The majority of undergraduate men and women enter MIT as members of the freshman class, directly following completion of secondary school studies. MIT expects that its applicants will have enrolled in a broad, rigorous program in high school. Applicants should be able to read with intelligence and sensitivity and to express ideas clearly in spoken and written form. In mathematics, emphasis should be on mastery of fundamental principles, operations, and definitions, and on preparation for the study of calculus. Work in the sciences should stress basic concepts and quantitative understanding, both in the classroom and in the laboratory. Ideal preparation for MIT includes English (four years), history and social studies (two or more years), mathematics (four years, including a strong preparation in algebra, plane geometry, trigonometry, and calculus), sciences (four years, preferably including general science, biology, chemistry, and physics), and a foreign language. However, interested students whose high school program does not match this curriculum in every detail are also invited to apply.
Applicants are encouraged to visit MIT's website at http://admissions.mit.edu/ or to write for information during their junior year. Candidates in their last year of high school must complete the application process by January 1 of the year of intended entrance. Early Action (available to citizens and permanent residents of the United States only) has a November 1 deadline. There is a $65 application fee. International student applicant information is described below.
MIT highly recommends that applicants interview with a member of the MIT Educational Council. Council members are MIT graduates who have volunteered to interview for the Office of Admissions. Each applicant will be referred to a member of the council near the applicant's home. This conference must take place before December 15 of the year prior to entrance (before November 1 for Early Action applicants).
Prospective applicants and their families are welcome to visit the Admissions Office Monday through Friday between 9 am and 5 pm. Student-guided tours of the campus are offered year-round each weekday (except holidays) at 10:45 am and 2:45 pm. From April through November, the tours are directly preceded by a group information session (10:00 am and 2:00 pm) in Room 10-100.
Interphase is a rigorous seven-week summer residential academic and community-building program for admitted MIT freshmen that instills subject mastery of calculus, physics, and chemistry, and helps them explore their cultural identities through reading, writing, and discussion. In addition, students take physical education classes, participate in laboratory research with faculty mentors, and engage in small-group learning activities and workshops designed to develop their analytical thinking and communication skills. These endeavors should position them to thrive during their MIT academic careers. Extracurricular activities include day trips to area cultural, recreational, and industrial sites. Ample opportunities to begin building social networks and faculty connections are provided. For incoming students of all races and national origins, the program offers a rich, multicultural educational experience that prepares them to become both leaders on campus and in the increasingly diverse global society. Students can earn academic credit upon successful completion of the coursework, giving them a head start towards fulfillment of their graduation requirements.
For more information, write to the Office of Minority Education, Room 4-113, MIT.
Occasionally, students may wish to take a year off between secondary school and college. In such cases, it is recommended that the student follow normal admissions procedures, as if going directly on to college, and then request deferment. Deferrals are granted for any reason except full-time enrollment at another university.
MIT has always encouraged students to move ahead academically according to their capabilities. There are four procedures by which students entering from secondary schools may receive credit and/or placement: the College Board Advanced Placement Program; GCE/GCSE A-levels, the International Baccalaureate, and other foreign exams; college transcript; and Advanced Standing Examination at MIT.
Students who take college-level subjects offered in their schools in cooperation with the College Board Advanced Placement Program should take the appropriate examinations administered by the board each year in May and instruct the board to send the scores to MIT. Degree credit for MIT subjects and, where appropriate, advanced placement, is given on the basis of a high achievement on the tests (in most cases a score of 5). A score of 5 on humanities, arts, and social sciences tests recognized by MIT will enable students to receive credit (9 units) applicable to the unrestricted elective requirements only. This credit does not reduce the General Institute Requirements of eight one-term subjects in the areas of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.
In some secondary schools, selected students take college-level subjects at a local college. Such students may submit an official transcript from the college showing subjects taken and grades earned in order to receive MIT credit under the regular college transfer procedures.
Students will be notified about the credit offered before registration.
All candidates are required to complete one of the following testing options.
The last acceptable testing date for freshman admission to the Class of 2012 is the December 2007 testing date. January 2008 tests will be accepted on a case-by-case basis. Note that the closing dates for registration are usually four to six weeks (five to seven weeks outside the United States) before the testing date. Students should request that the testing agency send all scores directly to MIT (code 3514 for the SAT; code 1858 for the ACT).
These examinations are offered throughout the world. The test dates, locations, and fees for the SAT I and SAT II Subject Tests are outlined in an information bulletin that may be obtained from most guidance offices or by writing directly to the College Board, 45 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10023. Information about the TOEFL can be obtained from the same address. Information about the ACT may be obtained by writing to ACT, 500 ACT Drive, P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, IA 52243.
Early action is available only to citizens and permanent residents of the United States.
A student who takes all the required tests by the November test date, and files all of the application material no later than November 1 may request the Committee on Admissions to review the application by mid-December. At that time the committee may offer admission, deny admission, or defer the decision. Deferred applications are reconsidered without prejudice in March. A student who seeks early consideration in this way is free to file applications at other colleges and, if offered admission at MIT, is not required to reply to the Institute before the candidates' reply date of May 1.
The MIT undergraduate student body includes citizens from all over the world. A faculty-imposed quota limits international undergraduates to eight percent of the undergraduate student body. Students are encouraged to plan on completing the Higher School Certificate, the General Certificate of Education/General Certificate of Secondary Education at the Advanced Level, the Baccalaureate, the Maturité, or the Abitur, even though decisions on admission to MIT are made in March, prior to the time when most exams are normally taken.
Students should visit http://admissions.mit.edu/ or write to the Office of Admissions at least one year before they plan to enter MIT for information about application procedures. The Admissions Office sends application materials in the summer of the year prior to proposed entry. All documents must be completed in English or accompanied by attested translations of the original into English. In order to receive consideration, the final application must be completed and returned by January 1, and the required tests (including, if appropriate, the Test of English as a Foreign Language, TOEFL) must be taken on or by the December test date. All students are urged to register for the tests at least six to eight weeks in advance of the testing date.
Applicants will receive instructions about arranging a personal conference (interview) with a local MIT alumnus or alumna if there is availability in the area.
Lectures, laboratory sessions, and written or oral examinations at MIT are conducted in English.
The required tests are listed in the section Entrance Examinations.
Students who have completed a minimum of one year and a maximum of two and one-half years may be considered for transfer admission.
A transfer student's eligibility for admission will be determined by the Committee on Admissions after a review of his or her record. The Admissions Office welcomes inquiry from all transfer applicants.
A student contemplating transfer to MIT should plan a program of studies to include as many as possible of the mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, and humanities, arts, and social sciences subjects as are included in the typical first two years of MIT.
Testing requirements for transfer students are the same as those for freshman applicants, listed in the section Entrance Examinations.
Transfer applicants from foreign countries are admitted only for September entrance. Admitted and enrolling transfer students are required to complete at least three terms at MIT in order to earn a degree.
Applicants must submit the following documents:
Applicants will be informed of decisions six to eight weeks after the application deadlines. In some cases, action may be deferred until final grades are available.
Information on financial aid is included with final application forms.
Students admitted by transfer may receive credit for subjects of study completed elsewhere (with a grade of C or higher) that are substantially equivalent to corresponding Institute subjects.
The Institute can accept a limited number of undergraduates who wish to undertake special studies and who are not degree candidates at MIT, but who have had at least one year of study at another college or university. The students enroll as special students; they enjoy most of the privileges of the regular student but are not eligible for campus housing or financial assistance from MIT. Students wishing to apply for special student status should discuss eligibility with a member of the Admissions staff.
Special student status is granted for one term only, and a new application for this status is required for any successive terms. Admission as a special student does not carry any implication for other applications. Applicants must present academic credentials of high quality or evidence of professional experience relevant to the proposed program. Admission is subject to available places in the classroom or laboratory.
The Admissions Office will supply application forms upon request. There is an application fee of $70. The fee will cover two sequential terms. A new application is required for each subsequent term.
Deadlines for filing applications are August 1 for fall term, January 1 for spring term, and May 1 for summer term. Deadlines for international student applicants are June 1 for fall term, November 1 for spring term, and March 1 for summer term. International students living abroad are not permitted to apply for the summer term.