The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is one of the most respected engineering, science, and technology universities in the world. It is also one of the hardest to get into. For international students considering MIT, we highly recommend pursuing a proven strategy early. Every year we help international students get into outstanding schools, including MIT. In this post, we will give you a look at our playbook. We share three proven steps towards an MIT acceptance, along with some additional tips and tricks for the strongest possible application. First, though, let’s break down some statistics.
MIT loves sharing statistics. They publish a lot of data, and it’s extremely helpful because facts are critical in demystifying the world of college admissions where feelings can take the lead. Afterall, MIT is an iconic school for engineers and STEM-minded students who want to rocket to the top of their chosen field. For the , MIT received 6,717 applications from international students alone. Only 129 were offered a seat. That’s a mere 1.9%. MIT doesn’t give a reason for having an international acceptance rate that is less than half the acceptance rate for U.S. citizens and permanent residents (5.4%), but we can offer some insight.
For one, MIT has wildly high standards for academic preparation. These standards are built around the U.S. educational system. This doesn’t mean that international students aren’t capable of exceling at MIT, but it can be hard for international students to illustrate their preparedness to MIT in a way that is compelling, depending on the school system they are coming from. Keep this in mind when we dig into planning in advance and selecting a program below.
It's important to also remember, though, that a transcript isn’t everything. There are also other things at play, like how MIT doesn’t want to overwhelm their campus with international students. As with other top universities in the United States, international students are spice in the sauce. They provide something crucial on campus and in the classroom, and they’d certainly be missed if they were not there, but they are sprinkled in with moderation. This can sound a bit brutal, but it’s important to remember if an international student wants to get into a top tier school. It’s an uphill battle, even in the best of circumstances.
Next, we’ll break down three key steps to make the hill a little less steep.
Getting into MIT is hard, but we support international students through pulling it off. Learn More.
MIT is full of brilliant, top-performing, and absurdly ambitious students. It’s not surprising, then, that tens of thousands of students apply each year. But only a tiny percentage get in. How do they pull it off? Below, we’ll give you some of the most critical tools.
Step 1: Start Yesterday
If one is applying to MIT as an international student, it is difficult to start too early. This may sound extreme, but we mean it. We aren’t suggesting that students start writing college essays far in advance, or focus their entire life on the idea of getting into college — that’s a recipe for all stress and zero fun — but it is important to start planning long before you start an application. What does starting early look like, then?
First, prospective international applicants want to be on a trajectory towards taking the hardest classes they have access to, and they need to excel in them to boot.
Next, the student needs to be pursuing their interests outside of the classroom such that they end up in leadership positions before it’s time to press submit.
Both of these things take time. Often it takes at least 2-3 years to progress from starting an activity to being in line for a leadership position, and just as long to pursue a challenging course trajectory. Giving oneself time makes this all feasible well before students start essay-writing. It also makes sure that there is room to specifically calibrate what a student is pursuing towards the goal of MIT — which leads up to step 2.
Step 2: Target Specific Programs
MIT may be the goal, but it actually isn’t specific enough. If one wants to get into MIT, they need to have a more focused vision of what they will actually be doing at the university. This is to say, pick a path.
By “path,” we mean a prospective program or major that you can tailor your courses and activities towards. This doesn’t mean that a student needs to have access to courses in Ocean Engineering to target the program at MIT, but they should be looking to take whatever biology, engineering, and earth sciences courses are available. Then, they could supplement these courses with online classes, or courses at a local university that are open to top-performing high school students.
Remember, too, that MIT isn’t only about STEM. They offer nearly every major you’d see at a more standard university, along with their hyper-specific STEM programs. So, if a prospective international applicant’s high school has great courses in political science and government, it may make sense to list either as a secondary interest on an application such that exceling in these classes at school makes the largest possible impact when one presses submit for MIT.
It’s important to remember that, in the vast majority of cases, one will not actually be committed to this path just because they focus on it in their application. That doesn’t diminish, however, the power of targeting a program far in advance of submission.
Step 3: Cultivate Impressive Extracurriculars
One of the weak spots of many MIT applications from international students is the activities section — and it doesn’t just impact that one section. A limited list of experiences outside of the classroom means that one doesn’t have much to write about in the written parts of the application aside from the expected course-based stuff. This is a massive problem for applicants. If an international student wants a chance at getting into MIT, they need to do more than simply excelling in class.
At the same time, we know that international students often have less access to clubs, student organizations, or other extracurriculars than students at American high schools. This is not an excuse, though, it’s an opportunity.
If you don’t have easy access to a club, start one. If there isn’t a student group for spotlighting a deep passion, found it. The same goes for internships and part-time jobs. If it isn’t easy, that’s ok. Do the extra work to build an application that stands out. And there is a reason we emphasized starting early, as doing all of this can take time. That’s ok. Showing long-term commitment is as important as an activity sounding impressive — and often even more important.
It isn’t possible to make getting into MIT easy, but starting early, targeting specific programs, and cultivating an impressive list of activities and extracurriculars makes getting into MIT far easier as an international student. To give yourself an additional leg up, reach out. We can help.
If you are serious about gaining admission to MIT and you are an international student, contact us. We’re pros at just that.