First-year applicants: Deadlines & requirements

The first-year application is open in the MIT application portal.

First-year application requirements

The MIT application portal is where you’ll manage all required components of your application:

• MIT First-Year application form: The form includes sections for biographical and personal information, essays, activities, and academics, recommendations, and test scores.
• Secondary School Report (SSR) with transcript: We require transcripts from each high school and college attended. You can request the SSR, official transcript, and other materials from your school counselor/official through the application.
• Letters of recommendation: We require two letters of recommendation from teachers, which you can request through the application. We recommend one letter from a math or science teacher, and one from a humanities, social science, or language teacher.
• Standardized tests: We require the SAT or ACT. Applicants must take required tests before November 30 for EA, and before December 31 for RA.
  • English proficiency exams are strongly recommended for certain non-native English speakers. RA applicants must take any English proficiency tests before January 31.
• Application fee of $75 (or fee waiver)

Have supplemental materials? Creative portfolios in SlideRoom are available for researchers, performing artists, visual artists, and makers to submit optional supplemental materials by the corresponding application cycle deadline. Creative portfolios are truly optional, and should only be submitted if they feature work that is both significant to you and relevant to your MIT application.

Once you have submitted your application, you may be contacted for an interview by one of MIT’s Educational Counselors (ECs) if there’s one available. If MIT is unable to offer you an interview with an EC, your interview will be waived and your application will not be adversely affected.

After submitting your application, the portal is also where you can manage your recommenders, update test scores, submit the February Updates & Notes (FUN) Form if applicable, and see your admission decision.

Please note: You’re only allowed to apply once per entry year in either the Early Action (EA) or the Regular Action (RA) cycle.

Deadlines

Early Action (EA) applications are due November 1 and admission decisions are released in mid-December.

Regular Action (RA) applications are due January 4 and admission decisions are released in mid-March.

Financial aid applications are managed separately from admissions applications, and are due November 30 for EA applicants and February 15 for RA applicants.

* Please note: You should add your recommenders and submit your application by the deadline; you don’t have to wait for your recommenders to submit their materials first. We ask recommenders to submit by the deadline as well, but materials that arrive later are still accepted and attached to your application.