<p>Right now, although MIT is my top choice, it feels like an utter shot in the dark. Because of other schools caring about SAT scores and whatnot, I can get an idea of where I stand and my chances, but with MIT I just have no clue.</p>
<p>I have my essays written, have not a ridiculous amount but fair number of extracurriculars, and decent SAT scores. (800M/690R/720W)</p>
<p>But when I was looking at the results from last year, there was no correlation on anything on who gets accepted. Is it really just, personality and character alone?</p>
<p>I just have no clue what determines acceptance, and I have no clue whether or not I'm likely to be deferred, admitted, or denied.</p>
<p>Anyone have any ideas?</p>
<p>Yup, it’s unfortunate, but the good news is that you have a lot of exceptional company. The bad news is that life is often like that.</p>
<p>Everyone applying, or at least everyone without an extraordinary sense of entitlement, probably feels the same way as you do about the mysterious process and the odds of being accepted.</p>
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It’s not, really, but it’s tough to tell from the outside. It’s particularly tough because a large percentage of the applicant pool has high standardized test scores and grades, so it’s really difficult to use stats alone to identify whether you’re likely to be admitted.</p>
<p>I’ll go with the conventional wisdom and say that admission to MIT is more about “fit” than it is at most other universities. If you read the web site and blogs carefully, it’s not that difficult to see interests and personal features that contribute to fit, and those that don’t. I think the MIT application is still unusually long, isn’t it? That helps both sides to determine “fit.”</p>
<p>I can’t say that admissions assesses “fit” perfectly–perfection doesn’t happen in real life–but I think they are currently trying quite hard to assess it accurately.</p>
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<p>No correlation in any of the test scores, you mean, which is [as</a> expected.](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/the-difficulty-with-data]as”>The Difficulty With Data | MIT Admissions)</p>