MIT has a long history of educating veterans, both before and after their service, and we are proud to support a community of veterans on campus. If you are a veteran interested in an MIT education, please know that we deeply appreciate your interest and your service, and we look forward to supporting you through the admissions process.
How to apply
Veterans may apply for admission through the same process as other prospective students. While most veterans are eligible to apply for transfer admission, some are eligible for first-year admission, so please review our eligibility information to determine which application you should use.
If you have already completed an undergraduate degree elsewhere, you may explore MIT’s options for continuing/professional education or graduate education.
Academic preparation
A strong academic foundation with preparation in advanced math and science both improves your odds of getting into MIT, and helps you make the most of the Institute when you’re here. Strong applicants for both first-year and transfer admission will have demonstrated recent success in advanced math and science, including:
- Math through calculus
- Calculus-based physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
MIT’s General Institute Requirements demand that all undergraduate students must take (or place out of, through an Advanced Standing Examination) the following while at MIT:
- Single and multivariable calculus
- Two semesters of calculus-based physics
- One semester of chemistry
- One semester of biology
Preparing for MIT
Applicants who have not completed this academic preparation may consider first enrolling at a different institution (like a community college or another four-year college) to brush up on their academics before applying to MIT through our transfer program. Remember, having this strong foundation not only helps you complete our General Institute Requirements, it makes students better prepared to succeed academically at MIT, more generally—in coursework, research opportunities, and more.
Other preparation resources
For MIT, having a strong foundation in math and science—especially calculus, the building block for many of our courses—is essential to a student’s success at MIT. If you don’t have access to calculus coursework, there other resources available, such as:
- Certification through Khan Academy and Schoolhouse.world; you can take a free online calculus course with Khan Academy, receive free tutoring through Schoolhouse, and then take a free exam through Schoolhouse to receive a certification transcript
- Certification through accredited online courses, such as MITx Online’s Calculus 1A: Differentiation, Calculus 1B: Integration, and Calculus 1C: Coordinate Systems & Infinite Series
- Reporting scores for exams such as AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, IB Mathematics HL, or CLEP Calculus that you self-studied; there are many free study resources online, such as Khan Academy, MIT OpenCourseWare, and MIT Open Learning Library
Affordability and financial benefits
At MIT, we admit the most talented students in the world through need-blind admissions. Once admitted, we meet your full financial need for all four years of your undergraduate career. If you are admitted for undergraduate study, we will make sure that you can afford to come to MIT.
As a veteran of the U.S. armed forces, you may be eligible for benefits that can significantly aid in your costs to attend MIT. Information specific to veterans (including Post-9/11 GI Bill®, Yellow Ribbon Program, and other financial support benefits) is available on the Student Financial Services site. U.S. military veterans are considered independent of parental financial support. When U.S. military veterans apply for financial aid, their financial need will be calculated according to their individual income and assets without regard to parental financial circumstances.
Application guidance
Our applications ask straightforward questions about who you are, where you come from, what you’ve done so far, and what you hope to do. We also ask for information about your academic coursework, test scores, and letters of recommendation from people who know you well. We look at each application as a whole—taking into account the many different factors that have shaped each applicant’s experience—and spend the next few months reading what you’ve written and assembling the best class to go through MIT together. As cliché as it sounds, simply being yourself is the best approach to our application.
Military history
We encourage you to share as much about your military experience on the MIT application as you feel comfortable sharing. We provide space in the application to reflect on your military experience and provide any additional information as it pertains to your service.
Activities, jobs, and distinctions
We ask about an applicant’s work experience, extracurricular activities, summer activities, and any awards and distinctions they have earned, not only to understand how applicants spend their time, but also to gather context about the opportunities and resources available to them. U.S. military applicants should feel free to complete these sections to the best of their ability, and are encouraged to share details about both their military and non-military experiences.
Essays
The short essays on the MIT application are not a writing test—they are an opportunity to share your voice. We want to learn more about who you are, what motivates you, and what’s important to you. The essays provide you an opportunity to reflect on your past experiences and share information about your future goals. While your responses should be written clearly and answer the questions posed, the most important thing is to be your authentic self.
If you have specific questions about the application process for veterans, please contact the MIT Admissions veteran liaison.
Veterans resources
Service to School
MIT has a proud partnership with Service to School (S2S), a nonprofit organization that provides free college application assistance to transitioning service members and veterans. S2S was founded by veterans and is led by veterans who are committed to transforming the veteran community through the power of higher education.
Warrior-Scholar Project: MIT STEM Bootcamp
MIT is proud to partner with Warrior-Scholar Project to offer a STEM bootcamp on campus. In 2019, MIT was the pilot site for Warrior-Scholar Project’s first standalone STEM academic bootcamp. Warrior-Scholar Project is a national nonprofit organization that offers academic programs to equip enlisted student veterans and transitioning service members to succeed in higher education.
MIT Student Veterans Association
MIT’s Student Veterans Association is a student-led organization dedicated to veterans and those affiliated with the military. The MIT SVA has three goals: to build community among veterans through holding events, to advocate for our members to the MIT administration, and to disseminate helpful information to our veterans and supporters.
Student Veteran Success
MIT also has an office of Student Veteran Success (SVS), run by program administrator Liam Gale, who served in the Air Force as an enlisted aviator and emergency management specialist for nearly eight years. SVS serves as a direct point of contact for students, providing support, advocacy, and programming designed to improve the experience of veterans, students currently serving in the military, and military families who are studying at MIT. To reach SVS, please email [email protected].
From military service to studying the climate crisis
After serving in the U.S. Air Force for nine years, Justin Cole now studies Climate System Science & Engineering at MIT.
Retired Air Force major, now MIT PhD student
PhD candidate Andrea Henshall credits MIT OpenCourseWare and MITx with helping her prepare for her graduate studies at MIT.