<p>So I've been searching around the forums and have seen a lot about athletic recruiting at D3 schools, but not too much about MIT in particular. My question is how much pull do coaches have with the admissions department? All my stats would be at the mid to upper range for admittance and I believe I would probably be an immediate impact on the athletic team, but is being a "recruited" athlete enough to get in? You hear of so many kids with great stats just not being accepted despite these, so would athletics almost take the uncertainty out of the process for a well-qualified applicant? Thanks.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is anything you can do to remove the uncertainty. The only way to remove uncertainty is not to apply which gives a 100% probability of not being admitted :D</p>
<p>Being an athlete may impact your chances greatly but it wouldn’t mean a “free-pass”.</p>
<p>Nothing will take away the uncertainty of admission at MIT. Everybody goes through the same admission process, including athletes. There is no such thing as reserved spots by coaches for recruited athletes at MIT. Being a recruited athlete at MIT would carry about the same weight as other outstanding achievements such as academic awards. But there again, even Intel finalists or IMO medalists are rejected every year. </p>
<p>Assuming the rest of the application is solid, being a recruited athlete is one of many ways to stand out from the crowd.</p>
<p>It been a while since I was a student at MIT, but in my day the coaches had NO say in actual admission determinations. I doubt it has chnaged. They were given a list of those who were admitted and they were able to contact them within the NCAA guidelines to discuss their potential participation on sports at MIT.</p>
<p>However, playing a sport at a high level requires a fair amount of commitment (read time). By showing that you can play the sport and maintain the grades, it is showing the admissions people that you can manage your time. A skill that is necessary to succed at MIT. There are many other ways other than sports to show such a skill however. </p>
<p>Playing a sport does show some diversity beyond just the academics which helps make up a somewhat diverse student population, which it appears that MIT does stride for. So, it may very well mean a VERY SLIGHT advantage (or it may not).</p>
<p>SO, go ahead and apply if you think MIT is the place you want to be.</p>
<p>HPuck35 is mistaken. Being an athletic recruit does today and did in the past assist one’s chances of admission. What it will not do is get a student in who would not otherwise meet MIT’s standards. Unlike the Ivy League schools, MIT has no “slots” for athletes. Rather, the varsity coaches provide the MIT admissions office with a list of students that they would dearly hope could be admitted. This does count, alongside letters from the visual art or music departments evaluating a students portfolio, who also write to the admissions office dearly hoping that particular students should be admitted.</p>
<p>Like that evaluation of an art/music portfolio, being recruited provides independent, on campus, validation that the students accomplishments are as good as they say they are. This definitely helps in certain cases, but it alone will not admit a student who otherwise would certainly not have been admitted.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that Dean of Admissions Stuart Schmill was previously the coach of the MIT Rowing team (our only Division I sport). So he understands full well what is involved in identifying a really hot prospect to the admissions office as well as what is involved in disappointing the coaches in respect of at least some applicants every year.</p>
<p>In short, being recruited alone cannot get you in. But it also cannot hurt, and it is something that the admissions office considers, particularly in borderline cases. The recruiting page here ([DAPER</a> - Recruiting](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/athletics/www/varsity.html]DAPER”>http://web.mit.edu/athletics/www/varsity.html)) will allow you to fill in a form that will be sent to the coach. But if you are a prospective sports recruit, the best way is to contact the coach in your sport by phone or e-mail. All the information is on the website: [The</a> Official Site of MIT Intercollegiate Athletics - MIT](<a href=“http://mitathletics.com/landing/index]The”>Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Official Athletics Website)</p>
<p>90% of all applicants are rejected. Most of them are very worthy of admission. There are many “ties”, and they need to be broken somehow. Adcoms look to build a class of diverse people who will add something important to the student body. When a coach wants a student, that’s a school employee endorsing the potential for that kid to add something. I have to believe that counts as much as any other tiebreaker. Mollie or Chris care to comment?</p>
<p>Athletic recruitment does help. No one knows how much it helps, except that it is nowhere as much as it does for the ivies. (For example, back when I was in school I heard that one of the Harvard rowers, who was a high school classmate of one of my friends, had an SAT score around 1000 out of 1600. That wouldn’t happen at MIT.) The athletic teams seem to be better than they were 10 years ago, so my guess is that the boost that athletic recruitment gives has increased over time. However, a confounding factor could be that more good athletes consider applying and going to MIT due to the changes in how MIT presents itself. Personally, I think it’s a little of both, but there is no way of knowing for sure.</p>
<p>Mikalye is spot on</p>
<p>Behind the strength of a 3.56 grade-point average, the MIT women’s basketball team placed third on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 team honor roll</p>
<h2><a href=“http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/womens-basketball-0722.html[/url]”>http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/womens-basketball-0722.html</a></h2>
<p>This suggests the boost for athletic recruitment wasn’t too much, considering it takes considerable talent to get a 3.56/4.00 at MIT. BTW, the team was ranked #14 last year in division III.</p>
<p>GPA is 1-5 at MIT, so 3.56 should be a bit below average, shouldn’t it?</p>
<p>^^I’m assuming they converted it to the 4.0 system.</p>
<p>most likely yes</p>
<p>In my day (which was a very long time ago) as an MIT varsity athlete I listened to several of my coaches complain about not having any say. Glad to see that it has changed.</p>
<p>well coaches don’t have “say” in our process in the sense that they can make a dispositive pick or are in the committee room. but they can certainly identify applicants who have exceptional athletic ability and would be able to contribute to our campus, in the same way our music teachers will identify and advocate for exceptional musicians and art/architecture folks for artists/architects. </p>
<p>as far as i know it’s always been this way.</p>
<p>I guess I should define “a long time ago”. It was about 40 years ago. My junior or senior year they finally provided the coaches a list of those students who put a preference down for a sport. My coach then provided that info to the team so that we could talk to the potential students to let them know about the opportunities to play for MIT.</p>
<p>Admissions would have had the info as I do remember the app asked for it under an activites section. I do believe that admissons would have taken that into account as it does identify someone who can contribute to the school in a positive way. It also, IMHO, demonstrates a level of good time management skills as playing a sport can be a big time commitment while maintaining your class work.</p>
<p>Anyways, its water way past the bridge and I’m glad to know that it is currently, and has been, a part of the admissions consideration. </p>
<p>I always did better in school those semesters where I was in season, because, I believe, I had to manage my time better. I have always enjoyed a sport that is team sport. My buddies and I still get together twice a week to play. I still find it a good break although we had to add the word “Silver” to the front of our team name.</p>
<p>ah yes. things have changed since then.</p>