Every year (MIT university) Massachusetts Institute of Technology receives over 28,000 applications. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is very picky about who they let in. Only 5 out of every 100 people who apply to Massachusetts Institute of Technology are offered a spot.
Most guides would just give you this information and stop.. Not this guide to Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The information in this guide to Massachusetts Institute of Technology comes from sources. These sources include Massachusetts Institute of Technology Facts 2026 Common Data Set for 2025-26 and the Research Enterprise Analysis that was published in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Faculty Newsletter in January 2025. We did not get any information from advertisements or from searching on Google. We just want to give you the facts and the numbers that back them up. If you are a student, from another country and you are thinking about applying to Massachusetts Institute of Technology you should really read this guide to Massachusetts Institute of Technology before you do.
| Quick Facts | Details |
| Full Name | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts (not Boston, not Chicago) |
| Founded | April 10, 1861 |
| Type | Private research university |
| President | Sally Kornbluth (since 2023) |
| Campus | 168 acres · midsize city |
| Total Students (Fall 2025) | 11,816 |
| Acceptance Rate | 4.5% — Class of 2028 |
| Endowment (FY 2025) | $27.4 billion |
| SAT Range (2023–24) | R&W 740–780 · Math 780–800 |
| Motto | Mens et Manus — “Mind and Hand” |
| Colors | Cardinal red and steel gray |
| Mascot | Tim the Beaver |
| Address | 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139 |
Where Is MIT Located — City, State, and Country
The location of MIT is at 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, in the USA, not Boston nor Chicago. Cambridge is a city on its own, located just across the river from Boston, and all of MIT’s campus and administrative staff are found within that city.
It is common to hear people say “MIT Boston” because the distance between the two cities is short, and it is easy for students to travel back and forth between them. However, in terms of visas and housing, etc., MIT is situated in Cambridge, and there is no such thing as an MIT campus in Chicago.
MIT is a privately funded university, which means that it does not receive money from the state but only operates based on tuition fees and research funds, among others.
The Story Behind MIT — Why It Was Built the Way It Was
MIT started in 1861 by William Barton Rogers. He was a scientist who saw that American universities weren’t working with the growing economy. Back in the 1850s US education was mostly about subjects like Latin, Greek and philosophy.
* Rogers thought this was a problem that would cost the country later.
He wanted a school that focused on science and tech not old subjects. He believed learning and research should work together.
He said students should solve problems, not just talk about ideas.
Rogers got a charter for MIT on April 10 1861.
The first students started four years later.
* The first woman student came to MIT in 1871.
This was a step for a tech school back then.
The schools motto is “Mens et Manus” or “Mind and Hand.”
Rogers chose this because he didn’t want a school that just thought about ideas without building things. He wanted both and MIT still does today. This is still important to MIT, in 2026.
MIT University Ranking 2025–2026
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology or MIT has been at the top of the QS World University Rankings for thirteen years now.. If we look at the US News & World Report ranking of American universities MIT is in the second position. When we consider the rankings of subjects MIT is in the top ten for Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics all around the world.
However the ranking of MIT is not the thing that matters when it comes to deciding if MIT is the right place for you. What is more important is to know what MIT has to offer in terms of infrastructure. The ranking number alone does not tell us much about this.
The QS World University Rankings use six indicators to evaluate universities, including reputation, employer reputation, faculty-to-student ratio, citations per faculty international faculty ratio and international student ratio. MIT does well in all of these areas especially when it comes to reputation. This is because MIT is considered one of the institutions in the world by academics and researchers.
MIT has a lot of resources that help it maintain its reputation. For example the MIT Faculty Newsletter reported that the university spends to $900 million per year on research. The university’s endowment is also very large at $27.4 billion, which’s up from $24.6 billion the previous year. This endowment is used to fund aid, research infrastructure and faculty recruitment and it helps to make sure the university is stable, in the long term. The endowment is not a minor detail it is what makes everything else possible at MIT. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology uses its endowment to make sure it can keep doing what it does best. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is able to maintain its ranking because of its endowment.
“With an acceptance rate below 5%, getting into MIT is extremely competitive. But with the right preparation, strategy, and real-world skills, it’s absolutely achievable. We’re here to help you bridge that gap.” — Shahzaib Khan, Founder & Education Researcher, Learnistiq.com
MIT University Admissions — The Numbers and What They Mean
MIT received a total of 28,232 applicants for the Class of 2028 and accepted 1,284 students. That translates into a 4.5% acceptance rate, taken directly from MIT Facts 2025.
The more interesting question is what criteria MIT actually uses to evaluate the 28,232 applications it receives. According to the Common Data Set for MIT’s 2024–25 admission cycle, the following criteria are considered of utmost importance: rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, standardized test scores, writing supplement, letters of recommendation, interview, extracurricular activities, talent and ability, and personal qualities. Not one of these categories is described as only being “considered” – each is marked as “important”.
In other words, having perfect grades and perfect SAT scores and showing zero interest in intellectual pursuits outside of classes will not get you admitted to MIT. The admissions office tries to find students who will add value to the culture of serious scientific research at MIT. Academic results are proof of academic prowess; however, they are not enough by themselves to be sufficient grounds for acceptance.
The SAT range for the 2023–24 entering class was 740–780 for the Reading and Writing section and 780–800 for the Math section.
The enrolled student body as of 2024–25 stands at 4,535 undergraduates and 7,351 graduate students, for a total of 11,886. The student-to-faculty ratio is 3 to 1, based on 1,090 faculty. For a student thinking about what access to faculty actually looks like day to day — that ratio is real, not a marketing figure.
MIT University Scholarship and Financial Aid
The total cost to go to MIT for the 2024-2025 school year is $85,960 without any help. For a student from Pakistan or any other country except the United States this price usually means they cannot afford it.. That is not true.
MIT does not care about how money a students family has when they decide who gets in. This means that the family’s money situation does not matter when MIT is choosing students. The people who decide who gets in and the people who give out aid do their jobs separately.
Here are the numbers that really matter: the average scholarship that students got from MIT in 2023-2024 was $66,663. Fifty eight percent of students got help based on their needs. Thirty nine percent got scholarship money to pay for the entire tuition.. Eighty seven percent of the students who graduated in 2024 did not owe any money on student loans.
Since 2023 MIT pays the tuition for students from families who make less than $140,000 per year and have average savings.. Since 2025 families who make less than $75,000 do not have to pay anything.
For families who qualify MIT is actually affordable after they get aid. Sometimes it is even more affordable than schools that cost less. The hard part is getting into MIT. Once you are in the cost is a lot more manageable, than the $85,960 it says.
MIT University Courses — What You Can Study
There are currently 57 undergraduate majors and 59 minors offered in MIT spread across five schools and one college. It should be noted that the scope of academics in MIT is broader than many international students can think of.
The most popular undergraduate courses for international candidates are Computer Science and Engineering (6-3), Electrical Engineering (6-2), Physics (Course 8), Mathematics (18), and Management Science from Sloan School of Management (15). The course numbering system is used in MIT; while other institutions use the term department, MIT calls each field of studies course, which is why current students name their fields of study according to their numbers.
The most popular courses of graduate programs applied to from abroad by the highest volumes include MBA and Master of Finance at Sloan School of Management, Master of Science and PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from the Schwarzman College of Computing, Mechanical Engineering, Biological Engineering, and Physics.
The table below shows the six schools at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and how many faculty members in each school based on numbers from October 2024. The School of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has the faculty members with 391. The School of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology covers a lot of areas like Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. It also includes Civil and Environmental Engineering, Materials Science and Aeronautics and Astronautics.
The School of Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has 295 faculty members. The School of Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology includes areas such as Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Earth and Planetary Sciences.
The Schwarzman College of Computing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was founded in 2019. Has 142 faculty members. Most of the faculty members at the Schwarzman College of Computing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology 139 to be exact are also part of the School of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Schwarzman College of Computing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is leading the way at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when it comes to intelligence and computing.
The Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has 118 faculty members. The School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has 186 faculty members. The School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has Departments of Economics and Political Science that have produced Nobel Prize winners. The School of Architecture and Planning, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has 83 faculty members. Includes the well known Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab.
One thing that makes Massachusetts Institute of Technology special is that the university requires all students to take courses in humanities and social sciences no matter what their major is. Massachusetts Institute of Technology wants its students to have a rounded education.
Research Output and Nobel Recognition
The National Institutes of Health was the source of research money for Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2024. It gave Massachusetts Institute of Technology 20.8 percent of the money Massachusetts Institute of Technology gets from outside for research. The Department of Energy gave Massachusetts Institute of Technology another 10.6 percent. Together these two government groups give Massachusetts Institute of Technology a third of the money it gets from outside for research.
What is really important is that this outside money only covers a more than half of what Massachusetts Institute of Technology needs to keep its research going. Massachusetts Institute of Technology pays for the rest of it itself. This money pays for things like research time for teachers that is not covered by grants, money for students keeping the facilities in good shape and any extra costs that are not covered. This way of sharing the cost is very important because it helps Massachusetts Institute of Technologys research survive when the government puts pressure on the money it gives. This happened in 2025 when Massachusetts Institute of Technology went to court over the National Institutes of Health and Department of Energy trying to limit the money they give.
The numbers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that in January 2025 there were 105 people connected to Massachusetts Institute of Technology who had won a Nobel Prize.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has other famous people too. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Facts 2025 says there are 64 people who won the National Medal of Science 35 people who won the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and 84 MacArthur Fellows who are all connected, to Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
What MIT Does Not Advertise
The workload at MIT is really heavy all the time. It does not matter which department you are in or what year you are in. The 4-1-4 academic calendar is very fast. This calendar has two semesters that’re four months long. There is a break in January called the Independent Activities Period. The amount of work given to students in every program is a lot. Students who do well at MIT like to learn and be challenged for a time. They like to figure out problems. Students who need to take breaks from school work because it is hard tend to have a tough time keeping up.
The cost of living in Cambridge is very high. It is one of the expensive places to live in the United States. Even students who get help paying for school and a place to live spend a lot of money on things. The cost of going to MIT is $85,960. This includes money for things.. People spend money in different ways.
MIT is trying to help students with their health. They have been working on this for the ten years. This is because students have had problems in the past. MIT has things, like Student Support Services and the MIT Mental Health and Counseling center to help students. These are things that can help. It is good to know about them before you start school.
The Honest Bottom Line
MIT is really one of the important research schools ever. It has 105 Nobel connections, a $27.4 billion fund and spends $900 million on research each year. It also has a low student-to-teacher ratio of 3 to 1. All these things happened because MIT has invested in itself for 160 years.
It’s super hard to get into MIT. 4.5 Percent of people who apply get in. This means that for every student who gets accepted than 20 people who applied don’t get in. The question you should ask is not if MIT is amazing. It definitely is.. If its the right place for you to learn and do your best work.
The students who do well at MIT aren’t the ones with the best grades. They’re the ones who really want to solve problems, who are okay with not knowing everything, who can work well with others under pressure and who are curious enough to look for answers that their teachers won’t give them.
Frequently Asked Questions
I want to know what the acceptance rate is for MIT in 2026?
. MIT accepted 1,284 students out of 28,232 applicants for the Class of 2028. This means the acceptance rate is 4.5 percent. I found this information in MIT Facts 2025, which was published in January 2025.
I also want to know where MIT is located?
MIT is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is not in Boston. It is not in Chicago. The campus is at 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 which’s right across the Charles River from Boston.
What country is MIT in?
MIT is in the United States. MIT is a research university and it does not have any campuses outside of the US.
Some people get confused about whether MIT’s in Boston or Cambridge?
Mit is actually in Cambridge. The two cities are next to each other. They are separated by the Charles River. This is why people often get confused. However MITs address, operations and degree programs are all in Cambridge not in Boston.
I was wondering if MIT offers scholarships to students?
Yes it does. MIT has a need- policy that covers all undergraduates, including international students. In 2023-2024 the median need-based scholarship was $66,663. If a family earns than $75,000 per year they do not have to pay anything since 2025.
MIT offers a lot of courses?
There are 57 undergraduate majors and 59 minors. Some of the popular ones are Computer Science and Engineering Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics and Sloan Management. MIT also has graduate programs in Engineering, Computing, Sciences, Architecture, Humanities and the Sloan MBA.
To get into MIT you need to have SAT scores.
For the students who were accepted in 2023-2024 the SAT scores ranged from 740 to 780 for Reading and Writing and from 780 to 800 for Math. However MIT does not have a minimum cutoff. It considers many factors when accepting students.
