<p>Not yet ;), and I do not want to appear as being pretentious as I know that no one can claim that he will be accepted, but I am definitely the kind of applicant that MIT will at least consider even if in the end they reject me.
I have perfect SAT score, all 800 in 4 Sat2 including math2 and phy, written very interesting and original software which is having some success on the market, shown some engineering creativity etc. so it looks like an interesting profile for an engineering school.
BUT, I am not at all a math or physics fan. I mean, I enjoy moderately math classes, even less physics class and I just hate anything chemistry related. I am not the kind of person who will love spending hours trying to demonstrate such and such theorem. Not that I cannot do it, I just do not enjoy it as much as studying other topics.
I enjoy much much more languages, history, economics etc. and I know that I will major in a humanities related field.
I hear that MIT has great humanities departments and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences is what attracts me but I wonder if the required classes in pure sciences are not going to be a high price to pay to access these departments.
I was wondering if, in the very lucky event that I am accepted, I could fit into MIT and survive the required classes without too much of an effort so that I can then concentrate on humanities. The question really is, can MIT be a good fit for a non math/physics student? Thank you for your comments</p>
<p>Basically, you have to spend up to a year taking math/science classes (GIRs). Sure, I think anyone can grin and bear that for a year. If you come in with some credit (get 5 on APs,) it could be a semester. You may be able to fulfill some GIRs by taking summer classes at a good university. I know a friend who fulfilled the physics requirement that way. </p>
<p>Anyone with a strong interest in software development certainly would fit in at MIT, regardless of their major. And, of course, the economics department is extremely strong (although economics is applied math so it may not be great for someone who doesn’t enjoy math.)</p>
<p>I’d recommend that you wait until you actually get in, see what your other options are, and visit Campus Preview Weekend in April to see for yourself (and in that order).</p>
<p>“I could fit into MIT and survive the required classes without too much of an effort” </p>
<p>This, definitely no. If you want to “survive” classes “without too much of an effort” MIT is not really the place for you. </p>
<p>iceui2 is correct as well.</p>
<p>heyy MITChris … can u attend my probs too please …!!</p>
<p>I’ve heard history is good. I knew someone who majored in history (and biology) and he liked it. There were only 2 history majors in our class and that has costs and benefits.</p>
<p>We don’t offer as many languages as some or our peers, I think. Our economics program is designed to prepare people for grad work in economics. You’ll spend most of your time becoming comfortable with standard math techniques in optimization and algebra tricks to simplify problems and that doesn’t sound like what you’re interested in. If you want a less objective take, in my humble opinion our undergrad econ program sucks at meeting most people’s needs.</p>
<p>You might be interested in business though which we offer as an undergrad major and many schools don’t. Look up Course 15.</p>
<p>Also, look at OCW to judge for yourself how hard the first year sequence is. Depending on your high school background it can either be very painful or actually pretty easy.</p>
<p>Apply to Princeton. You could study Computer Science under their AB program. Exact same computer science requirement as their BSE (engineering) program but all the other classes you would take could be from their humanities departments. You wouldn’t have to take a single physics or chemistry class.</p>
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<p>excellent suggestion. Thank you, I will definitely follow this advice</p>
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<p>Thank you for the information. In fact I am lacking proper info on Princeton’s CS program.</p>
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This was maybe exaggerated. Of course, one cannot attend a rigourous college and pretend to get away without effort. I certainly could have expressed myself a bit better.
But the main question, which was “can MIT be a good fit for a non math/physics student?” hasn’t really been answered.</p>
<p>I think you should go for it. I have a natural knack for numbers, but am moreso into the humanities, so I know a bit of where you’re coming from. You obviously have a lot of skill when it comes to numbers, and I think MIT would help you integrate that into your passions. My dad went to MIT and majored in chemical engineering, but is now involved in financial services and kind of like an economics guru. You never know where life is going to take you, but MIT provides a great educational foundation, and worst case scenario you transfer.</p>
<p>Should you attend if you are not interested in doing the curriculum MIT requires? Heck no.</p>
<p>The bigger question is why the OP would want to go to MIT. In my reply, I was assuming that the OP would like some of the software-oriented classes as well as the classes in a humanities major; also, that he/she would enjoy programming as a UROP or as a job (SIPB). My impression was that the career goal was to be in software. I think it’s ok if you aren’t thrilled with GIRs, especially since qualified candidates could spend only a semester doing them.</p>
<p>^Yes, of course. CS is going to be an important part of my undergrad curriculum, plus history and languages.
I would really like my question to be answered because I might even decide not to apply at all if it appears that you have to be necessarily math/physics oriented to even consider this school.</p>
<p>^ That’s basically already been answered - you have to take the GIRs. This means a year of math and a year of physics (along with a semester of biology and a semester of chemistry). No MIT undergrad can walk out with a degree without having that basic science foundation.</p>
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<p>A perfect score on Math =/= good at Math. You seem not sure if MIT is a good fit for you, and you probably didn’t do EA there either. A guy with a perfect SAT got to Princeton and thought he’s invincible, only felt “getting plowed” his freshman year. MIT is likely a tougher place.</p>
<p>^I never said I was good at math and certainly not that I felt invicible. I know we are talking of a college which attracts the best students from all over the world, and I do not pretend to be at par with any of these students.
You are right, I am wondering if I am a good fit for MIT, and, maybe the fact of merely asking this question implies a negative answer.</p>
<p>There are better fits out there, such as perhaps the University of Chicago.</p>
<p>When I visited MIT as a high-school student, I did not attend any of the science, math or engineering classes. I presumed that they would be excellent. I wanted to convince myself, as someone very interested in the humanities, that I could enjoy my time at MIT, so I sat in on a writing class, a film studies class, and a literature class, and I was thrilled by them. They were filled with MIT students, who are very, very bright as a rule, and I had a great time.</p>
<p>I got to MIT, and I took a lot of theatre classes. I spent IAP’s touring with the MIT Shakespeare ensemble. I got to spend a lot of time with some of the arts faculty and staff, and I had more time with them than I had with most of my STEM class professors. I got out of MIT and worked as an actor. I got my equity card, and I got surprisingly good theatre training at MIT. Now sure, Yale has hugely better theatre facilities than has MIT, heck Northwestern has much better theatre facilities and training than that found at MIT, but at schools like those, the arts faculty and resources are only really available to the Drama majors. Unless you go into Yale knowing that you want to devote your life to the performing arts, then you won’t get to spend much time with their stellar faculty.</p>
<p>MIT has the combination of superb humanities instruction, and very few majors. If you want to learn novel writing, then the introductory course is taught by Junot Diaz (Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”), Science Fiction Writing is taught by Steve Haldeman (5 Hugo awards, 5 Nebulas, a Cambell award, and the Damon Knight Grand Master award for lifetime achievement in 2010). There are similar stars across a wide variety of humanities disciplines. This allows MIT students to have choices.One of my roommates at MIT went there expecting to major in Physics. He graduated with a degree in English Literature. One of the EC’s in my region is a Fashion Designer.</p>
<p>Look, nobody succeeds at MIT unless they have at least a solid tolerance, if not an actual enjoyment, of the sciences. If you are going to MIT and loathe mathematics, then MIT is not a good place for you. But if you are say, an Architecture major, then you will be living in the studio and thinking a lot more about the arts than the sciences. Of the roughly 3200 undergraduates with a declared major, there are 74 Architecture majors and another 214 in the school of the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.</p>
<p>So I think that most of the MIT posters on this thread are right. Yes, you can succeed and prosper as a non-STEM major at MIT. That being said, you are picking a home for four years. Some schools will simply FEEL like a better fit than others. Wait until you get in, then go to CPW, and see how comfortable you are on campus.</p>
<p>Do not go to MIT.</p>
<p>there are lots of colleges that WOULD be a much better fit for you- Chicago being one, Columbia another, Wash U. , Stanford- the list is long. MIT stands for Massachusetts Institute of Technology i.e. the emphasis is on STEM areas, Not Massachusetts Institute of Liberal Arts [ math and science are but a part of a well rounded liberal arts education].</p>
<p>Out of all the schools that offer humanities, why do you you want to go to MIT? If you don’t have a good answer to this questions, then don’t go.</p>