Dec 6, 2025
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By Justin Neiman, Former Admissions Officer
Receiving a rejection from your Early Action school can feel incredibly discouraging. If this happened to you, you’re not alone. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the most competitive universities in the world, and its Early Action round is especially tough.
This post is here to help you reflect, regroup, and build a strong action plan for the rest of your college applications. If you were rejected from MIT, here’s what you should know and what to do next.
One of the most common questions we hear is whether it’s possible to appeal a rejection. Unfortunately, MIT does not allow students to appeal admissions decisions. A rejection is final. However, you can apply again next year if you choose to. An article from an MIT Admissions Blog writes "Admitting such a small percentage of the applicant pool means that we unfortunately have to turn away many, many incredible students." Key word here is incredible. Yes, you can still be incredible and still be turned away from MIT.
MIT provides more transparency than many of its peers when it comes to admissions data. For the Class of 2029 (last year’s cycle), the university received 29,281 total applications and admitted 1,334 students, resulting in a 4.6 percent overall admit rate.
In Early Action, 12,052 students applied and 721 were admitted. Based on MIT’s published numbers, about 40.2 percent of Early Action applicants were rejected, with the remainder deferred to Regular Action.
As difficult as it may be, my best advice is to let go of your plan to attend MIT this year. While it may have been your dream school, there are countless other excellent colleges to consider, and the admissions process is far from over.
Now is the time to shift your focus entirely to Regular Decision or Early Decision II applications. If MIT remains your ultimate goal, there may still be opportunities to attend by transferring or reapplying next year if you choose to take a gap year. However, those decisions are nearly a year away, so it’s in your best interest to concentrate on your applications to other schools now.
Most top colleges have Regular Decision deadlines at the start of January, giving you valuable time to make adjustments and strengthen your remaining applications.
Although you can’t change your MIT application, you can refine and strengthen the applications you’re submitting elsewhere. Here are some ways to make the most of this time:
Setbacks like this are hard, but they’re also an opportunity for growth. Stay proactive, keep excelling academically, and use this moment to refine your strategy. Remember, many successful students use challenges as motivation for future success.
While it may have been ideal to secure admission to your dream school before the holidays, the reality is that most students will move through the Regular Decision process. There is still so much to accomplish—so stay focused and give it your all!
If you’d like support feel free to reach out.
This article was updated in December 2025 for the 2025-2026 Admissions Cycle.
Receiving a rejection from your Early Action school can feel incredibly discouraging. If this happened to you, you’re not alone. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the most competitive universities in the world, and its Early Action round is especially tough.
This post is here to help you reflect, regroup, and build a strong action plan for the rest of your college applications. If you were rejected from MIT, here’s what you should know and what to do next.
One of the most common questions we hear is whether it’s possible to appeal a rejection. Unfortunately, MIT does not allow students to appeal admissions decisions. A rejection is final. However, you can apply again next year if you choose to. An article from an MIT Admissions Blog writes "Admitting such a small percentage of the applicant pool means that we unfortunately have to turn away many, many incredible students." Key word here is incredible. Yes, you can still be incredible and still be turned away from MIT.
MIT provides more transparency than many of its peers when it comes to admissions data. For the Class of 2029 (last year’s cycle), the university received 29,281 total applications and admitted 1,334 students, resulting in a 4.6 percent overall admit rate.
In Early Action, 12,052 students applied and 721 were admitted. Based on MIT’s published numbers, about 40.2 percent of Early Action applicants were rejected, with the remainder deferred to Regular Action.
As difficult as it may be, my best advice is to let go of your plan to attend MIT this year. While it may have been your dream school, there are countless other excellent colleges to consider, and the admissions process is far from over.
Now is the time to shift your focus entirely to Regular Decision or Early Decision II applications. If MIT remains your ultimate goal, there may still be opportunities to attend by transferring or reapplying next year if you choose to take a gap year. However, those decisions are nearly a year away, so it’s in your best interest to concentrate on your applications to other schools now.
Most top colleges have Regular Decision deadlines at the start of January, giving you valuable time to make adjustments and strengthen your remaining applications.
Although you can’t change your MIT application, you can refine and strengthen the applications you’re submitting elsewhere. Here are some ways to make the most of this time:
Setbacks like this are hard, but they’re also an opportunity for growth. Stay proactive, keep excelling academically, and use this moment to refine your strategy. Remember, many successful students use challenges as motivation for future success.
While it may have been ideal to secure admission to your dream school before the holidays, the reality is that most students will move through the Regular Decision process. There is still so much to accomplish—so stay focused and give it your all!
If you’d like support feel free to reach out.
This article was updated in December 2025 for the 2025-2026 Admissions Cycle.
Former Admissions Officer, Harvard University
Former Assistant Dean, Stanford University
As a College Counselor I help students navigate the college admissions process. My goal is to help students stand out and get accepted to their top-choice schools.
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