A private R1 research university in Cambridge, admitting 4.55% of applicants with median graduate earnings of $143,372.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private R1 research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded in 1861. It enrolls 4,535 undergraduates and 7,351 graduate students across six schools: Architecture and Planning, Engineering, Humanities Arts and Social Sciences, Management, Science, and Computing. Engineering accounts for 32.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded and computer science for 31.1%, with mathematics adding 10.7% and multidisciplinary programs 9.4%. MIT holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
Official website: web.mit.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), MIT scores 89.88 overall, rated Strong. Outcomes (99.16) and Selectivity (99.76) are near-perfect, reflecting a 96.41% six-year graduation rate and median ten-year earnings of $143,372, the highest of any institution in the national dataset.
Value scores 97.25, reflecting the combination of those earnings and an average net price of $20,111: MIT produces the strongest return on investment of any university in the country by this measure. Affordability scores 33.48, driven by the gap between the $83,000 sticker price and what families above $110,000 actually pay ($48,479 average net). All scores use verified federal data only.
MIT is among the most selective universities in the world, admitting 4.55% of applicants. Unlike most elite universities, MIT requires SAT or ACT scores from all applicants; it is not test-optional. The middle 50% of enrolled students scores between 34 and 36 on the ACT, and the average SAT score is 1,560.
MIT uses a holistic review, but quantitative ability is explicitly central: strong performance in mathematics and science is expected across most applicants. There is no binding early action or early decision option; MIT offers only regular decision with a January 1 deadline. MIT admits fewer than 30 transfer students per year, one of the most restrictive transfer policies at any major university.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Massachusetts Institute of Technology is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
MIT's sticker price is $62,396 in tuition plus $20,280 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $83,000 before aid. In practice, most students pay far less. Families earning under $90,000 per year pay nothing: tuition, room, board, and other expenses are fully covered by MIT grants. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the average net price is $93 per year. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the average net price is $11,555. The overall average net price across all students is $20,111. For families earning above $110,000, the net price averages $48,479.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $75 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
MIT completes the vast majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 96.41% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 88.55%, meaning nearly nine in ten students who finish do so on time. First-year retention stands at 99.06%, among the highest of any university in the country. These figures reflect the combination of intensive selective admissions, a strong academic culture, and MIT's financial commitment to removing cost as a barrier to completion.
MIT graduates earn more than graduates of any other institution in the national dataset. Median earnings are $131,633 six years after first enrolling and $143,372 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 95.38% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate.
Only 6.69% of enrolled students take federal loans, one of the lowest rates among research universities. Median debt at graduation is $14,768, well below the national average for private universities. Earnings are heavily weighted toward engineering, computer science, and quantitative finance, which together account for the majority of MIT degrees and career placements.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
MIT enrolls 4,535 undergraduates, a small cohort relative to its global reputation. Asian students account for 35.17% of undergraduates; white students 21.26%, Hispanic 14.09%, and Black 7.7%. International students make up a substantial share of both undergraduate and graduate enrollment. Nineteen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 25.85% are first-generation college students, a notably high figure for an institution with a 4.55% admit rate.
Only 1.01% of students are enrolled part-time, reflecting the intensity of the academic program. MIT's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) connects students with paid and for-credit research positions starting as early as freshman year; roughly 90% of undergraduates participate before graduating.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers an extensive catalog of programs: 104 distinct programs across 16 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
MIT operates at an approximately 3:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 98.98% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $99,057 per year, the highest of any institution in the national dataset. The endowment stands at $24.57 billion, the third largest of any university in the world. Research is embedded in the undergraduate curriculum: MIT's UROP program, independent research subjects, and thesis requirements give undergraduates direct access to faculty-level work across all disciplines.
1,058 instructional faculty across 3 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 684 | 65% | $284,583 |
| Associate Professors | 214 | 20% | $184,621 |
| Assistant Professors | 160 | 15% | $157,602 |
MIT's defining data points are its Outcomes (99.16), Value (97.25), and Selectivity (99.76) scores, reflecting the highest median earnings in the national dataset ($143,372 at ten years), the strongest return on investment among research universities, and a 4.55% admit rate. The financial aid program makes MIT effectively free for families earning under $90,000, and the average net price of $20,111 is low relative to the institution's sticker price.
The challenge is Affordability (33.48): families earning above $110,000 pay an average of $48,479, and the sticker price of $83,000 applies to those who do not apply for aid. Best fit for students with exceptional quantitative ability in engineering, computer science, mathematics, or the physical sciences who apply for financial aid; the sticker price is largely irrelevant to admitted students who complete the aid process.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about MIT: how selective admissions are, whether test scores are required, how financial aid works, and what graduates earn. Several important MIT facts are counterintuitive for a school of its profile: it is not test-optional, it admits fewer than 30 transfers per year, and its average net price is lower than that of many less selective private universities. Each answer leads with the key number, then the context.
Rank every state by the average 10-year earnings of its college graduates and the top of the list is the costly Northeast corridor plus DC, not the South.
The 30 colleges that admit under 10% of applicants post median earnings of $92,000, about $38,000 a year above every other four-year school. Here is the math.
One federal dataset, 3,839 colleges. The median school costs $16,371 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,259 students. The shape of US higher ed.
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