MIT Grad School

So, there seems to be no consolidated reference for this, and I thought I would ask here: so, if MIT is one of the schools I’m aiming for in a PhD., what basic stats should a student maintain? I’m right now studying physics and computer science at UPenn, and I was wondering what sort of GPA and GRE scores would a student have to maintain to be a serious candidate for MIT, as well as any number of other top “tech” schools like Caltech? Any number of sources range from “3.7+ is the only staple” to “3.9+ or bust”, so I think it would be helpful to get all this advice in one place.

Perhaps more important would be what research are you doing as an undergraduate at Penn?

Condensed matter and nanomaterials (like topological insulators), for the purpose of quantum information research and topological quantum computing, for the most part.

@VeckaTmiest I think it depends more on your research experience than it does on GPA alone. Do you work with CURF at all? I would reach out to some of their staff to see if they can either help answer the question or put you in touch with Penn faculty who did their doctorates at MIT.

I’ve also heard that you need a 3.7+ to stay within the elite tier, but again they also care about the quality and potential of your research.

Sounds like you’re doing a dual degree with SAS/SEAS. If you’re doing an engineering PhD, I think the GPA scrutiny is a little more lenient, but MIT still going to have their pick of the litter when it comes to academically strong candidates.

I’ll bring that up when I talk to CURF- I’ve gotten a research peer advisor, and have scheduled an appointment with Dr. Vernon-Gray in order to just look over my options. I’m right now on a promising research project and have more potential contacts I want to reach out to, but it’ll ultimately be a crapshoot in that regard- I’m just hoping I can hit the basic requirements before putting all my chips on to research. Thank you very much!