<p>I'm an 18 year old student from Norway, and I'm really interested in applying to MIT when the time comes. As an "international student" I have a few questions. Judging by the MIT admission stats for the past few years, the % admitted of international students is much lower than for local students. I guess this implies that one needs to be an extraordinarily good student in order to be accepted? .. Is the international students admission process much more competitive than the regular admission process? Also, what would you assume a competitive IB Diploma point score should be? Any other helpful information for international student applicants would also be much appreciated!</p>
<p>I know that similar questions have been discussed earlier, but despite this I have not managed to find answers to my questions. I would also like to apologize for my English.. Thanks for your time & help!</p>
<p>I'm not familiar with the IB program, however, as an international student, there is something you should know: There is a quota on international admissions, which is set at about 5% (or 8% of the total admitted class).</p>
<p>This is a byproduct of MIT's "need-blind" and "all needs met" policies. The federal government is reluctant to offer financial aid for people who are not citizens, and especially to those who aren't even permanent residents. Part of financial aid typically comes from the United States government. For international students, MIT has to foot the bill all by itself, as the U.S. government is only interested in helping U.S. students.</p>
<p>Because admissions is need-blind, they have to assume that a certain portion of international students will require financial aid, and they have to realize that the school simply can't afford to pay for more than X international students.</p>
<p>It seems odd at first, and on some level it can seem discriminatory against international students. However, the converse of this is MIT becoming "need-aware" for international students, and that means that your chances will decrease simply because you're poor, not because you're an international student. The quota then in fact serves to equalize the international pool, giving everyone a fair chance regardless of what they can afford.</p>
<p>For more information regarding international admissions, I suggest checking out this</a> post in Matt McGann's blog.</p>