Graduate school admissions in general, not MIT specifically, vary by degree, college (business, engineering, arts and sciences ) , and specific major. So for instance it may be easier to be admitted in one engineering department over another, depending on the demand for that program. One trend I am noticing is that computer science PhD programs are currently oversubscribed today. (Undergraduate CS is way oversubscribed too at many well ranked US computer science programs,like Illinois, Carnegie Mellon, UW Seattle. MIT does not admit per department but to the school as a whole, so this is not affecting MIT, they allow any % to major in any major). Students with very good CS preparation,but less industry experience, are being turned down by the top programs at Michigan, UW Seattle and MIT. Its become very fiercely competitive to get into PhD programs in CS. Ironic because Yale and many other schools have more than five openings for CS faculty. There are not enough PhDs in CS to go around, is my sense, and companies snap them up. Masters programs may be easier for admission, because students pay cash for that like undergrad. PhD programs typically come with teaching positions, or research assistantships, so a low paying job of sorts.