A couple MIT questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>Hello MIT forum members,</p>

<p>I'm currently finishing off sophomore year and touring colleges next spring. In planning my trip I've been debating whether or not it would be worth it to visit MIT. I understand the school has great technical programs and looks like it has a fun, yet "nerdy" vibe, which I like to an extent. That being said:</p>

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<li><p>How is the social scene at MIT? Is it really like how it's portrayed in the media as a quiet place where people study all day? Is it more "social" in that people persue their niche hobbies together or whatnot, but might not necessarily go out a lot? Are there a lot of social events on or around campus that students take part in?</p></li>
<li><p>Does MIT care about people that have good extracurriculars that just so happen to not be in a scientific field? I happen to like leadership, writing, and sport activites and generally do good in these just because they're what's most readily available at my school, but would these not mean anything unless I backed them up with more STEM activities? It seems like they would want the more well-rounded people that can network and sell their product and be really good collaborators in addition to the geniuses inventing things.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>Ahahhaa. No :)</p>

<p>MIT has a very “work hard, play hard, sleep little” culture. You’ll find big parties. You’ll find small parties. You’ll find people LARPing, or setting things on fire, or playing intramural sports. There’s a bit of everything at MIT, mostly done out of living groups, clubs, or sport organizations.</p>

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<p>Yep. This would describe most of my extracurriculars when I was applying.</p>

<p>MIT does not want one kind of person. There are some very well-rounded people, there are some very pointy people. The incoming class should be a group of people who can inspire each other, who should be able to get through the workload, and who can do something useful with an MIT education later on. This isn’t a single type of person – by its nature, the class should be made of people with diverse interests and backgrounds.</p>

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<p>Thanks, PiperXP! That answers my questions (and makes me really want to apply)! :-* </p>