Note that the interview quoted above was actually with a work-study student in MIT’s admissions office (to find the full article, search for “Q&A with a Former MIT Admissions Officer”). Here’s something from the actual assistant director in the admissions office. It doesn’t totally negate what’s said in the previous article, but it does offer some nuances to the described process: http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/the-difficulty-with-data