<p>
You are competing against the other international applicants. Many international applicants have stellar SAT I scores (1500 or better) and near max TOEFL scores (>110/120). If you were the MIT admissions committee, which applicant would you pick?</p>
<p>It’s hard to distinguish yourself with TOEFL as it is a relatively easy test to get near full marks.</p>
<p>But test scores are not everything for MIT. They allow the option for TOEFL so they can pick the truely talented students whose native language is not English. If you consider yourself a MIT caliber student, don’t write yourself off yet.</p>