Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Highly intelligent, focused, wanting to solve the world’s problems, passionate about STEM, quirky. These are the select students who encompass MIT and are working to build a better tomorrow. Please know that they do not come off as arrogant. On the contrary, MIT admissions isn’t there to boast about who they are and to tell you that they are one of the most difficult universities to get into (Even though they are) but just to share with you who they are so you can see if you will be a good fit with their community. A special place, intense and adventurous, looking for the unicorn solution to a problem that we all need solved, may it be small, as in a latte dispenser, or large, as in improving the lives of many.
• Private
• Undergraduate enrollment – 4,547
• Admit rate – 7%
• Financial Aid forms required – FAFSA, CSS Profile
• Retention rate – 99%
• Mid 50% SAT/ACT range – 720-800/33-35
• Student to faculty ratio – 3:1
• Adjectives: Unconventional, imaginative, welcoming
• Founded in mid 1800’s, during the industrial revolution, by engineers and scientists
• Learn by doing
• Fast paced – What you learn in an entire year in an AP class you learn in 3 weeks at MIT
• Believe in the value of liberal arts – 100% of students take classes in the humanities and the arts
• All students have access to research – Is available beginning freshman year
• All faculty are doing research
• When applying do not apply to a particular school or program
• All students will take a STEM curriculum
• During month between fall and spring semesters – Independent Activities Period, take a class, participate in an internship
• MISTI – MIT’s version of study abroad
• Most students change their major during their freshman and sophomore years
• Faculty will challenge and push you
• Know that most students will fail at some point
• Grading Policy that works with the students – If you earn an A B or C in a class your first year you get a ‘P’. If you don’t earn at least a C it will not show up on your transcript. Second year all courses and grades appear
• Want to teach learning how to learn, how to ask questions
• Encourage students to do homework with others, learn how to work collaboratively
• $88k Average starting salary (54%), 37% attend grad school
• Entrepreneurship is very big at MIT
• Sandbox – Venue to fund startups
• 50% identify as a minority group
• 70% of students receive some level of financial aid
• Div III athletics
• Over 500 clubs and organizations
• Read applications need blind, not on your family’s ability to pay
• Meet 100% of need, no merit scholarships
• MIT proprietary application
• Alum Interview highly recommended
• Want to know what you do for fun, what you pursue outside the academic realm
• 2 letters of recommendation required – Math/Science and humanities
• Require 2 subject tests, Math I or 2 and a science
