MIT wants to make sure that the students they accept are capable of passing the GIR’s. The GIR’s consist of 2 math classes, 2 physics classes, and a chemistry class, (and one biology class). The SAT/ACT and subject test scores help the admission’s office determine if the student can handle this rigorous course load. The OP’s scores are high enough to prove this is so. The truth is that the type of student that applies to MIT is usually extremely strong in math and scores in the highest percentiles. This is because MIT is world famous for their engineering school, so it attracts people who are the greatest in the world at math. But being good enough at math to pass the requirements is the only reason MIT cares about these scores. Then they look at the rest of the student’s application to decide if they want to admit them. Of course they are looking for something exceptional about the student, but it does not have to be in math. Realize that high math scoring students often self select themselves for applying to MIT. Lower scoring math students often choose to apply to other schools. That’s the real reason the scores are so high.