<p>Although it does not specifically answer the question of how many MIT admits were involved in research, Stu Schmill, Deputy Director of Admissions, mentioned in a recent meeting that about 16% of MIT admits had won some national award in science and math competitions (USAMO finalist, Siemens or Intel finalists, etc…) according to an independent faculty review. That is about 245 from the total of 1533 admits in 2007. A lot more certainly participated in competitions or were involved in independent research. </p>
<p>On another point, he also mentioned that 49% of admits from schools that rank students were valedictorians in their class. Obviously, many schools don’t rank, so it is not clear how many valedictorians were actually admitted, but it does indicate the importance of GPA in admissions.</p>