Why is MIT sending mail to someone with a 178 PSAT?

[molliebatmit]

<p>It’s required on both the ACT and SAT, but MIT isn’t currently using the scores for evaluation purposes. The writing section on both tests is still relatively new, and MIT is collecting data to determine whether the scores serve any useful purpose in their admissions process.</p>

<p>

MIT has sports teams, and so must admit “student-athletes” in each incoming class. MIT student-athletes might be expected to meet higher standards than those that are expected of student-athletes at other schools, but they still definitely benefit from their ability to contribute to the school’s athletic departments. There were two kids in my high school class this year, for instance, who were accepted into MIT, while several more-qualified applicants were rejected. The only area in which these two stood out in comparison to the other applicants was in athletics, as they both will play on sports teams at MIT next year.

Anecdotes, as I’m sure you’re aware, are not data. And MIT considering athletic talent as a factor in the admissions process is different from “set[ting] aside numerous spaces for legacies, URMs, and athletes,” which MIT does not do. There are no quotas for any of those groups at MIT (and, indeed, legacy isn’t even a factor that’s considered).</p>

<p>I’m not trying to bang on you. Just want to keep some of these issues and terms clear, because they are frequently confusing to applicants on this board.</p>