MIT reinstates SAT/ACT requirement for undergraduate applicants

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced on March 28, 2022 that it would again require undergraduate applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores in future admissions cycles. MIT had suspended the requirement in 2020 and 2021 because the Covid-19 pandemic prevented most high school students from taking the exams safely.

The admissions office said its internal research shows that standardized test results, considered together with grades and coursework, help predict whether students will succeed in the Institute's curriculum, and that the mathematics sections are the most informative. All first-year students must complete two semesters of calculus and two of calculus-based physics. The office also said the tests help it identify well-prepared applicants from lower-income backgrounds who lack access to advanced courses. Applicants who cannot safely take an exam may explain this in their application and will not be penalized. A committee of faculty, students and staff that oversees undergraduate admissions approved the plan unanimously.

MIT linked the timing to wider test access, pointing to pediatric vaccination, the growth of free in-school SAT administration and the introduction of a digital SAT. The admissions office said that tests are one factor among several and that perfect scores are not preferred, and it noted that it had earlier stopped considering SAT subject tests. It added that it would revise the policy if more equitable measures of preparation become available.