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<p>I didn’t realize there were academic competitions until I started applying to MIT, so I hear you here. Athletics, like any other activity, are awesome to pursue if you’re someone who loves it. It certainly will play a role in your application - just not in any special way different from any other activity :)</p>
<p>Thank you college confidential for telling me everything I needed to know. No one at my school knew what they were until I entered them, I found out cause of CC.</p>
<p>Don’t athletics provide more leverage than other ECs? There are varsity athletes who are in contact with the MIT coaches who can talk to the admissions department…</p>
<p>I play Baseball. I’m not saying it’ll make a substantial difference, but it can’t hurt.</p>
<p>@monjac
Athletics does not provide any more leverage than other EC’s, as PiperXP said.
I am in contact with a varsity coach at MIT and he emphasized the point that everyone who plays for him gets into MIT as a student first, and I will not be an exception.
He did say he will submit a recommendation for me into the admissions office but I doubt this has anymore effect on my application than any other recommendation would.
For example…he’s talked to my coach and write my recommendation about what kind of an athlete I am. There’s virtually no difference in someone who got a teacher to write them a rec about what kind of a student/researcher/mathlete(lol) they are.
Because MIT’s top priority remains academics, and I’m sure every student-athlete at MIT prioritizes academics above all others, I cannot imagine athletics being any more of a hook than any other EC.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, post your Sat Math score if you are comfortable with displaying that information. i got a 780 and i wanted to know if that is good enough to be a high contender for MIT. I’m not stupid and i know its a high score… but still its MIT common i wouldn’t be surprised to have half the people applying scoring 800s -_-.</p>
<p>@dosoon</p>
<p>Respectfully differ from your assessment. There are those who have had somewhat different experiences in regards to athletic ‘recruitment’ so I would not extrapolate too widely from your n=1 experience. </p>
<p>It is true that athletics won’t get an academically subpar athlete admitted. However, for the athlete who has at least average numbers for MIT, it may be a different issue.</p>
<p>I understand the swim team had an outstanding meet this weekend. That doesn’t happen by just treating athletics as ‘just another EC.’</p>
<p>I got an 800 on Math, but really I don’t think that it is that big of deal. If you get above a 700-750, you will probably be fine. They judge us on our whole application, and try not to focus on just one specific statistic. I think the same goes for athletics. If you are good at a sport, it’s like being good at any other EC. I am a devoted swimmer, but I don’t believe that will necessarily help my odds. It’s really up to luck and who they are arbitrarily looking for.</p>
<p>I think the swim team is solid evidence that there’s at least some preference given to athletes, and I wouldn’t blame them. Every highly competitive school allows for preferential treatment for athletes. Why would MIT be any different?</p>
<p>@Reshaun15
I got a 800 but keep in mind your 780 is no different from my 800 in the eyes of the admissions officers. Because there are so many academically qualified students, from my understanding, they just skim through your test scores and move onto the parts of your application that really matter. Not saying that you can get into MIT with subpar test scores, but I don’t think a couple of points ever kept someone who fit into MIT from getting into MIT. What makes you a high contender from MIT goes far beyond your scores.</p>
<p>@ihs76
I can’t tell if you mean Respectfully like the word Respecfully or the person lol
To be selfish and honest, I hope what you are saying is true, and my athletics is a special hook to my application.
But I think of it as…yes there are a lot of successful student athletes at MIT, but there are tons of other successful students at MIT who excel in other EC’s (competitions, community service, interships, etc).</p>
<p>Ya i hope they prefer athletes lol. I start on the Felix Varela soccer team here in Miami and we are back to back state and national champs. but then again who knows what they look for.</p>
<p>Unless you are maybe the top swimmer or athlete in your region, in which you are truly exceptional at a sport, then they will of course get preferential treatment. It’s no different from placing in the top 50 in a national academic competition.</p>
<p>@PiperXP</p>
<p>i agree, there are many other talents/abilities that could potentially push an applicant through outside of sports. like any EC, sports are important, but not overriding.</p>
<p>I would clarify that I am referring to athletes of the level that would be recruitable at other schools, ones the coaches would expect would make a significant contribution to the team at MIT. Doubt that being an average varsity athlete would be much more of a hook than another EC as others have said.</p>
<p>But, having said that, the proof is in the pudding, so we’ll see next week :)</p>
<p>hmm… a lot of you seem to be athletic…anyone here participate in the visual arts?</p>
<p>The word from Matt (replying to an email I sent him a few months ago):
The fact that MIT has talented athletes doesn’t indicate that athletic recruitment is powerful at MIT. </p>
<p>To illustrate, I was on the cheerleading squad when I was at MIT, and am now the coach. We have a lot of talented cheerleaders, including people who cheered on competitive, national-championship-winning All-Star squads in high school. But we’re a club sport at MIT – we get these talented cheerleaders not by pre-admissions recruitment (we don’t have a voice in the admissions office), but by convincing prefrosh and freshmen to join the squad once they’re here.</p>
<p>eight 1000 8 huit days!</p>
<p>It seems like I’m the only person who has mid-terms around here. I don’t really have time to kill :(</p>
<p>…except for posting here, apparently</p>
<p>aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!</p>
<p>i can’t stand the waiting!</p>
<p>LOL</p>
<p>8 more days >.<</p>