The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is an exceptional university, and an iconic school for students looking to go into the STEM fields. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT is also located in a hotbed of academic excellence, rubbing shoulders (and crossing paths) with Harvard. The overall acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was a mere . Students who attend MIT are best known for launching careers in technology, engineering, mathematics, and the sciences, and an MIT degree is recognized as a spot in the fast lane to professional success.
When students are looking at MIT, they often want to know whether having a parent or close relative who attended MIT previously could assist with their chances of admission. Offering a preference or boost to legacy candidates is, after all, pretty standard at top school in the US. However, MIT does not subscribe to this norm.
MIT is very clear. They do not practice legacy admissions. This has been their policy for a long time — — and they have no intention of switching things up. Way back in 2012, the admissions office clearly laid out on legacy. In admissions blog posts, interviews, and on-the-record conversations, they have ripped apart the whole idea of legacy admissions as a privilege for the privileged that most benefits the fundraising team at any respective school.
In this post, we’re going to dig into what, precisely, is going on with legacy at MIT and how to pull together your strongest possible application if you are a legacy applicant.
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First, does MIT really not care if you are a legacy?
Legacy at MIT
Legacy admissions policies have been following the Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action. The number of colleges that use legacy admissions, giving children and close relatives of alumni preference in admissions, is dropping. However, legacy preference is still the norm in the world of elite colleges like MIT. MIT, though, refuses to follow trends that they don’t believe in.
“It is indeed unusual for a school like MIT,” , “to have no preference for legacies. But one of the things that makes MIT special is the fact that it is meritocratic to its cultural core…There is only one way into (and out of) MIT, and that’s the hard way.”
This is a strong statement, and MIT doesn’t just talk the talk. They follow through on what they believe, refusing to take legacy into account in admissions.
While MIT did mistakenly include “alumni/ae relations” as something that was “considered” in the Common Data Set from 2004-2008, that they do not know how this error was introduced. It was not representative of reality over those years, they say, and it’s most certainly not the case since.
Today, MIT even to criticize the way legacy admissions is used by schools of an equal caliber — including peer institutions.
What Should You Do?
When it comes to MIT, legacy doesn’t help applicants. So, what is a legacy applicant to do? Well, first, be awesome. But there is more than that, too. We break it down below.
For the Family Member: Typically, this is where we advise the family member with a degree from the institution to be involved, get engaged with the alumni office, and, ideally, donate. For MIT, you can do all of those things — but don’t do them thinking your kid will get an advantage. They won’t. Trying to make it known to alumni relations or admissions that you have a kid applying may even backfire, so the best advice is to back off.
For the Applicant:
Grades and Scores: If you are applying to MIT, it is assumed that your grades and scores are sterling. There are so many extremely qualified applicants, that there really isn’t anywhere in the first-year class for a student who hasn’t performed at an exceptional level for a long time.
SAT or ACT scores, too, need to be perfect, or nearly perfect. Literally. We are talking about a 1580-1600 SAT or a 35-36 ACT, and only a smidge below that could rule an applicant out for MIT admission. While there are no cut-offs, to be fair, MIT receives so many applications with such exceptional scores that they don’t have to accept anyone who doesn’t deliver on the standardized test front.
Essays
When it comes to essays, it can be tempting to slip in a mention of visiting campus with a parent for a reunion or hearing stories about good times at MIT growing up. This is the wrong impulse. Do not mention your legacy connection to MIT in your essays. Mentioning a family connection to MIT is, at best, a waste of space. At worst, it’s like smearing mud on your face. As MIT doesn’t see your background as a benefit, trying to use it in an essay can actually do the exact opposite, suggesting that the applicant is someone who expects preferential treatment. This is not a good look, and may cause MIT to question other aspects of your application and the strength of your candidacy overall.
Extracurriculars
Legacy or no, how an applicant spends their time outside of class matters. our students to build dynamic and exciting activities lists that are true to who they are, deepening into their passions while highlighting key attributes like leadership, mentorship, community-mindedness, and a penchant for teamwork. We advise students to pick one or two passions to focus on with intensity for an MIT application, rather than trying to do a bit of many things and reducing the impact of each.
Apply Early
At MIT, the Early Action acceptance rate, is only slightly elevated compared to the overall rate of admission or the regular decision acceptance rate (3.9%), but every percentage point truly does matter. If you want to go to MIT, you need to submit your application early, legacy or no.
Applying to MIT as a legacy is, they say, irrelevant. It doesn’t help, and it doesn’t hurt. However, if you try to use legacy as a reason for admission by mentioning it in essays or pushing for family to advocate for you to admissions, it may actually hurt your chances of getting in. We work with our MIT legacy students to build outstanding applications the hard way — through dedication, excellence, passion, and purpose.
Applying to college is never easy, but if you have your eyes set on MIT you are signing up for a rougher road than most. .