MIT Recommendation Letter guidelines?

Hello everyone, I'm planning to apply to MIT and I'm a bit confused about the recommendation letter part of the process. How many letters does MIT require and who should they be from? Are there specific things they're looking for in these letters?

MIT does have very specific guidelines for letters of recommendation. They require two letters: one from a math or science teacher and one from a humanities, social science, or language teacher. Ideally, these teachers will be from one of your final two years of high school.

What MIT is essentially looking for in these letters are insights about your character, personality, and behavior that aren't evident from the other parts of the application. They are interested in understanding aspects like your intellectual curiosity, creativity, initiative, collaboration, leadership, resilience, and, most importantly, how you contribute to the classroom environment. The context your teachers can offer is powerful and often provides deep insights that help the admissions officers to understand you better.

Important to note: MIT also provides an opportunity to submit a supplemental recommendation, which might be a wise choice to consider if someone else outside of your teachers could provide a unique, valuable perspective on your candidacy. This could be a coach, research mentor, employer, or another individual who knows you well. However, you should not feel obligated to do this; MIT explicitly mentions that less can be more when considering whether to add additional materials to your application. As in all things related to college admissions, it's about the quality, not the quantity!

Good luck with your application! It's clear that you're already thinking carefully about the process. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any more questions.