Atypical question about a relatively low sat score

Colleges & Universities Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>My question is wouldn’t a relatively low (meaning less than about 2220?) be a (possible) benefit?
Logic:
It’s early action. The best of the applicant pool is applying. Athletes, +2300 SAT Score, Olympiad, etc. Thus, there are 6000 applications. A large portion of the early action application will have the prescribed characteristics. </p>

<p>Consequently, Admissions Counselor X has seen hundreds of apps of 2290, 2300,2340,2370, with a few 2400’s in the mix. Counselor X then comes upon an application with a lower sat score. Say…idk,2150. </p>

<p>There are only a few thoughts that would come to mind in regards to application itself

  1. He has no chance
  2. He’s ballsy
  3. He’s nuts
  4. He must be interesting if he thinks he has a shot at MIT with such a low score</p>

<p>…Either way, the application has thus drawn the attention of Counselor X and now piqued his interests.
Now, instead of simply going through the motions of looking at the application and skimming the usual research in cancer treatment, Olympiad medal, 130 amc score, etc and psychologically classifying that as typical for MIT ( i know what I just mentioned is not typical, I merely making the point of science/math national accomplishments and research being typical of an MIT application) </p>

<p>he looks at the array of lesser, yet notable accomplishments, as something that personifies the application. The counselors soon sees every tongue-in-cheek references and jokes as every more humanizing. He is psychologically primed to see his essays as supplement to this applicant’s intrigue and become more emotionally connected. </p>

<p>When discussing the application with others, he then not only passionately defends the applicant’s but also convinces others of the uniqueness of the individual.
Once the applicant is now unique in the counselor’s eyes, the applicant is now a valuable asset to the diversity of this yet-to-be conceived class and has a much higher chance of admittance.</p>

<p>Considering the effects thereafter…
I also suspect that as the counselors finish with that applicant. The next applicants of typical early action characteristics now seem even less unique than before. Psychologically, they couldn’t help but compare them to the 2150 applicant, and thus their chances of admittance are a nudge lower. </p>

<p>What do you think?</p>

2

<p>I don’t think you’re right at all…
While a low SAT score doesn’t necessarily disqualify you, I don’t think you have any evidence to say that it makes your application more unique or personified than a higher one.</p>

3

<p>In short, no, I don’t think that this is the case.</p>

<p>In the first place, an MIT admissions officer wouldn’t be so startled by an applicant with a 2150. The distribution of SAT scores in the applicant pool isn’t so narrow.</p>

<p>Second, the admissions officers just aren’t paying that much attention to SAT scores. A reader wouldn’t be shocked by a 2150 (or whatever), and therefore the SAT score wouldn’t inform the way the rest of the application is read.</p>

<p>Third, and most importantly, the application readers are trained very carefully to eliminate these potential sources of bias. They are trained to read each application carefully and intently, but also to treat each application equally. Most of them have been doing this for a very long time, and even the newbies will be pretty well adjusted by the end of the reading season.</p>

<p>Each application is read several times, so the effect of a single admissions officer’s opinion is diluted. The applications are distributed randomly to small groups in the committee discussion, so it’s unlikely that any given reader will be able to advocate for an application in the committee.</p>

4

<p>No… A low SAT score (which 2150 isn’t really low) will stand out. In a bad way. They won’t think the kid applying with an 1800 is “ballsy,” they’ll just think he’s unqualified and naive. But with a 2150 you really aren’t at much of a disadvantage IMO.</p>

5

<p>Screw math and science. Become a lawyer.</p>

6

<p>They’re not going to think you’re more human because you have a lower score. I am completely baffled as to where this assumption even comes from. If that’s your perception of the world, then maybe MIT isn’t right for you.</p>

<p>These are raw stats, “2150” and “2400” and “1800” - why would one number be more humanizing than the others?</p>

7

<p>2150 = Human
2250 = Amped Human
2350 = Cyborg
2400 = Full on Robo</p>

8

<p>Well… good news is that I don’t have to worry about my 2150 =)</p>

9

<p>I think all scores within approximately 150 pts won’t have a crucial effect on admissions decision. You need to outscore someone by about 140 points for their to be a statistically significant chance that you have a higher aptitude. A 2300 still seems better than a 2200, but I wouldn’t overestimate the effect this can have.</p>

<p>Needless to say, there is always a positive correlation (based on a cursory glance) between higher scores and admit rates.</p>