As you may know, MIT applicants are required to take either the SAT or the ACT. The TOEFL is also strongly recommended if you have been using English for less than five years or do not speak English at home or in school, so that we may consider that alongside the SAT or the ACT.
We know that the availability of these exams has been affected by the pandemic, and we are closely monitoring the situation. Up to this point, we have made no changes to our standardized testing requirements, but if we do, we will update this page and announce it publicly on our homepage and in an email to prospective students.
We require these exams because our research shows that they have meaningful predictive validity in assessing an applicant’s preparedness for MIT’s demanding curriculum. However, our admissions process is not centrally driven by the tests, and you don’t need perfect scores to be admitted, nor will perfect scores get you admitted on their own (you can see the data here).
As always, students will not be penalized in the application process for disruptions outside of their control. We will closely attend to your specific circumstances to make sure that we understand your constraints and opportunities and, ultimately, your academic preparation for MIT.
Please note: As of the spring of this year, we no longer require or consider the SAT II Subject exams.
This FAQ was last updated on 5/26/2020. We will update this and/or other FAQs as events warrant.