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First-year Essay Evaluation: Overview

Welcome to MIT!

Dear MIT Class of 2028,

The first step in completing MIT’s undergraduate Communication Requirement is the First-year Essay Evaluation (FEE). The FEE is taken online and is offered twice during the summer. It assesses your competency in expository writing to provide you and your advisor with a detailed evaluation that will help inform your selection of classes for the first semester and beyond. Based on the results of the FEE, you will be able to enroll in any CI-H (Communication-Intensive in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences) class during your first year at MIT, in any CI-HW (Foundational Writing) class, or in 21W.222 or 21W.220, which are writing classes specifically designed for bilingual students. A few weeks after submitting your essays online, you will receive detailed comments on your writing to help you prepare for your MIT career.

All incoming students must take the FEE unless they have already scored a 5 on either the AP Language and Composition test or Literature and Composition test, or a 7 on either the English A or B Higher Level International Baccalaureate (IB) exam. If you have sent one of these scores to MIT, you are exempt from the FEE and do not need to take further action. If you are planning to take these assessments in May, please refer to our FAQs for details. For questions about sending scores and your AP or IB credits, please click here.

FEE registration tentatively opens on May 15, 2024. The FEE will be offered twice during the summer. Summer Session #1 is projected to run from June 11 – June 18 and Summer Session #2 is project to run from July 10 – 17. 

Click here for more details about the FEE.

IMPORTANT: If English is not your first language or if not all of your schooling was in English from ages six through the end of high school, please read our page for non-native English speakers. 

If you require accommodations on the basis of a disability to complete the FEE, please reach out to das-student@mit.edu to learn about the process to engage accommodations and services you may need.

For questions of a general nature regarding the FEE, please contact fee-help@mit.edu