<p>I have been wondering about why so few students from top boarding schools matriculated to MIT, comparing to the ives. Asked the questions before and someone said that was because most students from BS don't like a tech /no -fun school like MIT. </p>
<p>Today I saw this from ExieMITalum:</p>
<p>"I remember being told by a college advisor at Exeter (back when the earth was first formed) not to apply to MIT because students from Exeter rarely got in. I ignored him and applied anyway. I also remember him suggesting I avoid Cornell. Got in there too."</p>
<p>So it seems that MIT has a problem with BS also, the dislike is mutual.</p>
<p>OK, Exeter has quite a few kids went to MIT in recent years. But if you look at other schools, the numbers are still incredibly low, Milton has something like 30-40 Harvard vs <3 MIT.</p>
<p>I think it’s because of the “liberal arts tradition” in these schools, but things are changing not just in Exeter (Exeter is a step ahead because rightly or wrongly it’s believed that Exeter has had a math/science strength all along). All schools have had in recent years or is having a new science building and more kids interested in math & science are getting admitted.</p>
<p>Also - recognize MIT wants a diverse student body in terms of schooling, geographical region (most applicants come from east and west coast), ec’s etc.</p>
<p>So that’s why the numbers are low. There are only about 1,000 actual spots for incoming freshman, although I’ll go find the stats from this year when I get back from commuting.</p>
<p>Also - a lot of liberal arts kids don’t consider MIT even though you can get a non-engineering degree there. So go figure.</p>
<p>But they are more aware - so hence - more BS students than when I was trying to break that mold.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that you should only be going to MIT if you want a math/science/engineering degree. Harvard, on the other hand, is a draw for a broader set of majors, and for those who aren’t even strongly inclined to any one major.</p>
<p>ExieMITAlum: I don’t think MIT trying to be diverse can account for 30-40 Harvard to <3 MIT admits, as all schools try to be diverse. There may be other reasons, that is what FayMom may be looking for. May be the wealthy kids (predominant population) at BS may not be interested in Math/Sci/Eng. It will be probably difficult for them to compete with many driven kids from Public Schools with Intel and Siemens Math and Science Competitions prizes. I see very few HADES or any BS kids winning the Intel and Siemens Competitions which MIT probably prizes. I still like to know more about this, just as FayMom is interested in knowing.</p>
<p>You might be right - kids are self-selecting. Truly. I began to think today about whether some parents apply to BS as a path to Ivy’s not a path to CalTech, MIT, etc.</p>
<p>People are much better schooled about choices available at Harvard, than at MIT which most people think of as a nerd school for science geeks (okay - so it is) but it really is a bit broader than that.</p>
<p>Even so - the percentage of kids prepared for an intense math, science and engineering career compared to liberal arts is probably low. If that subset holds for BS kids, then a comparatively low number of students will apply to MIT. Which doesn’t mean you “can’t” get into MIT - just that not a lot of BS kids apply as a total of their BS population.</p>
<p>Right now yield is horribly low - the lowest in history - because the application count keeps rising. It’s unreal. I suspect the “free” tuition for parents under a specific threshhold caused people to look at MIT in a way they didn’t when I had to tell them $38,000 with a straight face (although looking at BS tuition has put things in a whole new perspective for me.)</p>
<p>Once the admissions crazies and waiting list angst dies down, I might ask if the EdCouncil has stats on boarding school admissions versus applications. Might be an interesting number.</p>
<p>As in my case - I’m wondering if volume is low because tech schools like MIT aren’t emphasized to the same extent as other colleges that are traditionally associated with post BS education.</p>
<p>Andover sends about 6-8 kids per year to MIT (including one I know very well) with an acceptance rate that’s 3x the overall average. Yes, MIT looks for kids that have displayed a passion for math and science, often through competitions such as the various Olympiads, Intel, Siemens, etc. But they also look for a broader and more diversified campus than most people suspect. Every year on sites like this one you can find candidates that got rejected by MIT claiming some malice in their rejection “because I had a 4.0, 2400, was a Siemens finalist, was admitted to Caltech, …”</p>
<p>I do think in large part the issue is one of self-selection. Most BS kids are looking for a liberal arts education or at least one that they perceive as being broader. That’s unfortunate as MIT has great programs outside of engineering, including one of the top 3 or so economics departments. The campus is also quite dynamic, with an array of opportunities far beyond “geeky” pursuits. For those BS students that do seek an MIT education, they have as good or better chance of being admitted there than at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, et al.</p>
<p>Here’s a fascinating article written by a prep school college counselor. I’ll start a new thread because I know it’s coming up on a number of discussions:</p>
<p>MIT is ONLY for math/natural sciences/engineering kids? I was told that the school is way more diverse and has some great social sciences programs. </p>
<p>My dad’s been wondering about that too. Great question FayMom!</p>
<p>Read my posts above. There is a lot more to MIT than math or science, although most people tend to apply for the engineering side then take courses in - or double major with something else. In my case I double majored in Engineering and Art and was given two advisors. I also minored in economics (great departments) took courses at Sloan school of management, and studied Baroque music. I have a colleague who double majored in Physics and Fine Arts. Yet another who got his MD/PhD at Harvard/MIT while preparing for a military career. My sister studied Electrical Engineering, Math and Art. etc… Another friend studied Chemical Engineering and didn’t double major because he was training for the Olympics. MIT has a several theater departments, competitive ballroom dance teams, etc.</p>
<p>The kids that go to MIT are - in many cases - multifaceted which is why students who ONLY study math or science and get high SAT scores wonder why they weren’t chosen.</p>
<p>Because the only aspect you see in the media is the technical side - for instance the robotics competitions or the patents or the research labs.</p>
<p>MIT’s philosophy is you apply to the Institute (instead of the specific discipline) - then what you do once you’re inside is up to you and your advisor. Once upon a time you get dabble in a lot of things and get an “undesignated” degree. Although I don’t know how you would explain that to someone outside. :-)</p>
<p>You can also take classes at Harvard and Wellesley at no additional cost. (Their students can study at MIT as well).</p>
<p>Still - MIT’s reputation is that it’s tough to get in (it is really really tough) and that the focus is Math, Engineering and Science (also true) so people don’t look beyond that label or believe it’s too hard a school to shoot for.</p>
<p>I say - nothing ventured, nothing gained. </p>
<p>But I won’t kid you - there are so many students applying today - the yield is impossibly low - lowest it’s been in years.</p>
<p>along with Penn’s Wharton, MIT’s Sloan School is the best undergraduate business school in the world and one of the best graduate business schools in the world. Its undergrads earn the highest salaries and have the highest SAT averages according to Business Week magazine.</p>
<p>Admittedly, my personal story may be a bit dated, but I’ll tell it anyway.</p>
<p>Back when in my senior, er… V Form, year at Lawrenceville, I was the only member of the class to be admitted to MIT. I’m not sure how many applied, but I’m sure it was not nearly as many as applied to the HYP schools. As I was intending to be a math major (and actually did so), I was seriously torn between there and Yale. Better math program at MIT. Cambridge vs. New Haven. Other subjects were mostly better at Yale if I were to change or for my non-major classes. Living arrangements seemed better at Yale. On my revisits, kids seemed a bit less nerdy at Yale, though I’m sure I could have fit in at either school. Slightly more overall prestige for Yale (especially coming from a boarding school). My parents weren’t any help at all. Seeing that I really couldn’t make a bad decision, they simply said it was up to me. Friends had a variety of different opinions (the ones going to Harvard seemed most strongly in favor of MIT, hmmm…) It all seemed to more or less balance out.</p>
<p>And in the end, what finally helped me make up mind? At the time, Lawrenceville was still all-boys. MIT was about 75% male and Yale was about 50% male. I went to Yale.</p>
<p>That is both awesome and hilarious! Thank you for that!</p>
<p>And you point out something most people forget to factor in when looking at the “numbers.” Just because someone is “admitted” to MIT doesn’t mean they actually accept. Like BS’s the top schools know that their students are applying to other schools and there are a host of intangibles that lead someone to say yes or no to an acceptance.</p>
<p>AH…well, I’ll expand - based on my knowledge of a goodly number of MIT grads that I’ve worked with over the years. MIT is PRIMARILY a ‘hard disciplines’ place. (Not, of course, hard in the sense of hard/easy but in the sense of hard/soft.) Outside of the obvious engineering/math/science area, things grow thin in some areas. There is no classics department, no religion department, and philosophy is squeezed in with linguistics. The only history degree is history of science. Does this mean MIT is a shabby little place? Of course not! But if you are an undecided liberal arts sort of kid, it’s probably not a great choice. That’s all I meant. If you are an undecided liberal arts sort of kid, most of the Ivies seem more likely to suit.</p>
<p>My Chinese friend at MIT said that the year she applied to the institute, all the admitted Chinese applicants through RD are female.
It’s pretty funny. =P</p>
<p>Yes - MIT students can take classes at Harvard and Wellesley (and vice versa). And, of course, Harvard is pretty darn handy too. (Wellesley is a bit more of a hike.) But there are a lot of liberal arts majors missing from MIT. Ifyou really want a degree in history/religion/classics/philosophy - why in the world would you apply to MIT which doesn’t have these majors? (excluding history of science) If you are really unsure as to what you want, and think you might want something outside of the majors offered by MIT, why would you apply there? In short, I’m merely suggesting that part of the reason that fewer kids from prep schools are accepted at MIT is that fewer apply to MIT than to any given Ivy because some aren’t interested in only the areas MIT covers. A kid interested in a early history major with a classics minor , for example, would just be crazy to apply to MIT.</p>