<p>My sister got a 178 PSAT. I got a 196 (bad, I know). We BOTH got letters from MIT, in which they acted like we were "more qualified" than much of the applicant pool. The letters aren't personalized or anything, but I thought it was a stretch for me, given my PSAT score. But then I heard my sister got one too...what the heck?</p>
<p>what were your math scores.</p>
<p>Idk but I doubt hers was especially high. Probably in the 60s. I’m sure mine was higher and I think mine was only like a 69.</p>
<p>Are you twins?</p>
<p>They use a cutoff number for recruitment. It is definitely not targeted to the highest scorers.</p>
<p>Yeah we’re twins.</p>
<p>Haha definitely not.</p>
<p>MIT CHRIS –</p>
<p>Would you be so kind as to ‘settle’ some confusion which I have witnessed on this and other CC school bords? </p>
<p>Do colleges receive actual PSAT scores with the student’s name/address from the College Board’s SSS (Student Search Service)? Or a students name if they score over a certain level/range?</p>
<p>I ask as we hear about students getting mailings from top schools inviting them to apply based on their outstanding scores. But then reading the CB’s website and calling them, I am informed they do NOT share scores with colleges via SSS – only names, addresses, gender, ethnicity and potential major.</p>
<p>Thank you, in advance, for your reply and candor. Your posts are very helpful and that you are so kind as to spend time on them is appreciated</p>
<p>You know, I’ve heard about high school students, who have not yet officially sent any of their scores to any colleges, getting these letters of ‘invitation to apply’ from all kinds of colleges – even the top selective ones – that say something like “based on your achievements, blah, blah, blah, and SCORES”. Yet this contradicts privacy as described by the College Board below as well as precludes your own control over who you (pay to!) send your scores to (let alone Score Choice control). </p>
<p>I understand how the SSS info might generate college correspondence to select students based on AA/diversity recruiting goals or targeted marketing for specific majors or geographic outreach, but I know of many students who don’t fit those parameters who still get these solicitations. Is it all really a generic attempt to increase selectivity ratings and garner more application funds or do colleges have score info of which we are not aware? *** I really hope MIT Chris can clear this up, thank you! ***</p>
<p>"We send your information to colleges, universities, scholarship programs and nonprofit educational opportunity organizations that are looking for students like you.</p>
<p>The following information will be sent:</p>
<p>Name
Address
Gender
Birth date
High school code
Graduation year
Ethnic identification (if provided)
Intended college major (if provided)
E-mail address (if provided) </p>
<p>The following information will NOT be sent:</p>
<p>Your scores
Social Security number
Telephone number "</p>
<p>@tallgirl - </p>
<p>I answered your question in the general thread. </p>
<p>@liv - </p>
<p>If we sent it to you it is because, as the letter said, students who fall into your score band (and your sister’s score band) are more likely to be admitted if they apply. Scores are only one factor, but unfortunately, when it comes to mailing recruitment, it is one of the only avenues we have available.</p>
<p>@MIT: So a 196 PSAT is considered sufficient? What about the 200+s? I scored a 35 ACT, so it’s not like I can’t do well on standardized tests, but I just don’t think a 196–especially a 178–is competitive.</p>
<p>Well, obviously we disagree 
</p>
<p>To expand: we’re not interested in what you score on the PSAT (or PLAN) per se. We’re interested in what people with certain PSAT/PLAN scores have historically later gone on to do in terms of the SAT/ACT and ultimately their admission to MIT. </p>
<p>It’s all data.</p>
<p>Ahhh, I see. What is your relation to MIT?</p>
<p>He is a college rep.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/906523-welcome-new-college-rep-mitchris-mit.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/906523-welcome-new-college-rep-mitchris-mit.html</a></p>
<p>Keep in mind that you might also be receiving mail from certain colleges based on other information that you provided at the time of the test. As a sophomore in high school, I was fairly sure that I wanted to be an engineering major in college, and indicated this intention on my answer sheet. As a junior, my interests changed, and I instead selected social sciences (or something along those lines) on the answer sheet. I scored higher as a sophomore than I did as a junior, although both of my scores would probably attract the same attention from colleges in a given year, et ceteris paribus. I did notice that the mail that I received after taking the test as a sophomore, while obviously less in quantity than that that I received as a junior, was largely from schools known for their engineering departments. I had mail from some of the same schools after my junior-year test, although it was only then that I received attention from certain LACs and schools with heavier liberal arts-focused curricula. </p>
<p>This is all just something to chew on, though. As a supreme institution, MIT garners the best applicants from across the world. It’s highly unlikely that a student with a 178 on the PSAT would be MIT “material,” but it’s no skin off the university’s back to send mail to a wide range of test scores.</p>
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<p>Oh, don’t be so sure. A person I knew well personally who attended MIT had, gasp, something in the 170s on her PSAT!</p>
<p>@liv4 - </p>
<p>I’m an admissions officer and I work on the communications team that sends those things out.</p>
<p>That’s anecdotal evidence. I said “highly unlikely,” meaning that it is very unusual for such an incident to occur. I didn’t say that it was impossible.</p>
<p>@Commodore - </p>
<p>What are you basing that on? I don’t think you should be making claims you don’t have evidence to support. It misleads people. </p>
<p>We send to actually a very narrow range of PSAT scores, FYI.</p>
<p>If you send to a very narrow range of PSAT scores, would you care to explain the first post? MIT certainly sends to the absolute upper echelon of PSAT scores, and we have proof from this thread that the lower end of the range encompasses 178. </p>
<p>PSAT scores relate to SAT scores. Both tests assess the same skills within the same population. Without a “hook,” so to speak, on your application, a 1780 on your SAT would not get you into MIT. There are certainly situations in which what I have said will not hold true – namely if a student did not perform as well as they could have on the PSAT, for whatever reason. I am also aware that a student can improve their test performance between years, but I stand by my assertion that it is unlikely that a student who scores a 178 on the PSAT under optimal conditions would produce an SAT that would get them into MIT.</p>
<p>I hate to sound blunt, but such are my observations. I also believe that there is never any harm in applying to any school; if a student desires to go to a certain school, the worst that could result from applying is a rejection. </p>
<p>Admissions are often unpredictable. Several people from my school each year are admitted to universities which many would say were “unlikely,” given their performance throughout high school. In this case, I would say admission to MIT is “highly unlikely,” barring any extenuating circumstances.</p>
<p>I’d say that it’s because many people tend to do better on SATs than PSATs. I got a 188 on my first PSAT. A month later, with no studying, I took a practice SAT, and I got a 2020. I know that since it’s a practice SAT that it doesn’t really count, but do you see my point?
Also, MIT contacted me from the PSAT.</p>
<p>I think it might have to do with what the student checks off as interests. My son got a 207 on the PSAT with a 76 in math but no letter from MIT. He indicated on the PSAT that he is interested in studying history, nothing math or science. However, he since finished Honors Physics and loved it, too.</p>