How to Succeed as an MIT Premed
/Everything you need to know to navigate MIT premed, including MIT premed requirements, extracurriculars and the MIT premed acceptance rate
learn everything you need to know to succeed as an MIt premed
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Part 1: Introduction
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is one of the most recognizable universities in the world—medicine, however, is not the first thing people think of when they hear the name MIT. With 101 affiliated Nobel Prize Laureates and state-of-the-art facilities like the Lincoln Laboratory, the Bates Center, and the Haystack Observatory, MIT is known for its groundbreaking research into a wide range of sciences. So, while medicine may not be the school’s primary focus, this rigorous and innovative environment will certainly allow you to develop the skills needed to become a well-rounded physician.
According to US News and World Report, MIT is the number 2 ranked university in the country—just behind Princeton and ahead of Harvard. With an acceptance rate of only 4%, in order to get into MIT you’ll need to find a way to make yourself stand out. One way to do this might be by demonstrating a sustained engagement in the field of medicine. MIT has a total undergraduate population of 4,657 and during the 2023-2024 cycle, 77 MIT students applied to medical school. From these numbers, we can determine that between 6-7% of MIT undergraduates end up applying to medical school. While 77 may not seem like many students, this percentage is higher than that of many schools. At the same time, the number of premeds pales in comparison to other majors—such as computer science, which accounts for 28% of graduating seniors.
For this relatively small number of students, Prehealth Advising at MIT offers in-person support as well as a number of resources to help you navigate your premed journey. It is a good idea to meet with an advisor early on to both establish a personal relationship and to get a solid grasp on what lies ahead. This guide will also be something you can return to during your premed years to make sure you are on the right track.
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Part 2: MIT premed requirements
One of the major advantages of attending MIT for premed is that 9 of the 12 premed requirements are also General Institute Requirements (GIRs). These are courses that all MIT undergraduates must take in order to graduate. The 9 premed requirements that are also GIRs are listed here.
While it’s important to look into the academic requirements of each medical school you end up applying to (they vary slightly between schools), this list of required courses should satisfy the requirements of just about any of them. As you will see, there are certain classes that all premed students have to take. For some requirements, though, you’re free to choose from a wide variety of courses. Much of this information comes from the Career Advising & Professional Development Department at MIT.
Here is a table detailing premed requirements at MIT:
| Biological Sciences: One year with one lab |
Introductory Biology (7.012, 7.013, 7.014, 7.015, or 7.016)*
And one of the following: Fundamentals of Experimental Molecular Biology (7.002) Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering (20.109) Experimental Molecular Neurobiology (9.12) Biological Circuit Engineering (20.129) *These five introductory courses cover the same core material, which comprises about 50% of the course, while the remaining material is specialized for each individual course. You may only receive credit for one of these courses. |
Genetics (7.03)
Cell Biology (7.06) Human Physiology (7.20) *Intermediate/advanced Biology coursework may be recommended or required depending on your major and the schools you apply to. |
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| General chemistry: One year with one lab |
One of the following: Principles of Chemical Science (5.111 or 5.112) Intro to Solid State Chemistry (3.091) And one of the following: Laboratory Chemistry (5.310) Fundamentals of Spectroscopy (5.351) Synthesis of Coordination Compounds and Kinetics (5.352) Macromolecular Prodrugs (3.353) Organic Structure Determination (3.363) |
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| Organic chemistry: One year with one lab |
Organic Chemistry I (5.12) Organic Chemistry II (5.13) |
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| Biochemistry: One course |
One of the following:
General Biochemistry (7.05) Biological Chemistry (5.07/20.507) |
Biological Chemistry II (5.08) | ||||
| Math/Statistics: One year (must include calculus and statistics) |
Calculus I (18.01) Calculus II (18.02) *These are both General Institute Requirements. The Calculus I requirement may be satisfied with AP credit. And one statistics course |
Introduction to Probability and Statistics (18.05) | ||||
| Physics: One year with one lab |
Physics I (8.01) Physics II (8.02) *These are both General Institute Requirements. The Physics I requirement may be satisfied with AP credit. |
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| English/Writing: One year (must include writing — this requirement varies somewhat from school to school) |
Two courses in writing and the humanities that satisfy MIT’s
Communication Intensive in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CI‑H) requirement.
Here is a list of courses that satisfy this requirement. |
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| Psychology: Recommended, especially for MCAT prep, but not required |
Introduction to Psychology (9.00) | |||||
As you can tell from this table, MIT offers a variety of unique science courses that you might take in order to fulfill your premed requirements. Not many other schools will offer five different introductory biology courses, each with its own focus. Neither will you be able to take a course such as “Synthesis of Coordination Compounds and Kinetics” in order to fill one of your general chemistry prerequisites at other schools. So, another benefit of MIT is the wide variety and depth of science courses on offer—this is one of the reasons MIT is so well renowned!
When it comes to juggling these requirements alongside those of your major and MIT’s General Institute Requirements, it is a good idea to plan ahead. This way you won’t find yourself playing catch-up and struggling to keep up with an unmanageable course load. Also, be sure to pay attention to any AP courses you have taken that might fulfill your GIRs. AP courses, however, typically will not count towards your medical school requirements.
If you are planning to apply to medical school “straight through”—i.e. without taking a gap year—it is in your best interest to complete your premed requirements by the end of your junior year. This will allow you to complete all of your relevant coursework before taking the MCAT, which is a major advantage. MIT’s Career Advising and Professional Development Department provides a list of courses that they recommend completing prior to taking the MCAT. Getting your premed requirements out of the way will also leave your senior year more open so that you can continue to bolster your application with extracurriculars, focus on interviews, and complete any remaining requirements for your major.
Sample three-year plan
Here is a sample three-year plan that demonstrates how you might fit all of your premed requirements into your first three years of undergrad. Note, however, that if you are planning to take a gap year, you may want to spread these requirements over your full four-year course of study.
| Freshman Fall | Physics I
Calculus I |
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| Freshman Spring | Physics II
Calculus II English/Writing Course |
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| Sophomore Fall | Introductory Biology
Principles of Chemical Science Introduction to Probability and Statistics |
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| Sophomore Spring | Organic Chemistry I
General Biochemistry Introduction to Psychology |
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| Junior Fall | Organic Chemistry II
Fundamentals of Experimental Molecular Biology |
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| Junior Spring | English/Writing Course | |||||
*Note that Laboratory Chemistry (5.310) is generally taken in the spring semester of senior year. Organic Chemistry II is only offered during the fall semester.
While this plan means taking at least two required courses each semester of your first 2.5 years at MIT, it is still manageable. This plan leaves freshman year more open and then recommends heavier course loads in sophomore year—after you have had a chance to adjust to the rigorous academic environment. It also aims to have you take courses that are important for MCAT prep close to your earliest potential test dates in the fall of your junior year.
Getting through your premed requirements with a year to spare can provide great relief and allow you to focus on other essential premed priorities. That said, if you don’t find yourself moving at this pace don’t despair. Taking a gap year can be valuable not only as life experience but also as a way to strengthen your medical school application. According to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), 48% of 2023 matriculants took one to two years off before applying to medical school.
One or multiple gap years could allow you to gain professional experience, obtain a relevant master’s degree (in a field such as Public Health, for example), or dig deeper into your extracurriculars and find ways to connect them to medicine. A cognitive science major, for instance, might use this time to pursue research that sheds light on how contemporary research into brain processing might be utilized to make healthcare settings more welcoming.
How to maintain a high GPA as an MIT premed
While medical school admissions committees (adcoms) often foreground their “holistic” approach to admissions, GPA and MCAT scores are still the foundations of any medical school application. With so many applicants and so few spots, adcoms use these quantifiable stats to determine whether your application moves beyond an initial, cursory review. Maintaining a high GPA is absolutely key to getting into the medical school of your dreams.
This will be a challenge for anyone at MIT, no matter how easily you breezed through high school. MIT is considered to be one of the most rigorous universities in the world, both due to its impressive, highly-motivated student population and its heavy workloads. With this challenge, though, comes reward—MIT will give you the opportunity to prove your intellectual capabilities and dive deep into areas that interest you. Further, adcoms recognize the difficulty of an MIT education and they will account for this in their evaluations. This doesn’t mean that the name-brand recognition will make up for a low GPA. It does mean, however, that a 4.8 GPA at MIT (MIT uses a 5.0 GPA scale) will be viewed more favorably than a 4.8 at most other schools.
Creating an overall plan for your undergraduate studies (while still allowing for flexibility) will be an important way to balance your academic load. Some semesters will inevitably be more difficult than others, but balancing this difficulty as evenly as possible will raise your odds for success. Here are some additional guidelines to keep your GPA where you’d like it:
Plan ahead and use your time wisely. While we’ve covered this on a broader scale (planning over the course of multiple years), we also need to think about time management on a monthly, weekly, or day-to-day basis. One of the best ways to manage your time is by creating work schedules and priority lists. Blocking out periods for coursework will also help you enjoy your well-earned free time. A consistent scheduling practice will be hugely beneficial when it comes to balancing extracurriculars with your schoolwork. Get in the habit of creating “to-do lists,” detailed calendars, and daily agendas.
Take advantage of office hours and TA sessions. It’s important to ask questions when you don’t understand course material. Everyone misses something here and there, and it won’t do any good to soldier on alone. It’s normal to be intimidated by the intelligence of classmates or professors and to feel like you can’t keep up. Just remember that you got into MIT for a reason and your professors are eager to see you succeed. The longer you wait to ask for help, the more likely you are to fall behind.
Join a study group or create one of your own. This is another place where you can ask questions, while also supporting one another’s commitment to the premed track. It can be rejuvenating to find people who are facing the same hurdles as you. If you can’t find a supportive, non-competitive study group consider organizing one of your own.
Expect the premed track to be a challenge. Even if you—like many of your MIT classmates—cruised through high school, the premed track at MIT will be a struggle. When this challenge hits you, it might cause you to second-guess your abilities. It’s important to be aware of this mental component which can lead to feelings of imposter syndrome. Understand that this response is quite common. You can combat it by expecting to put in more academic effort than you have before, studying hard and often. Adjusting your mindset will be essential to sustaining focus over the long haul.
Finally, as touched upon above, remember to not overburden yourself with a heavy course-load to the point that it adversely affects your GPA. This means keeping steady tabs on the various assignments that each class requires and looking ahead into the semester. You don’t want to find yourself suddenly burdened with midterms or finals for four classes at once. And, remember, a well-thought out plan always leaves space for alterations. If you’re having trouble fitting all of your requirements into the fall and spring semester, for instance, consider supplementing them with summer classes.
If you decide to join the premed track later on or if you find yourself falling behind, it will also be worth considering completing certain premed requirements as a post baccalaureate. MIT offers one such program, the Research Scholars Program in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Studying as a post-bacc can also be an opportunity to improve your GPA. Another way to improve your GPA—as well as gain additional experience relevant to medicine—is to enroll in a Special Masters Program (SMP).
(Suggested reading: Average GPA and Score for Every Medical School)
What’s the Best Premed Major?
This is a common question for premeds all over. In short, the answer is that there is no universal best major for premeds. Although it may seem counterintuitive, majoring in biology does not give you a statistical advantage over someone who is majoring in architecture. (That is, as long as you manage to tie everything together in your medical school personal statement and secondary essays.)
There are certain majors, however, that are most common for premed students, with biology topping the list. One advantage of choosing a STEM major is that there will likely be significant overlap between General Institute Requirements, your premed requirements, and your major requirements. Majoring in a STEM field can also help you form relationships with faculty who have a greater understanding of what it takes to become a doctor. On the other hand, in some STEM majors it may be particularly difficult to maintain a high GPA.
In addition to these practical concerns, it is essential to choose a major that excites you. This will make school more enjoyable, and your passion will provide motivation to engage with coursework more deeply. You are also more likely to create something that stands out when you follow your own interests instead of prioritizing what you imagine adcoms want to see. Medical school adcoms are looking for intellectual curiosity and they want to know what makes you unique. With this in mind, here are four questions to ask yourself when picking a major:
Does the major excite you?
How does the major relate to your future work as a doctor?
Will you be able to maintain a high GPA?
How will it fit with your premed requirements?
When Should You Take the MCAT?
Determining when you should take the MCAT depends on a number of factors such as the premed classes you’ve completed and when you are planning to apply to medical school. If you are planning to apply to medical school “straight through” we generally recommend taking the MCAT for the first time in the fall of your junior year. This will allow you to study in the summer after your sophomore year. It will also provide adequate time in case you need to retake the test.
It is important, however, to complete relevant coursework before taking the MCAT. If you have not completed this coursework before the fall of your junior year, it would be smart to hold off on taking the test until later in the school year. You should also hold off if you are scoring poorly on AAMC practice tests and need more time to study. Adcoms will see each MCAT attempt that you make, so it is best to prepare as much as possible before taking the test for the first time. We recommend studying for at least 300 hours, which averages out to about three hours a day for three months.
Your biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and biochemistry required courses are particularly important to take before the MCAT. Even though the biochemistry premed requirements are less than those of the other sciences, it is, in fact, one of the most important subjects to master for the MCAT. If you are planning to take one or more gap years before medical school we generally recommend waiting until your senior year or later to take the MCAT. This will allow you to complete all of your premed requirements and then prepare for the test to your greatest ability.
(Suggested reading: What MCAT Score Do You Need to Get Into Medical School?)
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Part 3: MIT premed extracurriculars
When it comes to picking your extracurriculars, medical school adcoms value meaningful, sustained engagement as opposed to merely checking off all of the boxes. So, while it’s important that your extracurriculars demonstrate personal qualities and experiences that make you well-suited to being a doctor, they do not need to be exclusively medicine-related. You might demonstrate empathy, for instance, by organizing a holiday gift drive for seniors at the local nursing home, or you might demonstrate analytical skills by leading your debate team to the national championship. In addition to broader extracurriculars, research, shadowing, and volunteering/clinical experience are three areas to make sure you focus on.
(Suggested reading: How to Choose the Right Extracurricular Activities for Medical School)
Research at MIT
As a world-renowned research center and host to a number of cutting edge institutions, MIT provides unique research opportunities for their undergraduates. See this list of MIT’s centers, labs, and programs to get a sense of what’s out there. Not many schools can boast affiliations ranging from the Simons Center for the Social Brain to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In addition, MIT has research alliances with a number of important collaborating institutions throughout the country.
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) at MIT provides undergrads with the opportunity to contribute to real, hands-on research. UROP, founded in 1969, is one of the first programs of its kind in the U.S., and UROPs are available in every department at MIT, as well as in various centers and labs. Fully aware of MIT’s extensive research activity, UROP allows for a great deal of flexibility and thereby encourages students to find opportunities that excite their passion. According to recent numbers, 93% of the MIT class of 2023 took part in UROP before graduating and 65% of first-year students participated in UROP. During the 2022-2023 academic year 3,000+ MIT undergraduates participated in UROP, about 60% of MIT faculty served as UROP mentors, and $14,861,316 were allocated to support paid UROPs.
Thanks to the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, it shouldn’t be difficult to find research opportunities that both pique your interest and look good on your medical school application. Look here for more information on how to get started and don’t hesitate to stop by the UROP office for a walk-in or virtual appointment.
Shadowing at MIT
Finding shadowing opportunities as a premed can be a daunting task that involves cold-calling and putting yourself out there. Shadowing is a required and extremely valuable experience, though, in that it will show you exactly what being a doctor entails—everything from meeting with patients to reviewing lab work to completing paperwork for insurance companies. It can also give you an insider’s perspective into what specializing in various fields of medicine might look like. With such a wide variety of medical occupations out there, it is a good idea to seek a range of shadowing experiences.
The Career Advising and Development Department at MIT does what they can to make shadowing accessible to their students and they provide this helpful guide to shadowing a physician. Prehealth Advising at MIT also hosts a Physician Shadowing Program each spring semester from February to May. During these months, Prehealth Advising pairs MIT undergraduates with partnering physicians at local hospitals for a 1-day shadowing opportunity. In the past, students have shadowed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Mass General Hospital, and Tufts Medical Center and in surgical and medical specialties including neurology, cardiology, oncology, and many others.
For additional shadowing opportunities—we recommend that students accrue 50-100 shadowing hours—you can reach out to these hospitals or to physicians at these hospitals directly. Be aware, though, that with so many undergraduate students in the Boston-Cambridge area, there may be some competition for shadowing opportunities. It’s a good idea to get started early. In addition to the aforementioned locations, we recommend you reach out to physicians you know personally or can be connected to through family or friends. If you’re having trouble finding shadowing opportunities you can also reach out to alumni. MIT has a strong alumni network that is accessible through the Alumni Advisors Hub. Remember that MIT alumni who are now working in the medical field have had to overcome the same hurdles you are currently facing. They will likely be sympathetic to your plight.
(Suggested reading: How to Ask to Shadow a Doctor (Example Scripts Included))
Volunteering and Clinical Experience at MIT
The Boston-Cambridge area offers a wide variety of places where you can fulfill your volunteering and clinical experience requirements. Prehealth Advising at MIT provides an extensive list of hospitals that offer volunteer opportunities in the greater Boston area. This list also contains links to pages where you can learn about and apply to volunteer opportunities at each of these medical centers. See, for instance, the volunteer pages for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Cambridge Health Alliance.
MIT also offers a one-month healthcare immersion program each January through PKG-IAP: Health. This full-time program pairs MIT students with healthcare professionals at Boston Medical Center or Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System. The program also provides travel expenses, a stipend, and help with material costs.
In addition to these opportunities in the Boston-Cambridge area, many students find that summer is an excellent time to gain additional volunteering and clinical experience. We recommend looking into opportunities at healthcare facilities in your hometown or wherever you are planning to spend your summer.
When planning out your premed volunteering and clinical extracurriculars, it’s important to be sure that patient exposure is well covered. To make your medical school application as competitive as possible, we recommend accumulating 500+ hours of patient exposure experience. Here are some of the most common ways or settings where students gain this essential experience:
Formal hospital volunteering experiences
Assisted living facility
Hospice care center
Home health
Rehabilitation centers
Crisis text line
Suicide hotline
Finally, MIT also hosts more than 450 official student groups, about one for every ten undergraduates. Becoming involved with or starting your own student group is another way to bolster your premed extracurriculars. Among creative organizations like the Laboratory for Chocolate Science and the Puppy Lab, MIT also hosts a number of clubs related to medicine and the health professions. See, for example, the MIT Pre-Medical Society, which seeks to build a support network among MIT premeds in addition to connecting current students with alumni who have attended medical school. We also recommend looking into MIT’s Healthcare Club.
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Part 4: Getting into medical school from MIT
According to the most recent data available, the medical school acceptance rate for MIT’s 2021 cohort was 74% for MD applicants and 90% for MD-PhD applicants. This is well above the national average. For comparison, nationwide in the 2021-2022 cycle only 38% of medical school applicants were accepted into at least one MD-granting medical school. Numbers have improved somewhat in recent years, with 45.7% of applicants being accepted into at least one MD program during the 2023-2024 cycle. Based on this trend, it is probable that MIT’s medical school acceptance rates have improved as well.
The 90% acceptance rate for MD-PhD applicants from MIT is especially impressive and it highlights the strong research opportunities available at MIT. Research is a key component of any application to an MD-PhD program, many of which include full tuition coverage. MIT also partners with Harvard University to offer their own Harvard/MIT MD-PhD program. Graduates of this program obtain an MD from Harvard in addition to a PhD from one of over 25 different PhD programs at Harvard and MIT.
Finally, while the acceptance rates for medical school applicants coming out of MIT are quite high, it’s important to remember that getting into medical school is not a given. No matter how prestigious your undergraduate institution is, getting into med school will require serious, sustained effort.
(Suggested reading: How Hard Is It to Get Into Medical School?)
Final Thoughts
While MIT is not generally thought of as a destination for premeds, it provides a high level of personalized advising and resources to help you succeed on your premed journey. At a school of this size, you will have many opportunities to get to know your professors and push your thinking in new, unexpected directions. It is a prime ground for innovation and a school in which you can truly expand your intellectual horizons. The combination of adaptability, curiosity, and sustained attention that MIT brings out of its students is something med school adcoms love to see.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.
