<p>As a follow-on to Matt’s story:</p>
<p>I’m sure MIT’s admissions staff is more sensitive to the vagaries of applicant behavior because they appreciate the stress candidates are feeling, but I must admit that it turned me off to see postings such as SAT Subject Test x 790 (retest 800) or SAT 780/800 (retest 800/800). It gives the impression that the candidate is hung up to an extreme degree on external measures of performance to establish differentiation. That might lead those that haven’t studied admissions patterns for the last twenty years to question how the student would fit in an MIT environment that is both extremely challenging yet emphasizes cooperation. Or it could mean nothing at all…</p>