<p>Nobody gets admitted to MIT (or any other top school) "because" of one factor, nor does anybody get denied from a top school "because" of one factor. These schools practice holistic admissions, and they are looking at an applicant's whole story.</p>
<p>Another great MITBlogs entry on this topic was written by Bryan '07: <a href="http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/life/the_mit_minority_community/fear_of_flying.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/life/the_mit_minority_community/fear_of_flying.shtml</a></p>
<p>Most of the people who apply to top schools are "qualified" -- MIT estimates about 70%, and I've heard Harvard say about 90% of their applicants are "qualified". The people who get in are not necessarily more qualified than others who didn't get in (whatever that means), but they were chosen for their other attributes and what they will contribute to the school's community.</p>
<p>I like the way the MIT admissions officers put it:
[quote]
When we admit a class of students to MIT, it's as if we're choosing a 1,000-person team to climb a very interesting, fairly rugged mountain - together. We obviously want people who have the training, stamina and passion for the climb. At the same time, we want each to add something useful or intriguing to the team, from a wonderful temperament or sense of humor, to compelling personal experiences, to a wide range of individual gifts, talents, interests and achievements. We are emphatically not looking for a batch of identical perfect climbers; we are looking for a richly varied team of capable people who will support, surprise and inspire each other.
[/quote]
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