Useful links for high school students applying for MIT's undergraduate program
updated February 2024


ACADEMICS

Course catalog (also called the MIT Bulletin)
        Core curriculum (we call it the General Institute Requirements)
        List of majors and the classes they require.  You can write your own if you don't like one of the pre-approved ones.  Students can change majors easily and often, until a few months before graduation.
        Majors and minors in alphabetical order
        Interdisciplinary majors
        List of classes taught, by department       

MIT offers many introductory courses to help you figure out what to major in.  Check out the First-Year Discovery subjects or the other Academic Exploration subjects.  One example is the Toy Product Design class in the mechanical engineering department.  Terrascope is a fun interdisciplinary project-based way to explore potential majors. 

Interdisciplinary centers and programs

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) - 94% of MIT undergraudates do at least one paid UROP, which often turns into a job or grad school opportunity.  At any given time, there are hundreds of UROP projects to choose from, covering every imaginable topic.  Unfortunately, the list of available projects cannot be viewed by the public - it's only available to people with an MIT login.  There are many different types of UROPs - some are hands-on build-it projects, editing a book that a professor is publishing, perform experiments then gather and analyze the data, do a literature search, design a novel way of designing databases, find a mathematical proof, figure out a more cost-efficient method to synthesize a chemical, or anything else you could possibly imagine.  There are many ways to find a UROP project.  MIT has a link to a list of some newsworthy UROP projects. 

Policy for credit for AP tests, transfer credit, and Advanced Standing Examinations.  You can self-study and test out of many MIT classes, and get credit as if you had taken it, by taking an Advanced Standing Examination.

Cross-registration - take classes at Harvard, Wellesley and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Most of MIT's classes are available free to everyone through Open Courseware, to anyone, anywhere in the world.  Have fun learning!

The first semester at MIT is pass/no record, and you can take some classes pass/no record after freshman year. 

You are invited to watch lectures for MIT classes including the 2021-22 freshman biology class on COVID with guest lecturers including Dr. Anthony Fauci, The Human Brain, and many other classes online. 


CAMPUS AND BOSTON

You get to pick your dorm.  The dorm guide highlights the features and culture of each dorm.  On-campus housing is guaranteed for four years, and required for freshman year.  Some dorms are arranged in suites or entries, while others have a traditional hallway orientation.  Facilities at dorms vary - some have dining halls, some have kitchens, some have both.  Some have sound-proofed music practice rooms, mini-maker spaces, weight rooms, or other specialized facilities.

MIT has many dining halls, there are on-campus grocery stores and food trucks, and MIT provides shuttle bus service to local stores and supermarkets. Two dining halls offer kosher or halal food, and all have vegan and gluten-free choices.  Ingredients are clearly labeled to assist students with food allergies.  Undergraduate students are currently required to be on at least a partial meal plan.  More details are available at MIT's guide to food. 

Map of the central Boston area showing the location of MIT's campus outlined in red. The closest subway stops (and Harvard Square) are marked with big Ts.

Map of the excellent subway system in the central Boston area (the closest stops are Kendall and Central on the red line).  Major bus routes are shown as thin gray lines and run very frequently. 

Searchable campus map (for example, show locations for food or a particular building)

Map of the central campus area  and some specialty maps including accessibility maps and bicycle maps

There are literally hundreds of companies (that began as spin-offs from MIT) where you can get internships or jobs in the Boston area, such as the company that makes these robots.  You can also locate internships, jobs, and summer jobs elsewhere in the US or internationally through your research group, professors, leads from classmates, or the local MIT club. 

        
ACTIVITIES and things to do

Independent Activities Period (IAP) - a very small number of traditional classes happen during January, but there are thousands of interesting and fun non-credit talks, seminars, workshops, trips, etc.  These include a hands-on workshop on the chemistry of chocolate, glass-blowing, stand-up comedy course, learn to ballroom dance, ski trips, international food fairs, pre-professional talks to help you pick a career, trivia contests, hackathons including the Bad Ideas Weekend, physics of baseball, trampoline, learn to unicycle, Korean film fest, integration bee, and marathon card games and board games in the dorm lounges.
        Here's an example of the types of formal talks that are often given during IAP.  It's a 45-minute seminar by a noted professor of artificial intelligence teaching how to give effective presentations.  It's one of the most popular IAP talks, so it's held in a giant lecture hall.  Most IAP events are much smaller, since they are more specialized and appeal to smaller numbers of students.  For example, a talk on careers for materials science majors, a crossword puzzle contest, the topology of origami, introduction to folk dancing, or joining a chamber music group.
        Many IAP activities are designed for fun, but there are also many to learn about various careers and majors.  For example, Patent Law Fundamentals, Venture Capital Opportunities, Careers in Biology, Study Swahili, Introduction to American Sign Language, build your own Geiger counter, and the ever-popular MIT Mystery Hunt. 

MIT has dozens of maker spaces on campus, plus many dorms, departments, research labs, and and independent living groups have maker spaces that aren't on this list.  In addition to the usual maker equipment and heavy machinery, MIT has a glassblowing lab where you can make things with hot glass.  In addition to the numerous maker spaces, MIT has a BreakerSpace, where students are encouraged to take things apart, destroy them, and/or examine their materials. 
       
Work abroad and study abroad programs
        Internship programs through MIT.  In addition, there are thousands of internships offered directly by companies.
        International work abroad (MISTI) in dozens of countries all over the globe.  During January 2024, 558 students worked in 30 different countries.  Check out the MISTI Facebook page. 
        Summer internships in Washington DC to explore the intersection of technology and public policy.
        Study abroad (at MIT, work abroad is much more common than studying abroad)
       Students at the MIT D-lab use technology to help improve the lives of people in the developing world.  They research, design and built projects on campus and sometimes travel to other countries.  Here's a recent D-Lab conference held in Uganda.

Clubs and other activities. This list is not up-to-date, nor complete, but you can get an idea of the scope of choices.  Students are usually too busy doing their activity to maintain a website.  Some clubs have a Facebook or Instagram group which is only accessible to MIT students.  Here's a different searchable list of clubs, also not up-to-date.  Check out the Laboratory for Chocolate Science, for example.  Some clubs include alumni in addition to current students, like the Bellringers' Guild. 

Many MIT students are interested in organized groups for music and the other performing arts.  Most are open to everyone, but a few of the music groups are faculty-led and require tryouts.   You can watch a recent performance of the MIT Concert Choir  - skip ahead to the 9:30 time mark where it begins.  There's a lot more than just classical music - check out the group Rambax that does west African drumming or Swara for classical south Asia music.  However, most students prefer to play music informally with their friends in jam sessions or informal get-togethers, rather than have the time commitment of a formal musical group.   

Dance clubs, classes and dance teams are also popular, including the MIT Dance Troupe, Latin dance, square dancing, folk dance, ballroom, jazz, hip-hop, Indian classical, Bollywood, and more.

Wikipedia page listing some of the better-known pranks (hacks) at MIT and check out the famous MIT hack of the Harvard/Yale football game.  The MIT Museum has enshrined some of the most famous hacks.  And visit MIT's own website where you can view hacks by year or by topic.  I've posted five of my favorite, lesser-known hacks here, along with a reading list about about hacking at MIT. The Boston Globe newspaper published this article on April Fool's Day 2019 to celebrate some of the best-known hacks.  . 

Wikipedia page listing some MIT traditions

 MIT has an excellent athletics program including state-of-the-art facilities for students.  We offer about 90 different P.E. classes including parkour, salsa dance, sailing, pickleball, square dancing, and fencing.  Most students participate in intramural sports.  MIT has the largest Division III varsity sports program in the country.  We don't give athletic scholarships.  Most of the varsity teams and almost all the club sports are walk-on.  For a list of varsity sports, visit this page and click on the word "SPORTS" at the top left.  Dozens of club sports are listed separately. 


ADMISSIONS

What the Admissions Office is looking for

The selection process


FINANCIAL AID

Grants and loans are based only on need, and MIT always meets 100% of demonstrated student need.  It is often cheaper to go to MIT than to your local state university.  Did you know that about 86% of MIT students graduate debt-free?  The Student Financial Services website has lots of information.  More financial aid info for the class of 2026 is here.  The Financial Aid office has a cost calculator that you can use to estimate your net cost after scholarship awards.  Note that MIT makes a four-year commitment for aid for its students.  If your financial situation doesn't change, your aid award won't change, so you won't get slammed with a much bigger bill after freshman year.   

Most MIT students work part-time each semester.  People typically work 10-15 hours a week during the school year, and typically work full-time for two months during the summer.  Some choose to work during the January Independent Activities Period.  On-campus jobs are plentiful.  Some students work in the cafeteria so they also get free meals, or choose to work in labs to explore a particular major or career.  Others join a research team, give campus tours, do administrative work, hand out towels in the athletic center, sort mail at their dorm desk, stock boxes at the campus grocery store, or do hundreds of other jobs.  The financial aid office has this helpful website with information about on-campus employment.


OTHER TOPICS

 Want to start your own company?  MIT provides support and incubators for entrepreneurs, and obtains patents for student inventions.  Here are links to some of these programs:  Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, MIT Startup Exchange, Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, and the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship.  Want to patent your invention?  The MIT Technology Licensing Office can do it for you.  Read about the MIT Ignite generative AI entrepreneurship competition, where students pitch their ideas to industry.

The Admissions Office has a collection of useful links

Statistics about the class of 2027 and a profile of the class upon admission

Report on what MIT graduates do after they graduate .  Click on the Employment tab, then click on the various numbers to view the information in each numbered tab.
 
Chart of how many students graduated in each major with various degrees

One of Sue's projects - the Mailmobile

Contact the website author if you have a suggestion for a page to add to this list of links.