<p>With regard to Mikalye’s post #9, it seems implausible to me that half of the academic stars (the ones who are not admitted) are friendless bookworms.</p>
<p>I grant that some of the academic stars could cause difficulties for themselves with poor interviews. A few of them may have undesirable qualities. But, based on the results threads that I have read over the years, it would be incorrect for a student to think: “I qualify as an academic star. I have many friends. There is nothing particularly wrong with me. Therefore, I can expect to get in.”</p>
<p>For any applicant who is highly qualified, but not admitted, I think there are at least three possibilities:
- Something that actually does hinder the match between the student and MIT (see post #9)
- Something in the file that is misinterpreted as likely to hinder the match, when the student actually matches well. This might be something that the student has no control over (e.g., a comment in a recommendation letter–in many places the letters are unseen by the student).
- Nothing wrong at all, but the application just doesn’t resonate with the admissions staff member, for some reason. </p>
<p>Not a “reason” of the status of 1-3, but still something I could imagine, with only a slight stretch: Similarity of the high-flying applicants, e.g., “Oh, no, this is our 20th applicant this year who summited Everest without supplemental oxygen by the age of 14. I am getting really tired of these guys. And this one hasn’t summited the highest peak on Antarctica yet. He’s outta here!”</p>