Race in MIT admissions.

MITChris
Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:33:01 +0000

@underachiever



I also disagree with the heavy discount on applicants with proven track record of achievement because of his parents having high income.



We don’t discount those applicants or parents with high income. I have never said that we do (because we don’t).



There is no proof that lower income students with lower score achieve more later in life than students with higher score and also having high income parents.



You’re correct there is no proof! Which is also why we don’t assume this dynamic exists. Instead, we look at what you have done with your opportunities. We are more interested in underresourced students who have gone out of their way to achieve stuff than in well-resourced students who have ignored their ample opportunity. We are also more interested in well-resourced students who have gone out of their way to make use of their ample opportunity than in well-resourced students who have ignored their ample opportunity.

Basically, we don’t like to admit people who have done comparatively less with the opportunity given to them.



It is likely that the high achiever will outperform the not-so-high achiever again.



This depends on how you measure achievement. For example, one interesting thing we have noticed is that most of the students who win exceptional accolades upon their graduation from MIT (Rhodes scholars etc) often did not have perfect scores and perfect grades. What they tended to have was a propensity to make use of their resources, great letters of recommendations, and a clear passion for a particular thing they really wanted to do.

Which is why we care about those factors more than we care about raw grades or scores. Because frankly we don’t care as much about what you’ve done before MIT as what you are going to do at and after MIT. Being admitted to MIT is not a finish line. It is the next step.



I really don’t see why family economy has such an impact on the success of a student if the parents are serious on their children’s education.



If you do not understand it than I am not going to be able to explain it to you.



The SAT scores and grades are a reflection of commitment and dedication on the part of students and their parents, not of privilege.



They are a reflection, yes. But only one of several reflections. Which is why they are only two of several things we consider in our application process.



This is clearly a case of discrimination.



No it is not. It is an example of differentiation. There is no basis by which one can argue that SAT scores, beyond a point of demonstrating sufficient academic preparation for success, should be considered more “fair” or “undiscriminatory” than, say, a family’s economic context, or the applicant’s use of the resources available to them at a school, or letters of recommendation. Full stop. By your definition, any admissions criteria we choose are going to “discriminate” or “differentiate” against some people or some attributes. That’s what it means to perform a selective process. The point is to produce a group of students who are the best, as a group, for MIT.

See also: [It’s not fair! | MIT Admissions](It’s not fair! | MIT Admissions)