SAT for MIT Athletes

Athletic Recruits
1

How much does MIT care about math vs. English score on SAT. My Junior scores better in English but has also been told that she has no shot at MIT by a teacher. About 150 kids from her high school apply to MIT every year and she has heard that they only take the kids who major in tech subjects (at her high school you have majors) and she choose a non-tech major. Automatically knocked out even if ends up meeting SAT cutoff?

2

Sorry meant to reply to an MIT thread that mentioned 1500 as cutoff for recruited athletes.

1 Like
3

Just a couple of comments:

  1. The question is how many of the 150 kids from her HS that apply to MIT are recruited athletes? You daughter’s pool of competition will most likely be those recruited athletes. The teach that says your daughter has no shot is wrong.
  2. I think if your daughter is scoring in the 1500 range, then Math and English scores will not be too different. I think that will not be the problem.
  3. The question I have is whether MIT is the right school for your daughter if her major in HS is non-tech. All the kids that my kid is surrounded with at MIT are very strong in tech, so if your daughter is admitted, does she really want to be in that environment? I am certain there are many MIT kids that are strong in non-tech classes, but they are also super strong in tech classes.
3 Likes
4

You might find the info in this thread useful:

I’d agree with the above question: why would a student with a stronger interest in the humanities or social sciences than in STEM target MIT?

5

Thanks for your input. Daughter is looking mostly at D3 LACs. I suspect most/all kids at her school that apply are not athletes. MIT is probably not the right fit but not ruled out as it has a good philosophy program and that interests her as a major.

6

Unless the teacher worked in MIT admissions, that’s just her opinion.

7

Unless she really loves math and science and technology, in addition to philosophy, MIT is probably not a good fit. Everyone has to take very challenging math and science courses, even if you end up majoring in humanities at MIT. It is hard to make it through those classes if you don’t really love at least some of them.

I graduated 20 years ago, so it is possible some things have changed, but most people who got humanities degrees either did so as a second major, or did it because they “washed out“ of their original major. There were a few people who really had a strong interest in something like technology in literature, or philosophy of artificial intelligence, or that sort of intersectional interest that did choose to major in the humanities side, rather than the technical side, but still they had to (and were happy to!) take a significant number of technical classes.

2 Likes
8

I understand. The biggest difference in D3 LACs and MIT is most D3 LACs offer a Preread for the athlete. A positive Preread is a very high probability of admissions.
MIT coaches will submit a list of “wishes” with rankings to AO, AO will decide who gets in. At best for the top recruit, it is 50-50. I will say most of the admitted athletes that we know have similar stats as the other non-athlete students that were admitted. Coaches pushes/tips students to the “YES” side.
Without a high probability, many athletic recruits do not like to “RISK” their EA ticket.

4 Likes
9

couple comments mentioned MIT being demanding in math and science for every major. whilst it is mostly true, the Sloan undergraduate business degree isn’t a hardcore STEM science degree, and students with diversified interests can flourish in it

1 Like
10

All MIT students, regardless of major, take the same core STEM classes, including calculus through MVC, 2 courses in calc-based physics, and a course each in bio, and chem.

9 Likes
11

  1. MIT is very much a ‘fit’ school. Not ruling it out b/c they have a good version of something that 1) plenty of other places have as well and 2) you aren’t even dead set on is a bad plan. Is this prestige hunting?

  2. Happily, MIT is better than the average uni at recognizing their own, so if the fit isn’t right I back them to say ‘no’. But why put yourself/ your student through the process?

12

MIT is still very iffy for athletes. If you want to throw in for a “chance” of admission you have to know that’s what you’re doing. In the most recent early round our school had a 1600 sat/high grades/super recruited athlete who got deferred. Sibling legacy as well.

Unless your kid is IN LOVE with MIT or has a very compelling reason to look at it I would look elsewhere.

5 Likes
13

I know two kids (recruited athletes) who were deferred during the most recent early round. One had a 36 ACT (single test, not super score) and the other a high 1500 SAT - both with commensurate grades. Of the prestige schools, MIT gives the least weight to recruited athletes so if your child isn’t looking to STEM they are probably better off applying to a D3 where coach support will provide more of a boost.

5 Likes
14

S recruited by MIT and was invited on an official overnight. He spent a day going to a number of classes and hung out with the team. S was a “rounded” kid, with interests in STEM as well as Humanities related areas. He ended up passing on MIT because he just did not have the passion and focus in STEM for MIT to be a good fit. Since MIT is a 50/50 school, why would you spend your athletic recruiting card there if other schools are better academic fits and the assurance of getting in is 90% or higher?

5 Likes
15

Thanks for clarifying that indeed the core is required of all students. I may underate MIT’s difficulty because I know so many people who either graduated (3 room mates, long list of bosses, colleagues and friends), or turn down MIT (spouse, friends), but have the utter respect for their focus on what is required to enter MIT, irrespective of legacy, past grades/test scores, etc: no doubt they are seeking those who are both the best and the most passionate about STEM