Statistics for MIT 2014 Admissions Cycle----- A few of you, in different threads, have asked for some statistics about this year's admissions process. I don't have many of the specifics y'all want (i.e. what percentage of USAMO varsity athlete valedictorians with Intel awards from Iberia), but here are some general numbers so you can get an idea of how selective this year's process was.
Applications:
- Total applications were up 6.2%, from 15,633 to 16,632. In a historical context, the increase is incredible: in 2006, we had a mere 11,374 applicants.
- Our admit rate was 9.7%. That's down from 10.7% percent last year due to increased applications with an inelastic class size, and predictions of increased yield (more people who get in coming to MIT). In 2006, our admit rate was 13.3%.
Demographics:
- Our incoming class is 53% male and 47% female. The male/female applicant ratio is slightly higher in favor of men. However, women who apply to MIT tend to be self-selecting - they tend to really, really want to come here, which makes them stronger applicants overall.
- The class of 2014 is 36% Caucasian, 30% Asian, 14% Hispanic, 9% African-American, a few percentage points for assorted "other". All in all, it's about 75% "over-represented" and 25% "under-represented."
- 7% are international. The international admit rate this year was 3%. As always, our international acceptances are out of this world good. They have to be.
- 14% are first generation to college.
- 67% attended public schools, 18% attended private schools, and the rest attended an assortment of religious/homeschool/etc.
Other:
- 25% of our applicants were valedictorians of their class. 51% of the class of 2014 are valedictorians. HOWEVER, of the 2196 valedictorians who applied, only 427 were admitted. So being a valedictorian was not your ticket, though it is a good thing! In any case, 94% of our admits were in the top 5% of their class. Our median SATs were in the mid 700s for all applicants.
- 31% of the class were identified as being "academic stars". Examples of academic stars include being a Siemens Finalist, qualifying for the USAMO, and so forth. Like with everything else, being "starry" in this way is a good thing, but it doesn't secure you a spot in the class. Of the nearly 900 academic stars who applied, less than 500 got in.
- 19% of the class were identified as being art, music, or athletic stars. These are people who may have played major concerts as soloists, or who have been recruited to be varsity athletes. One of our art stars has designed several US stamps and a major art installation at the UN, and has been supporting his family since the age of 8. Same as with the academic stars, this helps, but isn't a meal ticket: of the 900+ AMA stars who applied, around 300 got in.
These are the best data I can give you. Like all data-posts, they're going to be necessarily reductive.
They don't capture the personal qualities, leadership abilities, teacher evaluation support, interview, etc, all of which are, on balance, much more important than any criterion mentioned above.
Don't try to use these numbers to "chance" yourself. If you've read anything I've written over the past 12 hours, just remember that the process is unbelievably, astonishingly complex, takes many people countless hours to perform, and cannot be replicated by simply looking at someone's class rank and SAT scores.
We have a real commitment to transparency, honesty, and earnestness here at MIT, and so I wanted to share these numbers with you to give you a sense of how we do things and what an incredible class we have selected.
