MIT has accepted 510 of 2,188 applicants for early admission in September. Ninety-two percent of them are in the top 5 percent of their high school graduating class, including 122 class valedictorians.
The other 1,678 will be considered for acceptance along with the pool of general applicants. A year ago, 524 of the 2,107 early admission candidates were accepted and 70 percent matriculated. Of those deferred, 150 were admitted along with 1,216 who applied for the regular action deadline.
Pending approval, plans are under way to invite all students accepted to Campus Preview Weekend, an offer which previously was restricted to women and underrep-resented minorities. Early acceptances have until the regular reply date of May 1 to decide whether to join the class of 2003.
This year, those accepted early include 222 women, or 44 percent of the group, and 288 men. Of these, 117 indicated that they intended to concentrate in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and 47 in the Department of Biology.
Last year, the early acceptances included 216 women (42 percent) and 301 men.
African Americans were 5 percent of the early acceptances, compared to 6 percent a year ago. This year's group is 8 percent Mexican American, Native American and Puerto Rican, compared to 9 percent a year ago. Applicants who did not identify their racial or ethnic background comprised 13 percent of the pool in both years.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 13, 1999.
