@kittymom1102 I’m also middle class Hispanic and I agree with your general point, but I don’t understand why you consider 800M so impressive. In fact, I don’t think the SAT is an accurate measure of academic prowess or potential. If you want a real challenge for your son, encourage him to take the AMC and AIME.
I don’t consider it! That’s the funny part 
It was the people in my office, very white and conservative The problem is that most non-minority people, like the people in my office, somehow believe that a hispanic performing at the highest level is just impossible! HA! That’s called racism.
Racism makes people believe that good performance should only be expected from non-minorities, and any minority student who gets admission to a top university is by default under-qualified. Well, hispanic kids like my son, your children, and many others are here to dispel that myth.
Concerning AMC and AIME, my son has never expressed any interest in them and we let him make his own path. In spite of h being a math college prof., he never made a goal of his to “groom” his son into “following papa’s footsteps.” My husband couldn’t care less whether our son goes into quantitative sciences or not. Our son is the captain of his ship and decides which path to follow. He actually considers himself just another kid in school and finds it funny that people assumes he so good at Math just because he can do basic math, “addition and subtraction” as he puts it. He actually finds his SAT scores blah and plans on retaking 
@AoPSer Good luck to you and your family
@AoPSer, an 800 in SAT Math is achieved by approximately 1 in 1000 test takers. It is highly unlikely to achieve a maximum score by chance. It is impressive and it gives a measure of the student’s intellectual capacity and potential to succeed in college level courses. Look at the “r” and the confidence intervals and other correlations studied to see the possible variability of scores when taking the test multiple times. Can you tell us how AMC and AIME compare to other parameters or equivalent tests? Has that been studied? I’m trying to understand why you say that AMC and AIME are more impressive than an 800 Math SAT score. Do you have any data to support that? Please share it. Thanks
@bukceyeinmind and @kittymom1102, I’m sure our sons will be fine, and to your comment, @jsponz, yes, thank you. I think the MITES application reviewers must have thought our children do not need an extra resource or help to be ready for college or to fit into college life and find a niche. My son goes to a private school, prestigious for its academic rigor and more than a century-old tradition here in the DC and surrounding area. I wonder if any MITES applicants coming from similar private schools have ever been accepted. My guess is not, and probably that was also something considered. Looking back, he probably shouldn’t have applied, but we received a flyer in the mail encouraging a diverse pool of students to apply. The application indeed asked about income and parents education, so if that didn’t count, why did they ask about it? Just to have some statistics that will never be public? Interesting…
Anyway, I congratulate all who were admitted and I’m happy for all who will have an opportunity to have a sense of what MIT might be like for college. It should be a wonderful experience for self-knowledge and discovery!
@baller55 you are exactly like my son! similar stats, and a mother with an MD degree. Are you in a private school? We are in the DC area, private school. Good luck and don’t worry, you’ll do GREAT! Just wait and see…
@ReminiscingDad 1/1000 test takers get it because it is so easy to make a little mistake. AMC and AIME is much harder.
Not saying that it’s not a noteworthy achievement to get an 800 on SAT math.
It is a noteworthy achievement, and not obtained by chance, that’s the reason why it is used in college admissions. We have the most data about it since it has been taken through decades and high number of takers. Do you know if AMC or AIME have been correlated with any parameters? How many test takers are there? For how many years? I would be interested to know.
@ReminiscingDad It’s harder to draw correlations with the AMC and AIME because not many people take it in the first place. Nearly all high schoolers will take the SAT, while some others may have never even heard of the AMC and AIME.
I don’t have any stats off the top of my head, but doing well on the AIME requires great problem solving skills, unlike the SAT which is absolutely trivial in comparison. Personally, I got an 800M on my first SAT practice test, and on the AIME I got a 7/15 after a decent amount of preparation. While hundreds or possibly thousands of students get 800M each year, only about 10 or so students (out of USA’s top 5k-7k) manage to get 15/15 on the AIME. Google “AMC Statistics” and go to the MAA’s site for more information. @ReminiscingDad
I personally believe that 800M, or a 800R for that matter, is nothing from another world. However, since our society has made mediocre the norm, anything above mediocre appears to be “amazing.” It is just a sing of our society.
Out of respect for people, my son avoids mentioning how easy it is to score 800M. There is no reason for a person of average intelligence and skills not to do it. That could sound condescending, or even mean, toward people who struggle with that section… My son is a nice kid and does not want to offend anyone. But, man… it gets you thinking
At the end of the day, the SAT is a test of BASIC skills. More reason why colleges care about it. Come on, kids are not being asked to perform brain surgery
@ReminiscingDad I go to a fairly rigorous public school. I’m currently in 5 APs and 1 honors course, and in the top 1% of my class. How about your son? What does he plan on studying? What’d he get on SAT? Where does he wanna apply?
Everyone is different. The SAT is a different experience for everyone, some people are better in math while some may struggle with it and have other skills. I think too much focus is being put on test scores. Remember, they are just one aspect of college admissions, just like they were only one part of MITES admissions. I think some people underestimate the weight of essays. Once applicants cross a certain threshold of merit, which will be most applicants to top schools, essays and recs make or break an application. And to reference something that was said before on the previous page “As opposed to MITES, MIT at least has basic academic standards.” C’mon this is a pretty prestigious and well-known program. I’m pretty sure the people in charge know what they’re doing and what they’re hoping to get out of the students they admit. Just because kids with lowers scores are getting in doesn’t mean there are no standards, like I said scores are only one aspect of an application.
@PoisonIvy20 unfortunately, I was rejected from all 3 of the programs. As the creator of the thread, you can imagine I was pretty bummed about not getting accepted, especially since I had become so invested in it. I have not been posting in a while, mostly because it’s a little hard being happy for the people who were accepted into the program when I myself was rejected, especially for people who got accepted and are not even going to go to the program.
I have been stopping by and reading some of the comments, and I do congratulate everyone who got into any of the three programs.
For those who did not get accepted, don’t take it too personally. There are many factors admissions had to take into consideration. But also note my use of the word “too” when I say don’t take it too personally. Think about what you can do to make your college applications for next year better. For myself, I personally think I need to improve my essays and test scores. Also, for those who didn’t get accepted, please do something meaningful this summer. Work on your college profile, maybe improve those test scores, anything. Just don’t waste your summer. Don’t be discouraged from applying to competitive schools when college application season comes around in the fall, because your rejection from this program does not mean rejection from MIT university nor any other competitive university.
I am not going to take this rejection to heart and will, if anything, will use it as a motivation to improve on what I need to work on.
As for what I will be doing this summer, I had a back-up plan. I received a full scholarship to a Computer Engineering camp for a university here in Florida, I will continue my tech internship, I will work on my college essays, and I will work on improving my SAT and ACT scores for next fall. Like I state in my advice, I will use my rejection as motivation. Even though I won’t get to go MIT this summer, I AM happy and excited for the summer and absolutely cannot wait.
I will probably be laying low for a while, but I encourage everyone to keep posting. Keep being great people, and it’s been great getting to read some of your stories. I am honored to have gone through this process with such awesome people and hope to “see” some of you guys during the Fall in the college application threads and maybe even in college!!
@baller55 you are on track for excellent schools, impressive academic achievements, congratulations. My son is doing 4APs, and did 1 last year. He and a few classmates have started a tutoring program (free, of course) after school to help underclassmen. He enjoys it a lot. He wants to be an engineer, loves chemistry and math but excells in the humanities too. On his SAT he got 2360, 790CR, 800M, 770W (March 2015). I think he could be a college professor some day, he has patience to teach and loves it. He will apply to several schools with strong engineering programs. Here in MD we have an excellent school for engineering, but of course he will apply to several others. How about you?
@PoisonIvy20, you are absolutely correct, the essays reflect more about the person than just some numbers, and a story can be compelling. It is also a skill to write a good essay and some are better than others, true. And absolutely, MIT is the number 1 school for engineering and technology in the whole world. It has the highest standards, I don’t think anybody can doubt that! Congratulations to you, best wishes! Do you know what you want to study? Do you want to be an engineer?
Thanks AoPSer, I now understand the AMC and AIME goals, is there a way to prepare for it? I have never seen materials being advertised for it. I guess it’s not an exam that many students take, so the preparation must be the hard courses taken. Are exams from previous years available? Thank you
Thanks @Newdle. @kittymom1102:
“Out of respect for people, my son avoids mentioning how easy it is to score 800M. There is no reason for a person of average intelligence and skills not to do it”.
If this were true, more people would be able to score 800, if not the first time, after many other attempts…
Incredible SAT! You should be quite happy!
I got 800M,690R,800W in March. I took 1AP freshman year and 3 last year. Currently in 5. I am currently geared towards either Engineering, business, or both. I think I’ll be applying to Penn, Michigan, Cornell, MIT, Harvard, Duke, WashU, Stanford, Carnegie, and UF (safety). I won’t be EDing anywhere do to financial circumstances and fear of the binding situation. My #1 as of now is Penn and its M&T program that provides a dual degree in engineering and Wharton (business). Michigan is also nonpareil in both engineering and business. Money will become a large factor for me. For any other questions don’t hesitate to ask! @ReminiscingDad
@ReminiscingDad I think that historically Math has been the one subject most people love to hate. Because SAT reasoning test is taken by a large cross-section of students, these attitudes are more prevalent, hence the “average” results.
Among Math college professors, it is well known that the courses with the lowest passing rates are the introductory courses, those covering the most basic/easiest material. Why? Those courses fulfill the Math requirements for students who hate Math with a passion. My h wouldn’t wish teaching those courses on to his worst enemy The courses’ poor passing rate is NOT a reflection of the difficulty of the material but the attitude of the students taking the course.
Unfortunately, these adverse attitudes toward Math usually develop very early, beginning in elementary school. By the time the SAT comes along, it is pretty much a lost cause.
Just my observation.
Great scores @baller55 ! That’s a great list of schools, and Penn’s combined program with Wharton is excellent, the best in my opinion. As a graduate you can work on consulting with big firms or do the work of an engineer. You could apply EA not ED, then you don’t have the binding issue. We heard that if you apply to a private university, you can apply EA to only one private university as EA, and there is no restriction to also apply to state universities (you can apply to one private and to one or more state universities as EA). That is my recollection at least.