Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
Private Research University in Cambridge, MA. Six-year graduation rate 96%. Median 10-year earnings $143,372.
Ten-year median earnings of $143,372 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 96% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $14,768. On economic mobility, 3.4% of students travel from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.10 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 96% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 5% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 5% means admission is the exception — plan accordingly. 28,232 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. A 86% yield rate puts this school in the upper range for admits who follow through. Read the score bands below as the middle 50% of submitted scores, not a threshold to clear.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 740–780 | 911 (83%) |
| SAT Math | 780–800 | |
| ACT Composite | 34–36 | 322 (29%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Massachusetts Institute of Technology →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 96% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention of 99% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. At 3:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. The undergraduate population is 4,576 — big enough for a real range of programs, small enough to navigate.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,571 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $20,996 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $-2,533 while those at $110k+ pay $48,479. About 64% get grants averaging $58,429, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 7% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,091 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $-2,533 |
| $30–48k | $93 |
| $48–75k | $1,480 |
| $75–110k | $11,555 |
| $110k+ | $48,479 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 306 of these 4,571 students, totalling $1,799,792 — an average of $5,882 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Middlesex County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)