<p>So, during my interview a few months back, during the "let's talk about how awesome MIT is!" portion, my EC told me that MIT was part of the Ivy League. </p>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p>So I was like, "...what?" And he just looked at me, at which I mumbled, "oh... well, I didn't think it was. I guess it is?" And the interview went on.</p>
<p>What I really wanted to do was say, "No! You're wrong!", but I didn't think that would be really appropriate (in any situation. I'm not arrogant like that).</p>
<p>So my question for you is: why would he say that? Was he really mistaken? Was he trying to test my personality? My reaction in the face of false information?</p>
<p>I highly doubt he was trying to “test” you. I can’t imagine what information he would be trying to get from such a “test.” (Although I’m sure there are plenty of conspiracy theorists who could come up with something.)</p>
<p>The absolute worst that can happen is if he writes in his report, “Applicant didn’t even know MIT was party of the Ivy League!” I guarantee you that everyone is the admissions office is clear on the point.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t know what to make of the situation, but I wouldn’t waste time worrying about it.</p>
<p>I think that the most logical answer is that the EC was mistaken. There is a significant but subtle difference between the “Ivy League” which is purely an NCAA Sports league, and the “Ivy Group”, which is a collection of schools that set common admissions and financial aid procedures. For many, many years, the Ivy Group was made up of the 8 Ivy league schools plus MIT.</p>
<p>However, in September of 1992, a US Federal judge found that MIT had engaged in price-fixing when it met with the eight Ivy League schools to coordinate financial aid policies, particularly as they applied to commonly-admitted students. </p>
<p>The eight Ivy League schools–Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania and Yale had signed a consent decree to stop the practices. But MIT insisted that its actions were both legal and necessary if the university was to continue its long-standing policy of offering admission on a need-blind basis and providing need-based aid so that all those admitted would be able to attend, regardless of financial circumstances. </p>
<p>The Antitrust Division of the Justice Department brought suit against MIT. An appeals court finally ruled in MIT’s favour, and at the very end of 1993, the justice department announced that they were dropping their suit. Both sides declared victory in the case. New procedures were set up that allowed all participating non-profit colleges to do things like “Exchange through a computer facility --before financial aid awards are made-- the financial data submitted by individual students, to make sure the data are consistent.” </p>
<p>Since then, MIT has not participated as a member of the Ivy Group, but if your EC was older than say the class of 1992, he/she may well remember MIT as a member of the Ivy Group.</p>
<p>Oh wow. I had no idea that the Ivy Group and MIT went through all of that. I believe my EC graduated sometime in the '60s (I don’t remember the exact year), so that is probably to what he was referring. Thank you!</p>
<p>Quite strictly, MIT is not part of the Ivy League.</p>
<p>Originally, the Ivy League was a football dominion played by Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Darmouth, Cornell, Columbia and the University of Pensylvania.</p>
<p>It has now come to mean the elite colleges of the United States. The five foremost of those are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT. HYPSM. Strictly speaking, MIT is not in the Ivy League. However, in the modern and popular nomenclature, MIT is ivy league. It’s a tricky problem of protocol, and you’re often better off playing naive and humble if you’re an MIT student. But this is probably what your interviewer meant.</p>
<p>EDIT:</p>
<p>Mikayle’s post was very eye opening and adds a new dimension to my own sentiments. I posted merely as an applicant, but Mikayle has the experience as an undergraduate and an interviewer. Take my information with a grain of salt.</p>