduate
Civil & Environmental Engineering Philosophy
experience, and all first-year students live in on-campus Comparative Media Studies Physics
residence halls that have live-in faculty Heads of House. Computation & Cognition Planning
Students choose where they live, and select from ten Computer Science, Economics & Political Science
Data Science
residence halls with distinct cultures and traditions. Russian & Eurasian Studies
Computer Science & Engineering Science, Technology & Society
Computer Science & Molecular Spanish
Biology
Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Urban Science & Planning with
Sciences Computer Science
Economics Women’s & Gender Studies
Electrical Engineering & Computer Writing
Science
Electrical Science & Engineering
Advanced coursework
We love to see that students have challenged themselves
in high school and have taken advantage of the academic
opportunities available to them. However, MIT doesn’t
commonly award credit for advanced coursework,
1 68
generally because we prefer to make sure that all of our
acres along the banks of the Charles River in
students start with equal footing.
If you’re confident that you’ve already covered a subject,
10 5 1
most introductory subjects offer an Advanced Standing
Exam that you can take to obtain credit.
residence halls cultural houses has a giant ball pit
Research and internships Where MIT will take you What you can do for fun

500+
Approximately 51 % of graduates go
(UROP) students can perform hands-on research projects directly to employment, and 39% of
with faculty mentorship in any academic department or the Class of 2020 went directly to grad
interdisciplinary lab for pay or for credit—with no previous school. 60% of MIT alums eventually go STU DENT ORGANIZAT IONS:

research experience required. to graduate school, including 1 3% to 68 cultural groups

medical school, 3% to law school, and
MIT also offers opportunities for internships and research 51 academic organizations
1 2% to business school.
abroad. MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives 38 music, theater, visual art, dance groups
(MISTI) provides intensive professional opportunities in 29 service groups
companies, laboratories, and universities around the globe. graduate is $94,988. 26 student government groups

30,000+
23 religious organizations
1 5 activism groups
1 laboratory for chocolate science
companies founded, creating

33
over 4.6 million jobs

87% VARSIT Y SPORT S

MIT Engineers compete against Division

of graduating seniors
III New England colleges and Ivy League
completed internships
schools, and participate in regional and
national tournaments.

57% 339 Academic All-Americans

94%
34 club sports teams
of undergraduates conduct research, and most of students participate in a
complete four or more projects before they graduate global educational experience 30 Olympians

Apply Tests and scores

We will not require either the SAT or the ACT for the 2021–22 application cycle.

Nov. 1 We expect this to be a one-year suspension of our usual requirement.

If you have already taken the SAT/ACT, you are encouraged to report your scores
We strongly recommend taking an
English language proficiency exam if
Early Action as they will help us more accurately evaluate your preparedness for MIT. you have been using English for fewer
deadline than 5 years or do not speak English at
• We will not require you to officially submit your test scores. Instead, you can
self-report the scores and we will verify them upon enrollment. home or in school.

Jan. 5 If you have not already taken the SAT/ACT, you are discouraged from doing so if
you can’t do so safely, or if you are under such strain that you can’t perform to a
We now accept the Cambridge English
Qualifications (C1 Advanced or C2
Regular Action degree commensurate with your preparation. Proficiency), Duolingo English Test,
deadline IELTS, PTE Academic, and TOEFL.
• If you don’t report test scores for the 2021–22 cycle, it won’t impact your application
negatively. We will make the most informed decision we can by reviewing other aspects
of your application, such as grades, curriculum, and other examinations.

Learn more about our usual testing requirement and this cycle’s changes at mitadmissions.org .

Affording your MIT education

Estimate your cost in minutes with Office of Admissions
Financial aid at MIT is entirely need-based and has no bearing our MyinTuition Quick College
Cost Estimator at of Technology
mitadmissions.org/afford
financial need for all four years of your undergraduate career.

1 00% $90,000 82%

Building E38-200
Cambridge, MA 02139
617.253.3400
students with a family income below this of undergraduates graduate
admissions@mit.edu
level (and typical assets) do not pay tuition from MIT debt-free
of demonstrated financial need

$45,146 28%
met for all four years of an
mitadmissions.org
undergraduate’s education

average need-based scholarship for MIT of MIT undergraduates don’t pay

undergraduates last year tuition due to our need-based aid MIT Admissions