In reviewing MIT’s numbers, it seems that they receive approx. 70% applications from men and about 30% from women. They accept about 51% male versus 49% female. Thus the odds seem to be better for female students versus male students. Based on this year’s early acceptance of 707 students out of 9,600 applicants, that means if they accepted based on the same ratio of 51-49 that there will be very few spots left for male students to compete in the next round among more male applicant pool.
Last year they accepted approx. 1464 students. If we subtract 707 (EA accepted students) from that number that means they will accept approx. 757 students in the next round. Factoring 51/49 percent - that leaves approx 383 spots for male students. They deferred 6,182 students this year and based on last year they will likely receive an additional 12,135 in the next round (approx. total of 18,317 applicants). Accordingly, based on the 70/30 men to women applicant ratio there will be approx. 12,639 male students competing for 383 spots which is daunting. It’s equally daunting for the girls with approx. 5,678 competing for approx. 374 spots. Bottomline the next round is going to be brutal which is very difficult for our sons and daughters trying to get to their dream school. I wish you all the best of luck and for those who got accepted congratulations and I wish you continued success.
This is by no means intended to start a discussion on gender but rather in searching for clues on the probability for my kid’s deferral, I noticed that MIT gets a lot more applicants from guys which makes the odds even more difficult.
I was just not aware of the significant odds based on the numbers especially now that there are so few spots left after the first round. MIT states in their website that the odds are the same in either round but if you do the numbers, it is very challenging once you factor deferrals and number of male applicants in the next round of 12,639. The odds for a male student to get accepted in the next round is about 3%.
Seems like the conversation is intended to focus on gender. MIT outcomes suggest their algorithm works. I’ve never seen any data suggesting a differential outcome related to gender. Seems like they select a strong pool of males and females.
Total first-time, first-year (freshman) men who applied 13,993
Total first-time, first-year (freshman) women who applied 6,254
Agreed - I believe that most applicants that apply to MIT are very strong and much like most selective schools, MIT can build multiple strong freshman classes of males and females based on the sheer number of qualified students that apply.
Believe it or not, I had a similar discussion with MIT admissions while I visited with my daughter. They stated that although there are fewer female applicants, overall female pool is much more competitive due to being self-selective and the test scores/other credentials on average are higher. And second thing they did mention was that is not a probability based algorithm to calculate the odds, but more about what the applicant brings to MIT community over and beyond high academics, which is given.
Take it as you wish, but yes, the regular round is brutal no matter which top school you look at.
Odds aren’t what gets an admit. For one of the tippy top schools, you need to understand more than that. If MIT is on your child’s list, I hope you’re reading what they say they like and look for. You can count on next to no underqualified kids getting in. And qualified is one big ladder to climb.
Agreed - it’s not odds that gets admits. MIT was my dream school however!!! My son liked it but was not 100% in love with it. I was bummed however that he got deferred and was trying to understand the metrics and such. He will be withdrawing his application as he decided to accept an offer with his dream school. Good luck to all as I believe MIT is a great school and I am already pushing my younger son to start preparing for it from now!!!
Pushing your son to prepare for MIT goes against everything MIT is about-and everything it says it is about in their admission’s material. Further, MIT is a great school for those for whom the fit is ideal. But there can’t be a worse place on the planet unless the fit is there. If you are pushing your son now, the fit won’t be there. Further, MIT’s admissions staff are just about the best you’ll find anywhere. They know when the fit is there.
MIT is extremely demanding and rigorous and you need to love it in order to do well in it as it is very taxing. I agree it is very hard to do well in something unless you love it and you are dedicated to it. I think the school prepares you very well by challenging you and it is not for everyone. I hope my younger son will grow to love it, if not he will most likely find a school of his dream and go there like my older son just did! As a dad I have learned that I can only encourage - the rest is up to the kids!!!
Total first-time, first-year (freshman) men who applied 13,993 Accepted 734 - approx. 5%
Total first-time, first-year (freshman) women who applied 6,254 Accepted 718- approx. 11%
TOTAL accepted 20,247 Accepted 1452 - approx.7%
I encouraged my D to apply to a college I regretted not applying to. And I knew her match. When she was rejected, she was elated not to need to make a decision. Another college was her clear #1. This is their lives, not ours to re-live.
Some advice: don’t get swirled into stats on the CDS or other. Lots of posters will play that game with you. But the decisions are made based on the full match, with qualitative distinguishing among so many perfect stats kids. Depth and breadth, impact, interesting, and more. Then, geo diversity and other instutional needs you can barely anticipate.
What you speak of is very true. It’s hard to not get affected by the stats and trying to understand the reasoning behind a process that is very opaque. As much as I would have loved for my son to go to MIT, I was unbelievably ecstatic when my son got accepted to the school that he loved.
Hi @NCKris: Yes as long as it long as it is not single choice. That is exactly what my son did - he applied ED to his dream school and applied EA to MIT. This is from their website:
"Early Action is an option for all applicants, domestic and international. Our Early Action isn’t single-choice, binding, or anything like that. If you choose to apply to MIT during Early Action, we do not place any limits on where else you may apply, nor do we require you to attend if admitted (though we sure hope you do!).
However, if you apply to another school during Early Action that does have a restriction, MIT requires that you respect those rules. So for example, if you apply to another school that is “single choice”— meaning that you can only apply there during the early period—you may not simultaneously apply to MIT, and if you’re admitted somewhere “binding,” then even if we admit you, you must go there instead. So choose wisely!"
Yes - we always knew that if he got accepted into both, we must honor the agreement that we signed/agreed to. However, in researching different sites, it seemed like you can withdraw your ED application IF you do it before a decision is rendered. We had many discussions on if my son would do that if MIT released their results prior to the ED school. In the end the decision was made for us in that he received the ED decision before MIT released their results. We were very very happy. He got deferred with MIT 2 days later!
