I am thinking about adding MIT to my college list. From what I have read online, it seems to be mainly based in the STEM area and you need to show an intense level of passion to get in. Although I am interested in STEM, I am not one of those kids with a large spike in STEM and I don’t have any large award or research project that I can showcase to admissions.
Even if I did get in, I am not sure if MIT would be right for me because it seems to have people that are building robots while they are still in high school and want to specialize in some area of STEM research. Is this just my perception, or should I not bother applying to MIT at all?
MIT is more than just building robots. It is HIGHLY STEM oriented but at the same time quite diverse. By that I mean that you can take economics, for instance, but it will have a analytical approach.
You don’t need to the kid who built an atomic reactor in their garage to get in but you do need a record of pushing yourself to achieve. And of course, the grades and the test scores. And MIT has a horrible admit rate, so anyone’s chances of getting in are small.
Look at MIT’s web site and see all the things that are going on there. It is an amazing place. Apply if you think you would fit in there.
It’s okay, there’s plenty of people like us at MIT! Don’t get discouraged or saddened by all the brilliant people–instead, try to work hard and make the best of what you have! Easier said than done and I’ve had bad times but also I’ve made a lot of friends and had great times. The only thing I would say is important is you have to have drive, to want to go to MIT. Even though I hate MIT at times, I know I would have hated myself more if I had gone to any other school I’d gotten into.
I haven’t been on CC since the days I applied, but if it’s anything like it used to be, don’t be intimidated by the results threads–you should apply if you want to go.
@jaguarKing I can see from other posts that your interests are machine learning and statistics. Those do align with MIT’s strengths, but remember that MIT has a very large EECS department and many applicants are interested in that major, so it can be very difficult for admissions, as MIT wants a diverse class, as far as majors. MIT admits students to the school as a whole and you can change majors at any time in the process though and even up to year two at MIT, its possible to change majors and still get done in 4 years, if you work hard.
For strong machine learning programs:
Add GaTech, Purdue, U of Maryland, UC Berkeley, and UIUC to your college list.
These public schools are all very highly ranked, and the programs are similar to MIT’s especially UIUC looks
to be very similar, as does Berkeley. The main difference is, MIT is smaller and MIT requires five semesters of SCIENCE classes to get a BS in EECS. ( you have to take a semester of biology, a semester of chemistry and a year of physics to get an EECS degree from MIT. ) Other schools do not require so many science classes to get your
bachelors degree in math or CS.
Think about that aspect of your education, do you want a well rounded science education? Then MIT may fit.
This post makes it seem that you are not sure about MIT. Strong robotics students are often rejected by MIT,
as they need to fill departments like architecture, urban planning, economics, biology, and political science too.
Try to visit the MIT campus if you can, to learn more, or look at the MIT student blogs.
fit is less about what majors are offered than the culture, values, philosophy, and approach of a university