Massachusetts Institute of Technology Top Questions

What are your experiences with racial, religious, LGBT, socio-economic, and/or other groups on campus? I am involved in a religious group on campus. What kind of student would feel out of place at MIT? I think most students find a niche at MIT. What do most students wear to class? Students usually wear jeans, sneakers and tshirts. Some students get more dressed up but it's not common. Do different types of students interact? Definitely. Though most students are closest with students who are like them. But I don't think it's cliquey. There are four tables of students in the dining hall. Describe them. Honestly, it's likely the students will be separated by race- white, black, Indian, Chinese. Otherwise, students make social groups in their dorms, frats/sororities. Where are most MIT students from? Students are very diverse-- from all over the country and the world. That said, it seems like big cities and the coasts are more represented than the midwest or small towns. What financial backgrounds are most prevalent? Most students would probably consider themselves middle class. Almost everyone I know has a part time job (around 10 hours a week) Are students politically aware / active? Are they predominantly left, right or center? In general, students are not very politically aware. We live in the "MIT bubble" where outside news is not talked about. I consider myself an exception and there are others who follow politics. In general, the leaning is left (like most colleges). I've found students to be fairly sympathetic to my conservative views. But many of the Pro-Life posters I help put around campus do get vandalized... Do students talk about how much they'll earn one day? No, I haven't found this at all. Maybe some students are motivated by money, but it's almost taboo to say it. The culture is very motivated by working hard.

Strongly religious people face a bit of discrimination, even though there are quite a few of them on campus. Some people, unfortunately, are evangelical atheist/agnostics, and challenge religious students about their beliefs. I really haven't seen much anti-LBGT discrimination. Perhaps for this reason, our LBGT clubs aren't terribly active.

I think there are literally people of every type at MIT. I feel like people who discriminated or weren't accepting of different groups might feel left out because MIT is pretty diverse. The culture of MIT is pretty accepting. I never eat at the dining hall. I eat with my friends...and they are of all different races, genders, and religions. People sometimes use how much they'll earn one day as a motivator to get through a tough night. That's not why people are here, but sometimes it's nice to think about being successful compared to the kids you know at other colleges who are slacking off and partying while you're working hard.

The student body at MIT is amazingly diverse. I come from a place where the prominent race is black, so it's interesting to meet people from so many different backgrounds and cultures. There are groups for pretty much anything you could want to be in a group for. There are "You are Welcome LGBT" signs all over campus, African, Asian and other ethnicity student groups, Christan, Hillel and Muslim groups, and people from across the country, as well as the world. I don't think there are any kinds of students who would feel out of place at MIT, there really is a place for everyone. Students wear whatever is comfortable. There are people in jeans and t-shirts (even in winter), skirts, ethnic dress from their country of residence, everything! People hang out with people. I don't really know what else to say. When you have stuff in common, or you don't and you just get along really well, you hang out. Table 1: Bunch of gamers - a couple Indian guys, a couple Asians, a grad student from the Virgin Islands, a white guy with a 'fro and a couple girls. Table 2: guy from the ski team and crew, a Course 4 (architecture) girl from California, a Course 16, Gospel choir brunette from Maryland, a blonde Course 6 major, 21M (Music and Theater Arts) minor from the Virgin Islands, a Course 16 Asian boy from Hawaii, and a gay couple. Table 3: one boy surrounded by books, papers, and a laptop. Table 4: group of freshman from one of the wings on a Residence-Based Advising dinner Most students are from the US, but from all over the country and with all sorts of ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.

There is a very wide range of what students wear to class. There are people in sweats, people in relatively nice outfits, the occasional military person in full uniform. Sometimes, during a particularly high energy time, people will show up in a costume (like the ghost busters) MIT students are from all over the place. Every state, many counties. It is not really clear what financial backgrounds are most prevalent. There are plenty of people that are coming from private schools, but many of them went on scholarship. It is not something that is immediately obvious, because the financial aid is really pretty good and students have ways of making money on their own.

This question is not particularly applicable. MIT's student body comes from all over the world and includes people of all shapes, colors, sizes, styles, religions, socio-economic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, political views, interests, attitudes, and directions. To be fair, MIT has a disproportionate number of intelligent students, and I don't think this is an issue that admissions is even looking to correct.

I don't think any student would feel out of place here... there is someone for everyone! People usually dress casually for class... some even turn up in their pajamas!

I think people who enjoyed things like parties, sports, school spirit, and socialization during high school would feel shortchanged at MIT. I found it really difficult to find friends at MIT because of the diversity and the school makes people insane with the amount of work, so its not entirely the students fault. On the other hand, my collection of friends comprises all of the racial background groups out there, which I find pretty cool. I doubt I would have gotten that anywhere else.

MIT hosts a very diverse student body. I don't think anyone would feel out of place here.

There are all sorts of groups on campus, and if you don't seek them out you probably won't have to interact with them, but if you do seek them out you can interact with them. I don't think any student would feel really out of place at MIT; maybe one who cared a lot about appearances, or who had a massive ego, but those things would probably both be changed just by coming here. This stereotype is not entirely true, there are plenty of students here who do care about their appearances, or at least can when the occasion arises. Students generally wear jeans to class, not many that I've observed wear pajamas, it's usually jeans and a t-shirt/sweatshirt. MIT apparel is quite popular here. MIT students are from all over the globe. I live in a dorm that probably has more international students than most, but compared to my high school MIT is very much more diverse. If you just walk around campus for a day you'll probably overhear 10 different languages. Students don't talk much about their financial backgrounds; we all complain about the costs of college, but no one seems to be able to afford it, so we can all complain together. Students that I run into are not particularly politically active, though they have opinions the opinion of the government in general is generally not very positive. I bet this, and which positions they have on politics varies a lot by dorm.