MIT entrance exam from 1869 goes viral, shocks social media users: ‘Pretty easy’

A section of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) entrance exam from 1869 recently went viral, and many of the questions astonished social media users. The algebra portion of the exam consisted of basic questions, which users found surprising, considering MIT is one of the most prestigious universities in the world today. One of the questions says, “Solve 7x – 5y = 24, 4x – 3y = 11,” which is considered a beginner algebra question in U.S. high schools today. Other questions ask prospective students to simplify two-variable expressions, also considered basic algebra. “Good to know that I could have joined MIT in 1870,” one Reddit user said. “HOLY MOLY I could get into MIT back in 1869,” another wrote. DIVERS FIND 130-YEAR-OLD SHIPWRECK WITH INTRIGUING PAST HIDDEN IN LAKE MICHIGAN While some users found the questions surprisingly easy, others admitted they probably wouldn’t have passed the exam — then or now. “Might be a bit easy for today’s senior high schoolers, but what I like to note is that the exam is, trivially, designed to be solved with almost no calculations, as obviously calculators were not to be a thing for another century,” another chimed in. In 2009, the MIT website shared an image of the test and explained the school’s early history. “Sure, MIT’s acceptance rate is hovering around a record 10% right now, but back in the late 19th century, it was a different story,” the post explained. “They just needed to be ‘properly prepared’ … Fast forward a few years when, in 1869, the MIT Corporation finally decided to add qualifying exams in required subject areas, including English, Geometry, Algebra, and Arithmetic.” – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/mit-entrance-exam-1869-goes-viral-shocks-social-media-users-pretty-easy