I do find it sad that many talented, amazing individuals who ultimately get rejected by MIT will go to other schools instead of bringing all that drive and passion to MIT. Each year, several hundred coveted seats are given to athletes. Does this make sense for a school known for the brain power of its students?
@cocofan, MIT is also known for having more varsity sports than any D3 school in the nation.
I don’t have the energy (or the desire) to go to the athletics website and count students on rosters, but my guess is that “several” hundred is high. MIT offers fewer varsity sports than Harvard, and Harvard’s number of athletic recruits per year is ~200 for a freshman class that has about 500 students more than MIT. Regardless, no seat at MIT is “given” to an athlete. For starters, MIT is a D3 school, and as a blanket statement, coaches at D3 schools have less pull in admissions than those at D1 schools. For MIT specifically, they claim that athletes get no boost in the admissions process.
https://mitadmissions.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1277966-does-mit-recruit-athletes-
While many people will have a story about a student-athlete that was accepted with less-than-perfect scores, the plural of anecdote is not data.
Also, those students don’t get in solely because of their athletic abilities, but because they are not only strong academically but also strong athletically… @cocofan
Well, this is a sample size of one, but there is a gentleman in the accepted class who is waiting to see if he gets a full scholarship from his moms alma mater before deciding on MIT. People drop out of the pool for all sorts of reasons, not just because they were accepted somewhere “more prestigious.”
Why shouldn’t MIT have sports? It’s a huge part of the culture in the US. They seem to be ethical about having genuine student-athletes.
@MITChris I’m curious about the number of international students that applied/got accepted EA. Can you share this information ? 
@PittExie , I am confident that your son will get in in RD.
Athletes at MIT are not given anything. They have earned the right to be there as much anyone else. Between practice, games and travel it’s amazing that they can keep up and pass their classes.
I saw hooks being thrown around a few pages back. Does going to SSP count as a hook? I’m curious since I’m applying to MIT RD and really like the school, but probably won’t get in unhooked.
I don’t think MIT has a “hook” for anyone in general…
@MITChris I’m also curious about international student stats, it feels like almost none of them were accepted 
@nervouswreckk I don’t think admission counsellors respond to questions like that…
I mean we’ll release the stats when the class is complete. But it probably feels that way because it’s true. We admitted very few students in EA and even fewer of them were international students. I don’t know what else to say. This admit rate is crazytown.
cocofan: “Each year, several hundred coveted seats are given to athletes.”
- no seat at MIT is “given”, all are earned
- our varsity athletes have a higher average GPA at MIT than non-varsity athletes
@MITChris
I’m curious what percent of recruited athletes is an engineering major. If that percent is equal to that of non-athletes, I’ll stop questioning their abilities.
@cocofan My son was just admitted to the Class of 2022 and was a recruited athlete who will be joining the football team. As the coaches will tell you, the only offer for admissions comes through the office of admissions NOT from the coaches. They can support, but the athletes must be admitted by admissions. My son was also recruited by Ivy league schools, which don’t hold their athletes to such a high standard and that is one of the reasons my son chose MIT. Go to this link and you will see the majors of the current football team…incredible: http://www.mitathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/2017-18/roster
Brazos21, congratulations to you and your son!
I’m not doubting the qualifications of every athletic recruit. I am wondering if as a group they are as academically talented. Most people who’ve gone through the engineering program will tell you it isn’t a walk in the park. Finishing the requirements to obtain an MIT engineering degree while playing varsity sports is very difficult which makes me wonder if athletes declare less rigorous majors. We can debate whether that is relevant, but I rather not.
Congratulations again. I hope your son enjoys his time at MIT.
@frazzledazzle Think of SSP like having a strong outside endorsement of your initiative and science skills. It looks good, but you’re also competing in a very talented pool where the kids are demonstrating initiative and science passions like crazy. It certainly helps more than sitting in your room reading science books, but it’s not going to be a golden ticket. It will be evaluated alongside your letters, essays, interview, stats, etc. to get the full picture.
I meant to say how many athletic recruits graduate with an engineering degree, not declare it as a major. I don’t want to drag out this discussion longer than necessary and dampen the celebratory mood for EA admits.