I’ve heard several people say that 50% or 75% or some other percent of applicants are academically qualified for MIT. What exactly does that mean? What is “academically qualified” for MIT?
And what do you think would matter more for MIT? Scores or grades?
It means they graduated from high school.
Scores, grades, essays, EC’s etc all matter.
Hey guys, if you could give me some numbers that could work? Like for example, let’s say that the minimum SAT math score would be a 650. What about other things like class rigor, GPA, rank, ACT scores, SAT II tests? Can someone tell me a rough estimate for what they think the threshold is to be academically qualified.
There are very few students at MIT with a 650 math SAT. Looking at their CDS, only about 5% score less than 700. The middle 50% of students scored between 750-800, which means the entire top quarter had a perfect score in math, and part of the mid 50 did as well
“Academically qualified” means the applicant has the ability to get through the undergrad program, i.e., not fail out. Anyone who can’t score above 700 in the math section is at risk of not being able to graduate. Thresholds can be roughly assumed to be 7_ _ on each section of the SAT and 3_ on the ACT. Scores and grades are equally important because they validate each other.
Good grades in Hard Math and Science courses. 1460+ SAT score (new sat), 32+ ACT score.
The academic profile is used to see if you can handle the workload. If you can, then they move on to the more important parts of the application.
Also important in being considered academically qualified for MIT is success in a rigorous high school program heavy in STEM courses. Mostly As in lots of AP (or similarly rigorous) courses, at least one year of calculus in high school, etc. As said above, academically qualified for MIT means that the students are prepared for the rigorous program at MIT.
I heard someone say that if you have perfect scores or near perfect (like a 790) on your standardized test, with your subject tests being also 800’s or really close, you could get away with potentially having like a B in AP Chem, or something of the like.
Did you guys hear anything like this?
“The middle 50% of students scored between 750-800,”
They appeared to have slipped. In the 1970’s I heard that the median Math score at MIT was 800 (students I met there seemed to bear this out). Stats that are posted now on MIT’s own web site make it clear that the median is below 800 now, probably 780 or so. Regardless, you should have a math SAT score of at least 750 to expect to get in without a “hook”.
“you could get away with potentially having like a B in AP Chem, or something of the like.”
I thought it was more like “you could get away with having only an A in chemistry”. MIT has a lot of incoming students with a lot of A+ grades in math and sciences.
“what do you think would matter more for MIT? Scores or grades?”
If you want to be a competitive long distance runner then which leg is more important, your right leg or your left leg?
I think that if you have a lot of A+'s and a few A’s in math and sciences, and mostly A’s everywhere else with a few B’s, and multiple APs, and well over 750 on the math SAT and science SAT 2’s, and over 700 in English SAT, then you are pretty much in the middle of the range of students that they admit. If you have a “hook” then you might get in with lower stats, but don’t expect the professors to go easy on you. MIT is one of the most stressful universities in the country.
You would have to see the exact context of what they said, but I suspect the point is that out of 20,000± applicants, 10,000-15,000 have the academic chops for MIT to fill less than 1500 spots, making the school a statistical reach even for applicants with perfect to near perfect grades, test scores and decent subjectives (essays, LoR’s, EC’s). You can check the CDS for the ranges of tests scores, but in short, Math probably needs to be in high 700’s and ERW low 700’s (33+ composite ACT, 34+ Math 33+ Eng) to be in the running unless the candidate is really spikey in something. A B here and there is not going to disqualify you, but you need to be at the top of your class (prob inside the top 5%).
I go to a school where the average unweighted gpa is a 3.3, and I have yet to meet a single person who, while talking the most rigorous course at my school, has gotten a 4.0 (there are 1000 kids per grade at my school). Our schools doesn’t have things like Extra Credit, and it’s expected that the average class grade should be a B. As such, my school is more harsh when it comes to grades, so my Transcript does have a decent amount of B’s on it, regardless of the fact that I am in the top 10% of my class, although we don’t release rank. My scores, on the other hand, are top. 36 on the ACT, ect. I’m hoping that the admissions officers will be able to understand the difficulty of my school, and that they would be more forgiving of the B’s in the context of my environment.
That’s why I’m asking about the importance of grades vs scores. My scores prove that I am qualified, but if you didn’t understand the rigor of my high school, my grades look rather sad.
@ConcernedRabbit From what you have said, it sounds like MIT is probably not the school for you.
I also went to a high school where the average grades in maths and sciences was a B or less. That didn’t stop a few students from having all A+'s. However, most years no one went to MIT or equivalent from our school.
There are about 3,500,000 high school seniors in the US. There are something like 26,400 high schools. About 1,000 students will start at MIT next year. Being the #1 student in your high school does not make you academically qualified for MIT. Being the #1 student in a small state or #10 in NY or CA might make you academically qualified for MIT.
You are doing very well. There are a lot of very good schools where you would be a good fit. MIT is probably not one of them.
@ConcernedRabbit The AO’s do have profiles of individual schools and as long as you are top 10% at your school you are competitive. That is why you see the spread on GPA’s for accepted students being fairly wide.
OP, go for it! Give MIT your best shot, but do so while exploring plenty of other schools at the same time
OP, does your school use Naviance? If so, you can see on the scattergrams where you fit into the acceptance history for MIT. I’d guess that top 10% in a class of 1000 probably isn’t good enough on its own for admission, regardless of the difficulty in grading at your school, but the Naviance data will give you a much better idea. Does your school typically send a lot of students to MIT? If so, how does the acceptance rate compare to MIT’s overall published acceptance rate? If you don’t have access to Naviance, your guidance counselor should have that information.
Bottom line, MIT is a reach for anyone. The school has so many qualified applicants that it must turn away THOUSANDS of students who have perfect or near-perfect GPA and test scores, in the top 5% of their classes, taking the most rigorous courses available to them throughout their whole time in high school, with lots of ECs and awards, etc. That’s your competition to get into MIT. Absolutely apply if you want to, but please temper your expectations and make sure you find matches and safeties to apply to as well,
Is rank a factor in determining whether an applicant is academically qualified for MIT? If that is the case, how much weightage does it have? Could a relatively bad rank (top 13%) be compensated for by high SAT scores and, in some cases, GPA?
Rank is relative. Top 13% from a feeder school is ok. Top 13% from an average school would make me wonder why you didn’t do better. If your rank were dragged down by humanities classes, that won’t kill your chances. If dragged down by math and science classes, that’s a tougher situation which can’t be compensated by strong SAT and GPA.
In that case, I wonder why only 2% of MIT admits had a rank greater than 10% : http://web.mit.edu/ir/cds/2016/c.html . That statistic makes me wonder if rank might be a factor in deciding whether an applicant is academically qualified or not.