My son is a strong student (36 ACT, 4.0/4.4 GPA, 8-9AP Courses with 5 on Exams etc and very strong in Math/Science). He is also a good baseball player. that has won several individual and team awards, including a state championship. No MLB prospect or ambitions, but he is expected to get plenty of interest from D1 coaches (Ivy) and other D3 coaches. MIT is his top choice for academic reasons as well as the baseball program, based on some time he spent with the team in the winter. However, I am reading horror stories about student athlete admissions at MIT. His current coaches feel that MIT should be very interested in him as a player AND as a student. He has been in contact with the MIT coaches and they are interested in seeing him this summer. Just very hesitant about his chances and declining offers from other top schools if MIT is such a admissions nightmare (lack of likely letter). Any thoughts on his prospects and strategy to get in.
You may want to post this in the athletic recruits thread below. Others may have better info and advice, but my impression from that thread is that MIT recruiting is not very predictable.
Coaches have no pull at MIT
^ I believe they have some pull, but very limited compared to Ivy, nescac coaches. I have no direct knowledge of this, though. Just basing that on conversations with folks that have been recruited in other sports. They were told coaching support ‘helps’ but at best puts the odds closer to a coin toss. Of course, I don’t know what their grades and test scores looked like. OP may want to ask the baseball coach very directly about this.
The standards for admission to MIT do not change based on athletic recruiting. You have to have the grades, the stats, high level classes, etc.
The coach can put a note with your file that you are being considered as an athletic recruit. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other athletic recruits with better skills than your son that might get in before he does. They definitely over recruit there, and certainly not every recruit gets accepted.
My son has talked with 2 different coaches there and he has received 2 notes back with what they expect their athletes to have for academic credentials. Basically the same stats as everyone else, maybe a 1 point leeway on SAT?ACT test, LOL
If you have a recruitable kid that can use his skill to gain to gain admission somewhere, I’d say apply to another school ED and save MIT as a lottery back up.
That’s just my opinion based on the discussions my son has had with coaches, and from what horror stories I’ve read like you.
My son was actively recruited by MIT’s baseball team. He was invited by the coaches and went on an “official” campus visit, but the coaches were very upfront about their limited pull (but they have some). As an fyi, he also was recruited by CalTech and we met with the AD who also said her and the coach’s pull were limited, but again they did have some. His stat’s are in line with your son’s. It’s a tough choice, and the best I can do is share with you my son’s thought process:
He was given athletic offers by a number of highly competitive D3 programs (top 10 on most every list) where admissions would be all but assured. He did not make the list for HYP, but the coaches encouraged him to “walk-on” if he got in through the regular admissions process. If he had gotten an “offer” from 1 of those schools, he would have taken it. As it was, he felt he had a very good chance of getting into one the D3’s given his stat’s and EC’s, and a much better than average chance of getting into HYP. He decided to apply SCEA to Yale (his top choice and where he has legacy status). While he got into Yale, which made his life simple, he was getting calls from the D3 coaches into December, well past the ED deadlines. My guess is that they still had some admissions “currency” and my son would have fallen into the highest band, requiring the least “currency” to push through EDII or even regular admissions.
It sounds like MIT for your son is analogous to Yale for mine. If MIT is his number 1 choice, head and shoulders above all others, taking your best shot at MIT with the coach’s support seems to be the way to go. He may still have some athletic recruit currency if he does not get in, but that will be a risk. On the other hand, if another school, like Princeton, is just a hair behind and he can lock in admissions, that may be the better option. In any event, he should leave all options open for now, and get seen by as many top academic schools as possible (we liked the Stanford and Headfirst camps ourselves in terms of bang for buck in exposure and interaction, and you can make 1 trip if you do the California Headfirst camp which is always scheduled right before the Stanford camp) and visit where he can in the fall.
Thank you for the great feedback…confirms my thinking.
@Michaellbs I don’t know specifically about the baseball programs pull, but since I got recruited for another sport I could maybe shed some light. The pull that the programs have on admissions was best described to me as adding an extremely strong extracurricular activity onto the application. Whereas unlike the Ivies who just straight up recruit you for your talent in sports, MIT will only view it as a part of your application. However, that does not mean that it does not give you a better chance, but take an offer with a grain of salt. Good luck
One view the adcoms take is if your son breaks his leg the first week of school and can’t play a sport, would they still consider him a match for MIT.
@Michaellbs, there was a student on CC who graduated HS in 2016 named @PurePhysics, who was highly advanced in math (I believe he was a 2015 RSI participant) and who was recruited in baseball. I believe he applied EA to MIT. He hasn’t posted in 18 months and I don’t know where he ended up, but you might try PM’ing him. It sounds like your son is in the right “ballpark” academically, and he has at the very least a strong EC. Good luck!
He should apply to MIT EA. I’d be surprised if he didn’t get accepted. This is assuming he can provide strong letters of recommendation because students who aren’t personable will have a tough time gaining admission.
The best thing you can do is to talk to the coaches and let them know your situation. They are really the only ones that can accurately address your questions.