A friend won't go to MIT!

<p>OK, so my friend got into MIT, and me and all of his friends were soo happy for him coz our school hasn't sent anyone there for 30 years, and MIT's hard to get in from any school. </p>

<p>Problem is, he doesn't think he'll go, and we're like "are you out of your mind? It's MIT!" Well, I agree that one should go to where one feels comfortable, but still, it's MIT. </p>

<p>Some of the reasons he's stated is that he won't be able to keep up (there's similar thread like this in Caltech forum; my friend isn't the brilliant-est kid in the class; no national awards, etc) and that he wants to have life. I can understand that because there's stereotype (which i can't confirm) that people study study study for four years. My friend's a runner, soccer player, outdoorsy fun going kid. He prefers to go to Olin coz he said people seemed to have good time there. </p>

<p>But lo and behold, my friends and I are on a mission to sway him toward MIT (although I understand that it's his choice; maybe i can at least inform him of what advantages MIT provide). So what do you have to say to those problems/dilemma that I mentioned above?</p>

<p>I'm actually in a similar boat to your friend. No one from my school has ever gotten into MIT. I got in, but after Candidates' Weekend at Olin, I'm thinking it might be a better fit. The whole "dumbest kid" and no social life thing at MIT doesn't really bother me; I'd rather be in such a group of smart people and I believe you can have a social life if you want to have one.</p>

<p>I'm going to give MIT a chance- it was my top choice for a long time. I will be attending CPW, and I intend to look at it closely. What strikes me, though, is that this is my one opportunity to go to Olin, while I could always go to MIT for graduate work. I loved the people I met at Olin, and I really liked their approach. I haven't decided yet, but I know already that some people are disappointed that I'm not going immediately for the bigger name.</p>

<p>I know that both Ben and my interviewer told me that I'd thrive at MIT, and I believe that this may be true. I just am not sure where else I could thrive. I'm of the opinion that no one should try to "sway" you to a school if you aren't entirely in love. You can help him decide, and maybe show him if he is wrong, but forcing him to your view is just wrong. MIT has an excellent reputation, but in the end, it's your friend's decision to make.</p>

<p>Which weekend was your friend at, by the way?</p>

<p>I agree with spiraloflife :) Trying to sway your friend toward a school can really confuse him. I went to Olin Candidates Weekend, and loved it, although it has a much different feel than MIT. MIT and Olin are VERY different schools (except for they both emphasize engineering). If your friend is committing to Olin, then his personality is obviously geared toward the social life there. I think it would be too hard to sway anyone to go to MIT if he/she is completely admamant about going to Olin.</p>

<p>Well I will say that there's no need to worry too much about being "the dumb one;" there are plenty of us here who haven't won all kinds of crazy awards. Plus, MIT makes it really easy to play sports by blocking off 2 hours per day for sports- no academic activities are allowed to take place during that time. Plus we have some pretty cool parties. Ha.</p>

<p>That said, I've never been to Olin, but rejecting MIT to go there is more than allowed. =) It's a pretty awesome place. Don't get caught up in the name. =)</p>

<p>Olin is also completely free, so I'm sure that's a huge weight off your shoulders. As for the OP's question, why would the admissions office choose someone who they didn't think could handle the workload?</p>

<p>Ugh, I hate being rejected on false stereotypes.</p>

<p>Certainly you can study study study for four years here, but you don't have to. There's a significant percentage of the population here that goes to class, comes home, does some homework, and blows off the rest of the night to go out to a pub or a party.</p>

<p>Some 20% of the MIT student population, moreover, is involved in varsity athletics. If your friend wants to do track or cross country and soccer, he's more than welcome to try out for the teams. (The soccer team's kind of hard to get onto, as they're regular contenders for the conference championship. Last year they went to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tourney.)</p>

<p>I would really encourage all the admitted students to visit, so that if they decide they don't want to go here, it's on the basis of personal affinity and not on the basis of stereotypes and popular perception.</p>

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<p>and this is a good thing?</p>

<p>Eh, different strokes for different folks.</p>

<p>We have a quite diverse population of students here with regard to what they enjoy doing in their free time. Everybody pretty much has the "live and let live" attitude toward what gets other people psyched.</p>

<p>well, given the gnashing of teeth and widespread carnage of the non-admit pool, for students to sail through with what appears as minimum dedication, not to mention promoting the practice as a appeal to accepted students to 'come on down', seems a trifle wasteful,..not that I don't adore you, Mollie,..(and i know I sound like a schoolmarm, but still)</p>

<p>I know a fair number of students (~6, which is a lot when Olin only has 75 students each year) who were accepted last year at both Olin and MIT. Several of them chose to attend Olin and they are happier than clams: working their little tails off, but very happy with their choice. Several of them (including my son) chose to attend MIT and they are also sure they made the right choice. (And oh yeah, they are ALSO working their little tails off.) </p>

<p>In the case of my son, it was a difficult final choice for him between the two. At MIT he's gotten involved in photography, art, and electronic music in a big way, and has thrown himself into a couple established national groups at MIT and Harvard which has given him a new direction into his future. His living situation is pretty much ideal for him, and he's able to delve into some fascinating areas in his coursework beyond engineering, which is giving him new dimensions. I can see he made the right choice for himself.</p>

<p>I love Olin, and would have been totally happy if he'd chosen to attend there. (And the price is right, no doubt about it!) As Globber says above, the Admissions folks at MIT do not admit students who can't handle the MIT workload (and oh yeah, if they can't handle the work at MIT, they won't be very successful at Olin either!). I can see now that MIT is right for my son and am glad he made that choice. (Although like all MIT students, he complains about it: guess what? So do Olin students, I read some of their LJs and I see it there, too. ;) ). The atmospheres and sizes differ, and some students will feel more at home in one or the other.</p>

<p>Since Olin decisions aren't out until next week, don't jump the gun on this one, but I'd encourage all of you to go to CPW, sit in on classes, taste the fun and intensity of excitement at MIT, meet the people who are already there and those who may become your classmates, and see how it feels to you. Then make your decision: you aren't likely to go wrong!</p>

<p>Well, there's hard work and then there's hard work.</p>

<p>Certainly even the people living la vida frat boy at MIT are doing quite a bit of hard work, and I don't mean to insinuate that it's a cakewalk. What I object to is the idea that students have to study 30 hours a day and pull 8 all-nighters a week -- that's just not reality. It's hard work, sure, but for many people it's only one component of their busy, happy, fulfilling lives at MIT. It is, undoubtedly, all about the time management skills you acquire.</p>

<p>What I mean to say is that while MIT is hard work for all of us, it's hard work that human beings, not superhumans, can do. You don't have to be a genius to survive at MIT, and you don't have to dedicate every waking hour to academic pursuits. </p>

<p>I, for instance, am happily double-majoring, in a leadership position in a club sport, working in the lab, working for the Admissions Office, and helping my entire entry get through 7.013... but I still have time to spend with my boyfriend and take naps and watch plenty of Law and Order (and spend godawful number of hours on CC!). And I'm no super-genius either. There are a lot of hours in the day! And I like being busy.</p>

<p>I kind of get you mollie... I take a lot more classes than many of my friends, yet end up chilling or working on random projects most of the time, while maintaining good grades. When work needs go get done, it gets done. When studying needs to happen. But if I don't relax and do fun stuff (epsilon delta proofs for multivariable functions were not nearly as fun as I imagined...), I would probably explode. I'm not sure if my method is the right way, but I honestly can't see myself doing nearly the amount of stuff I do now if I studied 6 hours a day for all my subjects.</p>

<p>Mollie:
[quote]
pull 8 all-nighters a week

[/quote]
Wow. I knew time travel was of interest to "certain parties" at MIT, but just... wow.</p>

<p>actually, the link is interesting but through the calendar page one reaches the Jim Roberts story. To us outsiders, this is a window into MIT heart.</p>

<p>To the OP:</p>

<p>I can understand that a guy might be deterred from MIT because of its reputation for intensity. But the notion of being deterred away from MIT and towards Olin instead is to me a case out of the frying pan, into the fire. </p>

<p>Specifically speaking, the Olin curricula is pure engineering. You have to be an engineering major. What if you go to Olin and then find out you don't want to be an engineer? I believe that government studies found that well over half of all students who intend to major in engineering never complete an engineering degree, either because they find out they don't like it, or it's too hard for them, or they find something they like better. And even many people who obtain engineering degrees do not actually take engineering jobs. For example, 25% of all MIT EECS students end up taking jobs in management consulting or banking, and a significant portion of all other MIT engineers do the same. You would think that if any students would be dedicated to engineering, it would be engineering students at MIT, yet even plenty of them would rather take a non-engineering job. A lot of this is simply financial - the truth is, engineering jobs just don't pay that well and are seen as less glamorous and not the best way to rise to the top of a company, when compared to jobs in consulting and banking. After all, why take an engineering job and make 60k to start when you can take an investment banking job and make 140k (including bonuses)? </p>

<p>The point is, if you go to MIT, you're not stuck in engineering, or even in a natural science. You can switch to a social science like economics or poli-sci or linguistics. You can major in management at the Sloan School. You can even major in humanities, particularly if you take advantage of Harvard cross-reg. </p>

<p>So I see MIT as a safer choice than Olin. If you go to Olin and find out that you don't want to major in engineering, you have to transfer out. MIT offers a broad menu of choices. {Of course, Stanford offers you an even broader menu of choices, but looks like Stanford is not on the table.}</p>

<p>Correct me if I am wrong. MIT to me is like pure engineering school although it offer other courses too. But... why do you want to attend MIT if you are not engineering savvy?? Does other non engr courses has strong rank compared to other top notch school?</p>

<p>There is a difference between being "engineering savvy" and locking yourself into majoring in Engineering.</p>

<p>For kids just good at math and science but not exceptional good, what is the better choice between Caltech/MIT or other ivies? Will it be a wise move to major Bio in Caltech/MIT rather than some other University which offer stronger Bio program?</p>

<p>Mootmom,
I actually just got my acceptance letter from Olin. I am planning on attending CPW, since I do want to make sure that I make absolutely the right decision.</p>

<p>The whole "you're stuck in engineering" thing is a little daunting, but to be perfectly honest, Olin's program seems like the one in which I'd be most likely to stay. It's also nice that four years of Olin cost the same as one year of MIT. </p>

<p>I think the decision will come down to a lot of factors. I loved the people I met there, but I want to see which of them get in and go. I also want to make sure I can deal with another small school (both my high school and Olin average about 75 students per grade). Plus, the learning styles at both colleges are very different. I am a more creative person, and the emphasis on design at Olin is appealing.</p>

<p>That being said, I'm not ruling out MIT or any other college that happens to accept me. It's going to be a very very tough decision, and the people who are actually angry at me for not immediately accepting MIT make it harder. It's my future, though, and I want to make sure that I make the best choice for me.</p>

<p>CONGRATS, spiraloflife! Exciting choices ahead for you. :)</p>