18,088 applicants for Class of 2016
CORRECTION TO THIS ARTICLE: This article incorrectly stated that the total applications received by MIT for the Class of 2016 increased by 1 percent from the previous year. MIT received 18,088 total applications this year, a 5.84 percent increase from the 17,090 applications received last year.
18,088 applicants for Class of 2016
MIT received 18,088 total applications for the Class of 2016 — 12,080 in the Regular Action cycle and an additional 6,008 applications for the Early Action cycle that finished in December. This marks a 1 percent increase from last year’s 17,090 applications, which is significantly lower than the increases in recent years. The number of applications for the Class of 2015 increased 8 percent from that of the Class of 2014, which was a 6.2 percent increase from the year before.
The admissions office is aiming to admit enough people to result in a class of about 1,130 students. This would be about the same size as the Class of 2015.
In an email to The Tech, Dean of Admissions Stuart Schmill ’86 says that the admissions office is predicting a slightly higher yield — the percent of people who accept their offer of admission — than last year. They predict this because the reinstatement of early admissions programs at Princeton and Harvard means that the number of cross-admits will likely decrease. The yield for the Class of 2015 was 65 percent, which is around where MIT’s yield historically hovers.
—Jaya Narain