Massachusetts Institute of Technology Top Questions

MIT is a school where people come and realize that there are people just like them in the world. It is a place where everyone was in the top in high school, but now they all have to fit into one school. Some people struggle, most succeed both academically and socially. It is intense, but you choose that when you decide to come to MIT. You will bond with friends over problem sets, and may choose one night a week to let loose, but will be up in the morning working on problem sets. MIT is an incredible place to push yourself and get involved in things you never thought possible. People are very involved in extracurriculars and there is everything you could imagine. If it doesn't exist, make it. MIT students do tend to live in their own bubble though and don't know what is happening in the world around them. Some students have never been to Boston (except for the ride from the airport) despite the fact it is only a bridge away. MIT is what you make it. If you choose to take advantage of what it will offer you, it will be one of the most incredible experiences of your life.

I'm an alum. I've been out of school for a while, and I still think back as MIT being the most encouraging and fun period in my life. In high school, like most of my college classmates, I was shy and inhibited, and generally scorned at for being into academics. At MIT i found that the more "nerdy" you were, the more you were valued. Can you make a Nintendo machine out of spare parts? Awesome. Can you rig up the toilet to flush from anywhere in teh world? No way. My friends are I were always dreaming - and trying hard not to fail out. Most of those people are graduating with phds or have started their own companies. It is a network like no other.

MIT just was the perfect school for me. It was a great size - a class size that offered a lot of activities and club but at the same time wasn't so large that I felt lost in the crowd. The people are amazing, the academics are awesome, and you can do pretty much whatever you want outside it - from saving the world to learning to juggle. The surrounding area is gorgeous, too. Boston's a great city. So much history, so much to see, so much diversity, and it's amazing to have it right in our back yard, a 10 minute walk from my dorm. I love how unusual we are, from our numbering system (buildings, classes, and majors are referred to by number) from our unique lingo (tool/punt/hack/IHTFP/etc). It's just a great place to be with plenty of opportunity to do whatever you want - and everyone can find their place here.

Telling people I go to MIT carries a lot of weight. I seem to get instant respect and people then think I can solve any sort of math problem. Overall, I really enjoy being here. There are so many opportunities for me to get involved in and so many new experiences for me to discover. I love being in Boston because there are endless things to do. I love walking along the Charles River and going out to eat with my friends. I absolutely love my major here. I'm a civil engineering major and I feel like my classmates have all become really close. We can talk freely to our professors and grow closer while working away on endless problem sets. Although it's hard, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. One of the experiences I have had here is being a member of the gymnastics team. My teammates are my closest friends. I'm also extremely grateful to have the opportunity to participate in a sport I love with coaches that understand when I need to leave practice early to take a test. There is a great balance here between athletics and academics.

The best thing about MIT is the people I've had the opportunity to get to know. MIT has a unique culture full of students that make everything seem possible. I did wish the school was a bit smaller, but probably because I come from a small high school of less than 400 students. The reaction to a student wearing an MIT sweater is usually a positive one, and when it's not, it may just be a reaction from a student or alum of a school that was ranked lower than MIT, if you follow that ranking business. I do spend most of my time on campus in the Reading Room and other study areas, but when I go home to my living group, I find it quite invigorating. MIT is in Cambridge, and there are many colleges within a few miles of MIT -- within a radius of, let's say, 5 miles. I don't consider MIT's immediate surrounding environment much of a college town, though, and that may be because we are islanded by the Charles from the bigger college town of Boston. I know little about MIT's administration, except that I happen to be good friends with many people who reliably comment on one or two racist and prejudiced administrators. MIT bureaucracy can be somewhat stagnating, but it seems that once students get things together for a proposal, for example, then MIT is usually cooperative and helpful. I complain much about the lack of good food, since our Student Center offers few options with menus that only vary from day to day in that suddenly one day, the eatery may be out of ketchup. I don't have much school pride, and although so many people wear their MIT sweaters, I suspect it is either just because of the cold, or because of the weight that three-lettered insignia carries. People hardly go to sporting events, and don't seem to show much interest in improving the school. Many just seem to be here to take care of business, not take care of the school, and move on; although there are a handful of groups dedicated to the betterment of MIT.

Would like more school pride, but it's rather difficult here at MIT. Instead, there's more pride for the Red Sox and the Patriots, which is good, I guess.

There are a lot of unusual things about MIT that few people know. One of the best, in my opinion, is the amount of freedom the students are allowed to have. It seems like the higher-ups trust us to take care of ourselves. There are many dorms where you are allowed to paint the walls however you want, have cats, and generally you're allowed much more privacy than in many of the other college dorms I've visited. Another unusual aspect of the social scene is that there's a pretty pronounced split between "east campus" and "west campus". The personalities of the living communities are very different, allowing you to make a choice about the type of college experience you want to have - its almost as if they're two different colleges. The east campus culture is very well-developed; it's a great community, and a lot of fun. I don't know much about west campus. MIT is very challenging. While I loved the experience, you're definitely going to learn to manage your time, and you're going to have to learn to relax to some extent. MIT will teach you, above all, that you can't do everything perfect, and you're not the most clever person in the universe. Cambridge is a great place to spend time, and there are so many other college students in the area - Boston is almost like one huge college itself. If you manage to get out much, you can meet so meet a lot of great people; more than you could expect of most college towns.

The students are the best thing about MIT. There is wonderful professors and most classes are masterfully designed, but the student body is amazing and really make this place what it is. MIT is just right. About half the students are undergraduate and the rest are graduate. When I tell people to go to MIT they think I'm kidding, that they would never be accepted. Many people think they are not good enough when in fact they are, and MIT Office of Admissions is not the kind that goes by SAT scores and valedictorian filtering. There is definitely a lot of school pride. MIT is a tough place and although we all suffer that, it feels wonderful in retrospective. There is a lot of unusual things about MIT. You may easily find yourself walking from your dorm to campus at 5am to get some food. Certain people walk barefoot, even during winter. Having a soldering iron in your room is definitely considered cool. The parties are pretty hardcore (people need to relax somehow). Professors are usually very laid back and friendly.

MIT is a pretty big school that mostly just cranks out engineers for the world. I feel that our mission is to improve the quality of life for humanity through science and technology.

Best thing about MIT: Everyone is capable of doing whatever they want. Something to change: The humanities requirment is to constricting Size: about right

MIT is a good size. There are enough people for you to get to know your classmates but not be surrounded by the same people all the time, like college. When I tell people I go to MIT, they're shocked. Either, they've never heard of it before or they're surpised a black female is going to such a prestigious school. Yes, I do study, but when I'm not, I spend time around the dorm, at my sorority house, or along the Charles no matter the whether - the icy river is pretty in the winter and the trees and the esplanade in general look beautiful in the spring and summer. MITs administration is OK. I wish they took more effort to meet the students as a whole not a few important people here and there meet a select few of the student body. There is a lot of school pride - Nerd Bride, Love your Beaver. Most often, students complain about the work, but who wouldn't? MIT has hackers which are people that know they're way around campus and mysteriously post things along the buildings. For example, you might wake up to a huge red sox sign outside your dorm or along the tallest building in Cambridge.

I don't really like MIT as much as I thought I would, but it's okay. If I would change something I would change the weather--it's way too cold for me in Boston. I know that sounds a bit pathetic, but it really bugs me. I need warmth and sunlight to be happy, I think. Cold is okay, but it's not okay for 6 months when you have to walk outside all the time because your dorm is pretty far away, and it's always snowing and icing and it's extremely windy. MIT is about the right size, I think. It's not too small or not too large, for me (although maybe bordering on too large, because there is no way I could meet all of the people in my class--but I think it's a good thing, because people have much more diverse interests that way, because the student body is big enough). If I could change something, I would change the quality and quantity of the humanities classes offered, and students' opinions about them (students tend to hate humanities -- not all of them, some of them really love them, just a lot of them hate them and don't see the reason for their existence. This irritates me. I do like the science here, as it is really amazing and challenging. I like my drumming group a lot, and the people I meet in it. In general I don't feel that I really click with the people here at all, although that might just be because I'm really introverted. I mean, I have great friends here, and I really love them, but it's just not the same as the friends I had in my home. I never quite clicked with MIT people, I'm not sure why. I wish I were home a lot.

The best thing about MIT is its diversity and location. Located in Cambridge, MA right on the Charles river and just a few minutes walk from Boston's back bay, the students at MIT enjoy beautiful views, a fun and young city, and many other colleges and students to connect with. As far as diversity goes, I've never been to a place where so many languages are spoken and where people literally come from everywhere. Undergraduates and graduates alike come from an enormous array of backgrounds and its really cool to have the opportunity to meet so many people that are different from you.

The best part of MIT are the students. My classmates are the most amazing people doing incredible things at MIT and will go on to do even more incredible things next year. I really enjoy our class size (approximately 1000 per class). We do work a lot, but I, along with my friends, have a great social life. We work hard to earn our weekends, but then play hard on the weekends. MIT's location is one of its biggest strengths as we have a great campus, but it is right on the Charles River so you can walk to Boston in minutes. One of MIT's biggest downsides is a lack of school pride. Many people can't manage their time properly and blame MIT for this.

A couple years ago I was deciding between MIT, Caltech, and Stanford. Caltech was cheaper and closer to home. Stanford was also in California, and they were giving me money. MIT is out in the middle of the coldest place on earth, it's expensive, it's far from home, and it's hard as hell. And I've never regretted my decision. That's the weird thing about this place, and I didn't even think about it when I chose to come here. The stuff that's done here isn't done anywhere else in the world. Period. Regardless of what Yale and Harvard students may say about their classes (some of which I've sit in on), they don't even begin to compare. They teach sciences as liberal arts. Now I'll be quite honest with you: Caltech is also a pretty good school, probably of the same quality in the hard sciences. But MIT also has top-notch programs in economics, management, and engineering (in addition to the core sciences). And it's right next to a city that seems to be designed for college students. And the students at Caltech are a little more weird than the ones here; at MIT, you can always find a group to fly with.

So I'm sitting here with four problem sets this week hanging over my head, planning on pulling an all-nighter to plan a protest against the administration's plans to eliminate an important aspect of student life (dorm rush), in desperate need of caffeine, and I haven't had decent food in a week. Yet I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be. This place is absolutely amazing. Don't come here if you want to be coddled and have grade-inflation and administrators holding your hand all the time. Come here if you want to make your own decisions and work harder than you ever have in your life. Because if you put in the work, this place will give back more to you than you could ever imagine.

It's hard to say what the best thing about MIT is. I'd say that the environment that the students and staff create is definitely up there. Everyone knows that MIT is tough, so students really pull together to help each other out; it's not nearly as competitive as most people probably think it is. Another cool thing about MIT is that there are humanities requirements for every major, even though it's a technical institute, so everyone has to leave with at least some communication skills. That said, economics will fulfill the humanities requirement, which is kind of stupid since it's *mostly* math -- I'd change it so it wouldn't fulfill the humanities requirement. The school is a very nice size -- large enough that there are distinct extracurricular activities, groups, and friends, but small enough that you don't feel alone and lost. You can easily get to know your professors and TAs. It feels nice to tell people that you go to MIT because most people are very impressed. I spend a lot of time in my dorm because that's where a lot of my friends are, but I also enjoy going to the student center for free swing dancing on Wednesdays and in general going around campus to free lectures and free food! It's also fun to explore Boston; there are two T stops (subway stations) very near MIT's campus (one on the north side and the other on the south) so it's easy to go to different farmer's markets, restaurants, conventions, etc. There are also lots of other colleges around, especially Harvard and Boston University, so you can go to fun things they host as well, such as dances and theater showings. MIT's administration often does kind of shady, behind-the-scenes work without student input, which is definitely a let-down. Recently there was a controversy because a small, tight-knit-community graduate dorm was closed by the administration without much, if any, student input. That being said, there is a lot of school pride, and most people are very happy to be attending MIT. There are several unusual things about MIT that help to contribute to its kind of quirky culture. One of the biggest things is that all the majors and all the classes are number-coded, so students don't talk about being, e.g., a mechanical engineering major but a Course 2 major, and they don't take Intro. to Mech. Eng., they take 2.01. Something I'll always remember is taking my first 8.012 test (roughly Advanced Mechanical Physics w/Calculus), but it's not a good memory -- the classes and especially tests are very, very hard! This is a very frequent student complaint, along with complaints about the Tech, our school newspaper which is, politely, rather a waste of paper.

What's the best thing about MIT? My favorite thing about MIT is that students enjoy learning and work hard. Name one thing you'd change. One of the downsides is that professors are generally much more focused on research than teaching. But if you're an independent learner you can get what you need from books, TAs, and other students. Is your school too large, too small, or just right? I think MIT is a good size-- I don't have trouble getting into the classes I want, but it's big enough that there are enough academic and social opportunities. How do people react when you tell them you go to MIT? Actually, people usually freak out, say that it must be super-hard. Where do you spend most of your time on campus? During the day, I split my time between class and lab. College town, or "what college town?" Boston is right across the river from MIT (10 minute walk) and many students hang out there or in Cambridge (more college-town) on the weekends. Boston is a great place to be a college student: lots of other colleges, restaurants, night life, great public transportation (don't bring your car here!). What's your opinion of MIT's administration? I don't think I have any strong feelings about MIT's administration. Some aspects of student life are ignored here-- particuarly dining. The dining halls are only open for dinner, and only 5 days a week, and they're expensive. I don't think any students are satisfied with the dining opportunities. But there are parts of the administration that are very supportive. MIT Medical offers great physical and mental care for all students, and Student Support Services vouches for students who have illness or personal emergencies that affect their coursework. What was the biggest recent controversy on campus? Probably when an MIT student wore a tshirt with a circuit on it into Logan airport, and the administration told the media her behavior was reckless-- before the details of the story were confirmed. Is there a lot of school pride? There's definitely school pride here. Students feel like their in the most challenging technical environment in the world. Is there anything unusual about MIT? Lots of things are unusual about MIT-- the architecture of the buildings on campus, the required hard-core science classes for all students, the fact that (almost) everyone here is a scientist or engineer. What's one experience you'll always remember? What are the most frequent student complaints? Students here love to complain about their workloads. A typical MIT student conversation goes something like this: student 1- "I have 2 psets (problem sets) and an exam tomorrow" student 2- "well I have 3 psets and a paper for tomorrow" student 3- "I'm even more hosed, I have 3 psets and a paper and 2 exams next week" I don't particularly think it's healthy but that's the culture.

The most recent big controversy was the Star Simpson thing. She made a small oversight before she left for the airport, and we were annoyed that MIT didn't correct the fact that the press made it sound like she was intentionally pretending to be a terrorist. After talking to my cousin, who goes to BU, and hearing about other schools, I've realized that MIT is unique in how much freedom it gives its students. We don't have RAs who report us to the police for the slightest underage drinking, we just have awesome GRTs who try to keep us from going overboard to the point of passing out. We aren't required to pack up and leave for Thanksgiving, between Fall and Spring terms, or during Spring break, which is really nice. Even though I've never been around at those times, it's really nice that I don't need to pack up my whole room. Also MIT doesn't have real dining halls where everyone pays a flat rate for all-you-can-eat meals all term. We have "preferred dining" where you can pay a few hundred dollars up-front to get half-off each thing your buy, but everyone I know thinks that's a major rip-off. I live in a dorm with awesome big kitchens, and I prepare my own meals, which is fun and saves money. It can even save time--when I have five minutes to eat before class, I just pop some oatmeal into the microwave or grab some leftovers from the fridge. I'd never have time to go to the dining hall in that situation. The only bad thing is that our kitchen is common to 35-40 people, who don't always take responsibility for what they make dirty. Dishes pile up in the sinks, and it can get really gross. Since we have a lot of shared dishes, there's no way to know who made the mess and therefore whom to nag to clean it up. So I end up cleaning up after others a lot just to keep the place sanitary. To me having a kitchen to use is well worth the rotting mess it sometimes becomes, but I could see this bothering some people. I spend most of my time in the library, in my dorm room or kitchen, or in class/rehearsal.

A lot of people seem to be intimidated when I tell them I go to MIT. They always say things like "wow! You must be really smart!" which is always aggravating because it downplays the fact that I worked my ass off to be and stay where I am. MIT is just the right size. The best thing about MIT is looking back at the end of every semester and realizing how much you've learned. I spend most of my time in my dorm. Boston is the best college town there is. There is a lot of school pride, and there's also a lot of school hatred. If you're at MIT, you love it and hate it at the same time. IHTFP. MIT's administration is too big. I don't know what on earth an "associate vice provost" does but I'm pretty sure it's not completely necessary. I kind of wish they would go back to the "all tech men wear batteries" policy, too. Everything is unusual about MIT. Complaints: psets.