MIT Recruiting Standards

It just took you one guess. WPI. I certainly can't comment on an MIT education but felt I got an excellent education while enjoying my college years at wpi.

All things considered if I could do it again instead of an engineering school I may have picked southern Florida, Texas, or Arizona state... When I graduated we had an 88% male student body. Just imagine- every girl had an average of 9 guys wooing her... Not sure what it's like now, or if MIT is any better ( doubt it)..

MIT doesn't do very well considering the talent it gets (and coaching can only go so far when the athletes are beaten down by tough academics). Nonetheless, I'm very surprised that their walk-on standards are that fast; I'd guess those are way faster than any other D3 school. Either they're not true standards, or MIT does way worse with its talent than I suspected.

kang6789 wrote:

MIT doesn't do very well considering the talent it gets (and coaching can only go so far when the athletes are beaten down by tough academics). Nonetheless, I'm very surprised that their walk-on standards are that fast; I'd guess those are way faster than any other D3 school. Either they're not true standards, or MIT does way worse with its talent than I suspected.

True. I sucked in high school and I passed some slower MIT guys at Franklin park in XC. Some of the slower ones I doubt t they ran much faster than 10:00 for 3200m in high school.

MITXC wrote:

These standards (Example: 9:25 3200m) seem really fast for a D3 school. Also, the coach told me he wants me to contact him when I've ran 9:40 for the 3200. I've ran close to, but not quite, 9:40 for the 3200.

I applied a few years ago. Had run 9:40 for 2 miles at that time, and was well qualified academically. Talked to the assistant coach who told me they got to give admissions a list of ~80 kids to get special consideration. Never heard from him again after that and didn't get in. Kind of a bummer, but I've kind of slacked off in college anyways so I doubt I would have done well there (schoolwise)

Flagpole wrote:

MITXC wrote:

What are the recruiting standards for MIT? Specifically for the 1600, 3200, steeple, and 5k xc?

Go to the source!:

http://scripts.mit.edu/~hwtaylor/recruiting/recruitingstandards.php

Although I've been aware of athletic recruiting at M.I.T. for quite some time, I'm still disappointed to see this list of recruiting and (especially) walk-on standards. When I was an undergraduate at M.I.T. many years ago, the track and cross-country programs (and perhaps all sports programs) did no recruiting whatsoever, and the athletic department had no say in admissions decisions. Also, there were no "walk-on" standards; whoever showed up at practice was on the team. We had some pretty good runners and some really bad ones. I suppose I was one of the bad ones; I certainly never came close to any of the "walk-on" standards in that list. But running became an important part of my life, in college and for many years thereafter.

I think that I understand the case for recruiting and preferential admissions for athletes; maybe it's even good for the school, as long as the athletes are reasonably well-suited to the academic environment. But I don't understand why the M.I.T. cross-country and track teams have "walk-on" standards, which seem antithetical to the long history of participatory athletics at the school.

Not only that but those "walk-on" standards seem like a joke because some of them are like 27-29 8k xc runners

Yeah I'm really interested in MIT for its top engineering program. Although, I am also considering WPI. Both are great schools, and I'd be fortunate to be able to get admitted to either. However, when I visited MIT, I instantly fell in love with the atmosphere and the natural beauty of Cambridge and the Charles River. I also found the students at MIT to be smart, social, and kind. I will try to meet with the coach sometime this month. Also, any info on MIT interviews?

The walk-on standards serve two purposes. They help MIT balance the number of male and female athletic spots for Title IX. They allow sub-9:45 guys, who are often not in 9:44 shape due to other priorities, to remain on the team. My guess is that the MIT Run Club fills the void. http://run.mit.edu/

If I've run 9:50, would the coach still be likely to give me an admissions boost? Another top engineering school that's D3 told me they don't give admissions boosts like other schools like MIT. Therefore, I think MIT would give an admissions boost (assuming you're academically qualified) to a runner that has met the standard. The question that must be answered is if this standard (3200) is 9:25, 9:40, 9:45, or some other time?

Ehhhhdd wrote:

WPI?

I've known both MIT and WPI undergrads. WPI are much happier. Less pressure but still great education. They make plenty of money out of school and many go to MIT for grad school anyway.

I've heard that several times. WPI for undergrad then MIT for grad.

I went to a different engineering school in the Boston area but going to an engineering school in Worcester with a ratio of two men for every woman sounds truly brutal.

If I could get into both (and I applied to neither for undergrad) then I would almost certainly choose MIT

Yeah MIT is my first choice school. However, I would still be very fortunate to have the chance to attend WPI. But, since MIT is my first choice school, I want to see how possible it is I can be a recruit.

MITXC wrote:

Yeah I'm applying this year and have ran ~9:45. I'm definitely going for it, but I want to know if the coach will support me in admissions. I've also done scientific research in my major if that helps. Cost isn't an issue due to MIT's great financial aid office.

Keep running well. Hopefully you are having a good CC season. Contact the coach and keep him up to date with your progress. Not all decent high school runners can or want to attend MIT, so you have a leg up there. Your GPA is great as is your SAT. I say you're a good chance to get put on a list to be guaranteed admission. Good luck! If you make the team, tell Dennis Maloney that Ohio says hello.

Thanks for the support and encouragement! If I am somehow fortunate enough to have the coach help me with admissions, then I will tell Dennis Maloney that Ohio says hello (assuming I remember of course).

Times change. The team is pretty big, so they probably have to limit it in size a little bit. Team -

Every athlete is an engineer or CS major. Is pre med biochemical engineering?