Do you need to take the A-levels or SAT when applying to MIT?Answered
I am moving to grade 10 and MIT has been my dream school. I have realized I might need to take the SAT but I am doing the British Curriculum and cannot change to the American Curriculum. My school doesn’t offer any AP or IB or honors classes. For my curriculum I have to take the IGCSE. I want to find out if I can apply to MIT with the A-levels or if I do not need to take the a levels but use that time to take the SAT.
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2 answers
My curriculum is also non-American (Bulgaria), yet if you have the opportunity to test for the exams (SAT, Subject Tests) then I would strongly recommend you to self-study for them and take them. As for AP, my school, too, doesn't offer any AP classes or exams. Still, I decided to self-study for 2 exams and to take them in another school. If you believe that you can manage both the British curriculum and take the standardized tests then I strongly recommend you do it, especially for MIT. You still have a lot of time, so taking the tests should not be so hard provided that they don't cause you financial difficulty and are available to you. Good luck!
(from MIT website)
If you attended high school outside of the United States, your grades and subjects of study might have been very different than those of most American students. However, this will not negatively impact your application to MIT.
MIT admissions counselors are trained to understand the educational system in your part of the world. We do not try to convert your grades to the American system, or to find other sorts of equivalence. You will not be competing against your classmates or students in other parts of the world; we do not have caps or quotas for countries. We consider each student as an individual as they proceed through our process.
However, all students need to demonstrate minimum competence in fields they will continue to study at MIT. We recommend that all international students study:
Four years of English
Mathematics, at least to the level of calculus
Two or more years of history/social studies
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
While these courses are not required, studying them will increase the chances that you will be sufficiently prepared academically to attend MIT. Students without all of the listed recommended classes are welcome to apply.
With regards to SAT, MIT is test optional this admissions cycle, that may change in 2 years when you apply so you need to check with MIT in 1 year or so to see if you need to prepare for that.
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