<p>
As I said above,
So each and every application gets, say, 1.25 hours. (Some might get more – applications are discussed in committee until a decision can be made on them, so the time spent on them will necessarily vary.) This is possible because there is a relatively large group of people reading and discussing applications, and because the review is divided into three more reasonably-sized groups (6000 applicants for EA, 8000 domestic applicants for RD, 4000 international applicants for RD). The reading period takes place over the course of about a month to six weeks of full-time reading for each admissions officer, and selection committee takes about two weeks of 10-hour days, plus weekends. </p>
<p>Each application absolutely receives a holistic review, and information about the mechanics of this review is freely available on the MIT site.</p>