I know some schools send e-mail to those who have no chance of acceptance in order to lower their acceptance rates. We’re ignoring most of those emails, but there’s one I’m not sure about…
Ds has been invited to apply to several free diversity summer programs. A few of them seem to be a good fit, and he has applied to those, but he just got an e-mail about Mathroots at MIT. An MIT camp seems to be a stretch for his stats. He got a 720 on the math portion of the SAT last Nov. Which is good, but doesn’t seem to be MIT material. And he hasn’t done competition math or anything like that. So I’m thinking he shouldn’t bother with this one.
But I’m wondering overall how you distinguish marketing e-mails meant to drive down acceptance rates from schools showing genuine interest in a student.
@jazzymomof7
A 720 on the math SAT section is a fine score.
You are talking about applying to summer programs, right? Not applying for admission to MIT as a college student.
If he is interested…he should apply.
I had a quick look at the program. Your son’s score is very good. They emailed because he has a good score and fits the profile of the type of student they are looking for. If he is interested, he should apply. It’s a good thing, and there’s no harm because it’s free. He isn’t applying to college yet. Yes, they want low acceptance rates come college application time, but I think at this stage in the game, given that they are prepared to spend money on him (if he gets accepted to it), they are the ones taking a risk. He shouldn’t apply just because it’s MIT, especially if the summer program doesn’t interest him.
And your son could be very interesting if your name is any indication. 
Coming from a larger family might give him lots of good stories to tell.
My eldest son who admitted had really strong test scores in math and physics (800s) and was a competitive mathlete, attended the MIT WISE program in fall of his senior year. It was probably the biggest reason why he chose to attend MIT. http://wise.mitadmissions.org/
If your son is interested in certain diversity programs at whichever colleges he receives them from, why not apply?
Thanks, all!
I guess my main concern was having him apply to a bunch of programs that he has no chance of being accepted into. But I can see how this is different than regular admissions. I’ll see if he’s interested.
And yes, his life in a large family provides him with a very unique experience. The problem is that because he grew up this way, it seems normal to him. I keep trying to convince him he has an interesting story to tell!
Oh, @jazzymomof7, I do understand! I’m a college consultant and just finished working with a most unusual applicant. The challenge was, as you have described, he was so used to his “unusualness” that he didn’t see just how unique he was. Through my time working with him (as well as from encouragement from his mom), he wrote amazing essays, and has had great success so far during this application season.
I hope the people who work with your son (be it you, your GC or whomever) help draw him out via his essays; I’m sure he could tell some great stories.
Admissions to summer programs is different from getting admitted to the college they’re held at. Most of the time decisions are made by two completely separate groups of people, and a lot of people will get into a summer program at a college, but not at the college itself (or vice versa). So I would try to ignore the MIT name and focus on the program itself. In particular I think MATHROOTS is particularly intended for people like your son who are good at math, but have not been exposed to math outside of classes in high school.
He should go ahead and apply. IF he is accepted and chooses to go it sounds like a wonderful experience- at any of his choices. He should be doing this for HIM, not for his resume. Experiences like this will broaden his world and help him make decisions for colleges and majors.
It sounds like no down side to applying, other than time. And it might be good process to gear up for college apps next year. Good luck!
Had a chance to discuss it with him today, and he wasn’t interested. He saw the sample math problem on the website and didn’t think he’d be interested in spending a week on problems like that. So I guess even though he likes math, that rules out a super intense math focus.
He has applied to a few accounting, business and engineering camps, and one leadership camp - some I found and some he was invited to apply. I’m hoping he will get into a few different ones so he can explore potential majors. I also think it will be good for to be away from home a little.