<p>MIT can still admit someone who's been attending another university -- as a transfer student.</p>
<p>If the admissions officers were aware that your friend had been a degree-seeking student at another university, he would not have been reviewed as a freshman applicant. The most we can conclude from your information is that there was certainly some sort of misunderstanding between your friend and the MIT admissions commitee.</p>
<p>Finally, interviewers are alumni (rather than admissions officers) and are not necessarily entirely familiar with the vagaries of the admissions process.</p>