MIT Acceptance Rate: 4.6% for the Class of 2030, Early Action vs Regular Action

Last updated: October 31, 2026

The MIT acceptance rate is about 4.6% for the Class of 2030: MIT admitted 1,299 of 28,349 first-year applicants, according to MIT Admissions' decision announcement on March 14, 2026. The rate was also about 4.6% the year before, when MIT admitted 1,334 of 29,281 students for the Class of 2029. MIT publishes more admissions detail than most colleges, so this guide can go further: Early Action against Regular Action, what happens to deferred students, scores, and what MIT says it looks for.

MIT invites applicants with significant research to send a Research Supplement with a mentor's letter. Give yours real substance. See if you qualify for the STEM Research Program →

MIT acceptance rate for the Class of 2030

MIT Admissions announced these numbers when it released decisions:

Total applicants (Early and Regular Action): 28,349
Admitted: 1,299
Acceptance rate: about 4.6% (our calculation: 1,299 ÷ 28,349)

That is about 1 admit for every 22 applicants. MIT's post says the admitted students "hail from all 50 states, 58 countries, and nearly a thousand different high schools."

MIT announced the count "as of" decision day and also placed some students on its waitlist. The final count can change slightly if MIT admits students from the waitlist. For the Class of 2029, MIT admitted 10 students from the waitlist.

Early Action vs Regular Action at MIT

MIT is open about each round. Here is the Class of 2030 Early Action round, from MIT's December announcement:

Applied Early Action: 11,883
Admitted: 655 (about 5.5%)
Deferred to Regular Action: 7,738
Not admitted: 2,703
Withdrew before a decision: 787

The other 644 admits came in March. They were chosen from the 16,466 Regular Action applicants plus the 7,738 deferred students. MIT has not yet posted its full Class of 2030 statistics page, so the share of March admits who were deferred students is not public yet.

For the Class of 2029, MIT's statistics page gives the full picture:

Early Action: 12,052 applicants, 721 admitted (about 6.0%). 7,486 were deferred, and 175 of those were admitted in March.
Regular Action: 17,229 new applicants. Counting deferred students, MIT considered 24,715 applicants in March and admitted 603 (about 2.4%).
Waitlist: 561 offered a place, 10 admitted.

Does applying Early Action increase your chances at MIT?

The early rate is higher, but MIT says the round itself is not the reason. In its words: "We do not have a preference, and there is no strategic benefit to applying in one vs the other." Early applicants are a self-selected group whose applications are ready by November 1.

Two rules to know:

MIT's Early Action is non-binding and non-restrictive. You can apply early elsewhere, as long as you follow the other school's rules.
You can apply only once per year. Students not admitted in Early Action cannot apply again in Regular Action.

Being deferred is not a no. For the Class of 2029, 175 deferred students were admitted in March. Deferred students are reconsidered "without prejudice," and MIT asks them only for a February Updates and Notes form with midyear grades.

MIT wants "hands-on creativity": students excited to do something about a problem, not just think about it. Run your own research project with a PhD mentor. See if you qualify for the STEM Research Program →

Six years of MIT acceptance rates

The counts below come from MIT's Common Data Sets (section C1) and, for the Class of 2030, MIT's decision announcement. Rates are our calculations:

Class of 2030 (fall 2026): 28,349 applicants, 1,299 admitted, about 4.6%
Class of 2029 (fall 2025): 29,281 applicants, 1,334 admitted, about 4.6%
Class of 2028 (fall 2024): 28,232 applicants, 1,284 admitted, about 4.5%
Class of 2027 (fall 2023): 26,914 applicants, 1,291 admitted, about 4.8%
Class of 2026 (fall 2022): 33,767 applicants, 1,337 admitted, about 4.0%
Class of 2025 (fall 2021): 33,240 applicants, 1,365 admitted, about 4.1%

What stands out:

MIT admits about 1,300 students a year. Admits stayed between 1,284 and 1,365 in all six years.
Applications dropped after the Class of 2026, then leveled off. They fell from 33,767 to 26,914 for the Class of 2027, and have stayed between about 27,000 and 29,300 since.
The last four classes landed between about 4.5% and 4.8%. MIT's rate has been steady for four years.

MIT's pool is also the smallest of the five schools covered here: 29,281 applicants for fall 2025, against 47,893 to 72,544 at Harvard, Stanford, Duke and Penn. Every MIT student takes foundational math and science, and the scores below show how well prepared the pool is.

U.S. and international applicants

MIT's Class of 2029 statistics split the pool by citizenship:

U.S. citizens and permanent residents: 22,355 applied, 1,198 admitted (about 5.4%)
International students: 6,926 applied, 136 admitted (about 2.0%)

International applicants follow the same requirements as everyone else. MIT says it is need-blind and full-need: it does not consider ability to pay in admissions, and it meets 100% of demonstrated financial need.

MIT test scores and class rank

Testing policy. MIT requires the SAT or ACT. It does not require the ACT writing or science sections or the SAT essay. If you test more than once, MIT says it primarily considers your highest score in each section.

Middle 50% scores of admitted students, Class of 2029 (MIT's statistics page):

SAT Math: 780 to 800
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 740 to 780
ACT Composite: 34 to 36
ACT Math: 34 to 36

Middle 50% of enrolled students, fall 2025 (CDS section C9): SAT composite 1520 to 1570, with 83% of enrolled students submitting SAT scores and 31% ACT scores.

Class rank. 97% of enrolled students with a reported rank were in the top tenth of their class. Only 31% of students had a rank to report. MIT does not report a GPA distribution in its CDS.

Look at the math range. Three quarters of admitted students scored 780 or higher on SAT Math. MIT says grades and scores help it understand "your academic preparedness for MIT," because every MIT student takes foundational math and science. Strong math is the price of entry. After that, the match decides.

What MIT looks for

MIT's admissions office says that "while grades and scores are important in understanding your academic preparedness for MIT, it's really the match between the applicant and the Institute that drives our selection process." It lists the parts of that match:

Alignment with MIT's mission. "We're not looking for applicants to have cured all infectious diseases in the world by the time they're 15. Tutoring a single kid in math changes the world."
Collaborative and cooperative spirit. Many problem sets are built for groups.
Initiative. Taking advantage of opportunities around you.
Risk-taking. MIT wants applicants "who are not only planning to succeed but who are also not afraid to fail."
Hands-on creativity. "You shouldn't just enjoy thinking about problems, you should be excited about doing something to help solve them."
Intensity, curiosity and excitement. "We don't expect applicants to do a million things. Choose quality over quantity."
Balance. MIT's essay prompt "Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it" is "not a trick question."
Character. People who take care of each other and the communities they belong to.

MIT's CDS (section C7) backs this up. Character and personal qualities is the one factor MIT rates "very important." Rigor, GPA, test scores, essays, recommendations, the interview, activities and talent are all "important." Alumni relation and your level of interest are "not considered." MIT states plainly: "MIT doesn't consider legacy or alumni relations in our admissions process."

For the full application, essays and deadlines, read how to get into MIT. For a broader view, see what colleges look for.

MIT asks for quality over quantity. One research question, explored deeply with a PhD mentor, gives your application exactly that. See if you qualify for the STEM Research Program →

The MIT Research Supplement

MIT lets students who "have worked on a significant research project outside of high school classes" submit an optional Research Supplement through SlideRoom. It includes:

A research questionnaire reflecting on your experience
An abstract or poster, if you have one
A letter from your research mentor, submitted directly through SlideRoom

MIT asks you to focus on the one project most significant to you. That fits the rest of MIT's advice: depth, initiative and hands-on work. If you are building toward this, see whether research helps college admissions.

How MIT compares with Harvard, Stanford, Duke and Penn

On the same measure, the Common Data Set for fall 2025 (the Class of 2029):

Stanford: about 3.8% (2,302 of 60,646). See the Stanford acceptance rate.
Harvard: about 4.2% (2,003 of 47,893). See the Harvard acceptance rate.
MIT: about 4.6% (1,334 of 29,281)
Penn: about 4.9% (3,570 of 72,544). See the UPenn acceptance rate.
Duke: about 5.2% (2,910 of 55,541). See the Duke acceptance rate.

MIT admits the smallest class of the five, about 1,300 students a year.

MIT's motto means "mind and hand." Show both: ask a real question, then build the work that answers it, guided one-on-one by a PhD mentor. See if you qualify for the STEM Research Program →

Frequently asked questions

What is MIT's acceptance rate? About 4.6% for the Class of 2030. MIT admitted 1,299 of 28,349 applicants.

Does MIT Early Action increase your chances? MIT admitted about 5.5% of Early Action applicants for the Class of 2030, a higher share than in March. But MIT says, "We do not have a preference, and there is no strategic benefit to applying in one vs the other." Apply early if your application is ready by November 1.

Is it difficult to get into MIT? Yes. MIT admits about 1 in 22 applicants. But MIT explains exactly what it looks for, so you can prepare with purpose: strong math and science, real initiative and a few interests you pursue deeply.

What GPA do you need for MIT? MIT publishes no GPA cutoff and reports no GPA distribution in its Common Data Set. It rates GPA and course rigor as "important." 97% of enrolled students with a class rank were in the top tenth of their class.

Is MIT harder to get into than the Ivy League? It depends on the school. On the fall 2025 Common Data Sets, MIT admitted about 4.6%, Harvard about 4.2% and Penn about 4.9%. MIT's pool is smaller and more focused on math and science.

Is MIT free for families earning under $200,000? MIT says that, beginning with 2025–2026, students from families with income under $200,000 and typical assets "typically attend MIT tuition-free." For families under $100,000, parents can expect to pay nothing toward the full cost of attendance. Students still contribute from summer savings and term-time work.

Does MIT consider legacy? No. MIT says it "doesn't consider legacy or alumni relations in our admissions process."

Does MIT require the SAT or ACT? Yes. MIT requires the SAT or ACT and primarily considers your highest score in each section.

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