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Admissions & selectivity

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# Massachusetts Institute of Technology Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/massachusetts-institute-of-technology/)[Cost & aid](/school/massachusetts-institute-of-technology/cost/)[Outcomes](/school/massachusetts-institute-of-technology/outcomes/)Admissions[Majors](/school/massachusetts-institute-of-technology/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/massachusetts-institute-of-technology/similar/)

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## What is the acceptance rate at MIT?

MIT’s reported acceptance rate is 4.5%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
4.5%

Source: College Scorecard · Fall 2024 admissions. Acceptance rates can change from year to year; this figure does not predict the current or next admission cycle.

First-year applicants and admitted students · CDS 2025-26

**Applicants**
27,490

**Admitted**
1,270

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Massachusetts Institute of Technology admitted 4.5% of applicants, a figure far below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 27,490 applicants, 1,270 admitted, and 1,096 enrolled.

## What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled MIT students report?

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that enrolled first-year students who submitted SAT scores landed between 1520 and 1570. 83% of the entering class submitted SAT scores.

For the 31% who submitted ACT scores, the middle half ranged from 34 to 35. Among enrolled first-year students with a reported high-school class rank, 97% finished in the top tenth.

31% of the entering class reported a rank. Prospective students can weigh their scores against the university's 1520 to 1570 SAT range.

The ACT range for enrolled students who submitted scores is 34 to 35. Those ranges describe enrolled students who submitted scores, not minimums for admission.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at MIT. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.

**83% of entering students submitted SAT scores**

SAT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
1520

**Median**
1550

**75th percentile**
1570

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

**31% of entering students submitted ACT scores**

ACT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
34

**Median**
35

**75th percentile**
35

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.

## Who enrolls at MIT?

**Pell Grant recipients**
19.3%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
2.5%

**First-year retention**
99.1%

Retention source: College Scorecard; full-time first-year retention.

About these student measures

The entering-student group includes part-time entrants as well as other attendance patterns.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology enrolls 4,535 undergraduates, with 19.3% receiving Pell Grants and an estimated 2.5% entering as transfers or part-time students. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 27,490 first-year applicants, 1,270 admitted, and 1,096 enrolled.

The transfer path is narrow: among 1,713 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 35 were admitted and 31 enrolled. The undergraduate body is built almost entirely through the first-year process, with very few students arriving from other institutions.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology retains 99.1% of its first-year students, well above the peer median of 83.4% for comparable institutions. Its [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) for the first-time full-time cohort is 96.4%, compared with a peer median of 68.8%.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported a six-year graduation rate of 96.0% for the first-time, full-time fall 2019 entering class. For Pell Grant recipients in that same cohort, the rate was 91.0%.

Enrolled students can expect an environment where nearly everyone returns for a second year and the vast majority finish within six years. The graduation rate for Pell recipients is high, though it trails the overall figure.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Admission rates describe past applicants, not an individual’s chance of admission; confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. [About College Azimuth](/about/).