Did you get turned down by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Early Action round for the Class of 2028? If so, you’re likely feeling disappointed. But don’t worry, it’s not all bad news. You still have another shot at getting into MIT through the Regular Decision round. So, what are your odds of getting accepted to the MIT Class of 2028 after being deferred? Let’s take a look!
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Early Action Statistics
MIT Early Action Admission Rates
Here are the acceptance rates for MIT’s Early Action over the past 11 years, from the Class of 2028 to the Class of 2018.
| Admissions Cycle | MIT Graduating Year | MIT’s Early Action Admission Rate |
| 2023-2024 | Class of 2028 | 5.26% |
| 2022-2023 | Class of 2027 | 5.74% |
| 2021-2022 | Class of 2026 | 4.72% |
| 2020-2021 | Class of 2025 | 4.78% |
| 2019-2020 | Class of 2024 | 7.4% |
| 2018-2019 | Class of 2023 | 7.36% |
| 2017-2018 | Class of 2022 | 6.95% |
| 2016-2017 | Class of 2021 | 7.83% |
| 2015-2016 | Class of 2020 | 8.45% |
| 2014-2015 | Class of 2019 | 9.59% |
| 2013-2014 | Class of 2018 | 8.97% |
MIT Early Action Deferral Rates
Unlike many other schools, MIT often tells how many students who apply for Early Action are not accepted right away. This information is given for the classes from 2022 to 2027, except for 2025 (no numbers were given for that year).
| Admissions Cycle | MIT Graduating Year | MIT’s Early Action Deferral Rate |
| 2023-2024 | Class of 2028 | 64.09% |
| 2022-2023 | Class of 2027 | 66.19% |
| 2021-2022 | Class of 2026 | 64.2% |
| 2020-2021 | Class of 2025 | Not Released |
| 2019-2020 | Class of 2024 | 73.1% |
| 2018-2019 | Class of 2023 | 64.4% |
| 2017-2018 | Class of 2022 | 64.98% |
MIT Early Action Denial Rates
The numbers for how many students were denied outright by MIT in Early Action for the past six years are also given for the classes from 2022 to 2027, except for 2025 (no numbers were given for that year).
| Admissions Cycle | MIT Graduating Year | MIT’s Early Action Denial Rate |
| 2023-2024 | Class of 2028 | 30.65% |
| 2022-2023 | Class of 2027 | 28.07% |
| 2021-2022 | Class of 2026 | 31.08% |
| 2020-2021 | Class of 2025 | Not Released |
| 2019-2020 | Class of 2024 | 19.5% |
| 2018-2019 | Class of 2023 | 28.24% |
| 2017-2018 | Class of 2022 | 28.07% |
5 Steps to Take After Being Deferred by MIT
If MIT defers your application, and they accepted 51.71% of students in the Class of 2027 through Early Action, here’s what you should do:
1. Spend a few hours meditating or doing yoga. This isn’t what you want to happen. So, before you start taking steps to improve your chances of getting into MIT and other schools you’re applying to in a few weeks, clear your mind. Before you go on the offensive, you need to stay calm.
2. Contact Essay Embassy for a free admission essay quote chat about how we can help MIT applicants who are stuck. Every year, we help students turn deferrals into acceptances (even those who had almost lost hope!). Just don’t wait too long before reaching out because you’ll need all the time you can get before the Regular Decision deadlines to adjust your application based on our advice.
3. Review your application process with an expert college admission coach. They’ll look at every part of your MIT application so you understand what went wrong. This will help you fix some of those mistakes for the other schools you’re applying to in Regular Decision, since many of the same questions on The Common Application are also on the MIT application.
Plus, we’ll need to review the whole MIT application to help you write Letters of Continued Interest that will impress MIT’s admissions team. After all, the story you tell in a deferred applicant’s letter won’t be a surprise. But besides the MIT application, we’ll also have time to go over and give feedback on the entire Common App, as well as the school-specific supplement.
4. Submit a strong Letter of Continued Interest with Essay Embassy’s admission essay help. Most students want to update MIT on what they’ve been up to in the six weeks since applying. But that’s not the approach Essay Embassy’s students take — and it’s a big reason why they’re so successful.
In short, essayembassy’s students’ admission letters are unique. They show how a student will contribute to MIT through its programs, research, activities, traditions, and so on. We don’t advise students to drop names or list classes. Let the competition do that. Admissions officers know the game. They know applicants can swap one professor’s name for another, just like in a game of Mad Libs. Successful Letters of Continued Interest include real details. One common reaction we hear after reading Essay Embassy students’ past successful letters? “That’s not what I thought a Letter of Continued Interest should be, but it totally makes sense!”
5. Take your Letter of Continued Interest to your school counsellor and ask them to advocate for you by calling MIT’s admissions team, armed with the info you provided. Some school counsellors might hesitate to make this call, citing reasons like fairness or justice, but good counsellors will pick up the phone and call. It’s part of their job!
What Not to Do If You’ve Been Deferred by MIT
After getting postponed by MIT, we at Essay Embassy suggest you avoid doing the following (or anything similar!):
1. Don’t call the MIT admissions office to ask why you didn’t get in. First off, an MIT admissions officer won’t tell you the real reason for your rejection. Even if they thought you were too full of yourself, they wouldn’t say so. Secondly, calling might annoy them. If they don’t want to talk to you, why bother them? Do you want to be seen as a bother like Karen? Not a good idea!
2. Don’t let your parents contact the MIT Admissions Office. MIT’s admissions committee doesn’t want to hear from students who got deferred. So, it should be obvious, but we’ll say it anyway: they really don’t want to hear from those students’ parents. Who’s supposed to be in charge of the application process, the student or the parent? A call from a parent shows that the parent is taking over.
3. Don’t try to ruin your classmates‘ chances of getting into MIT. Do you think you’re the first high schooler to think about telling the admissions committee something bad about a peer? That’s funny. You’re not! It’s a bad move and it’ll come back to bite you. Don’t even think about it for a second!
4. Don’t blame your high school counsellor for your MIT deferral. It’s not your counsellor’s fault you didn’t get in. It’s yours. It’s not smart to upset your counsellor. Your counsellor can actually help you a lot after a deferral, especially for other colleges you’re applying to.
5. Don’t keep sending updates to MIT after your first Letter of Continued Interest. While it’s tempting to bombard MIT with calls, emails, and letters, it’s the wrong approach. All it does is water down the impact of your Letter of Continued Interest and annoy MIT’s admissions committee.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Deferral FAQ
Are more MIT Early Action applicants accepted, deferred, or denied?
Most MIT Early Action applicants don’t get accepted. We’ve often wondered why the school delays most candidates, considering most won’t get in, but the Institute does this to keep its choices open. After all, it’s probable that their Regular Decision pool will be smaller and/or weaker than expected.
Because such a large swath of MIT’s Early Action pool is deferred, does a deferral mean less than at some of MIT’s peer institutions?
Sure, MIT has seen a lot of students being deferred in recent years, with a rate ranging from 64% to 73%. This is higher than some other top universities like the Ivy League schools. On the other hand, Brown University‘s rate of deferral for students who apply early has gone down over the past three years. For example, it was 30% for the Class of 2027, 25% for the Class of 2026, and 19% for the Class of 2025.
Does MIT typically defer fewer students than Harvard?
Yes, MIT postpones fewer Early Action applications than Harvard. However, both schools postpone many more EA candidates than they accept or reject for admission. For the Class of 2028, Harvard University postponed 83.06% of Early Action candidates. For the MIT Class of 2028, the number was 64.09%.
Beyond submitting a Letter of Continued Interest, what else can a student do to make their case to MIT?
Students can send their completed Letter of Continued Interest to their school counsellor and ask them to make a supportive call to the MIT admissions committee. This allows the counsellor to represent the applicant just as they represented themselves. While not all school counsellors will make supportive calls, the really good ones will.
Does a deferred student really have a shot of earning Regular Decision admission to MIT?
Yes, in the past 30 years, 28% of students after not getting into MIT right away were later accepted, compared to less than 10% of all students who were initially rejected by MIT.
Final Thoughts – How Essay Embassy Can Help With Your College Essays
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