<p>My D dreams of MIT. We are in Florida and have done the Florida prepaid program for tuition, and financially a Florida school will be much easier. I don't know that MIT would even be attainable, financially speaking, for her UG degree. She is currently in the IB program in HS, doing well, and has interests in physics and materials science. She is still fairly early in her HS career though, so her specific degree interest may yet change. She recognizes that going to a Florida university as a UG makes sense and seems ok with that, but I have no real knowledge of how the grad degree 'system' really works, what it takes to get in, and how Florida univerities are viewed in that process. I'd appreciate any insight!
Thank you</p>
<p>MIT is full-need financial aid. Something to consider before throwing out the option completely. </p>
<p>Why does your daughter want to attend MIT? Generally, the student experience talked about on the blogs is very heavily undergraduate. For grad school, people should pursue their specific interests within a field and find specific professors they want to work with rather than fixate on the school first and pick the professor later.</p>
<p>I agree with Piper that you shouldn’t rule out MIT before you know for sure what you’ll be paying. MIT gives good financial aid (but no merit scholarships, so it will probably still be more than a state school). You can definitely get into MIT for grad school from a state school, if you get excellent grades and do research as an undergrad.</p>
<p>It’s absolutely possible to get into MIT as a grad student with a state school undergraduate degree, but graduate admission at MIT and other top schools is still exceedingly competitive. Competitive applicants must have substantial research experience and stellar letters of recommendation, and those tend to be easier to come by in the better-funded, smaller environment of a high-quality department.</p>
<p>Unlike MIT undergraduate admissions, where the applicant’s context and opportunities are considered, MIT and other top science and engineering graduate programs will not cut applicants any slack for having come from an environment where it was difficult to get to know professors, to take advanced courses, or to participate in meaningful undergraduate research. In this way, being from MIT or a school of similar caliber is a fairly large advantage in graduate admissions.</p>
<p>One of my good friends at MIT is from Florida. He found that MIT was significantly cheaper than UF, given his MIT financial aid package. I agree with everyone who says to not rule out MIT because you think it might be too expensive.</p>
<p>I’m a current UG, from Florida, and my UF aid was only marginally better than my MIT aid (I don’t remember how much exactly, but not enough to pick UF over MIT). Anyways, she should definitely apply to MIT and see how that turns out.</p>
<p>Also, If she is interested in Materials Science/Engineering and Physics (that’s how I felt in hs too, except now I’m leaning towards Materials Science/Engineering and Biology) then UF is definitely a good choice. UF has one of the best Materials Science/Engineering programs in the country.</p>
<p>USNWR Materials Science Engineering Undergraduate Rankings</p>
<ol>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>U of Florida</li>
</ol>
<p>For graduate admissions, what field you are pursuing matters quite a lot in terms of these questions. </p>
<p>It sounds like U of F is a good materials science school, and most likely, the difference between a “top 5” and a “top 10” school (strictly in terms of the actual field) will be irrelevant, assuming meaningful research, strong recommendations from a well respected faculty member, strong performance in advanced coursework in that field, etc. </p>
<p>In a field which is largely pen and paper, your classes can matter a lot, and a high GPA (~ 3.7-8 at minimum) may be almost customary. Simply put, I think having done your preparatory work at a better rated school means that work was more meaningful in the eyes of admissions. However, additional markers of excellence can compensate for where you come from (standardized testing becomes more important, a recommendation from a professor at a famous school where you did a very nice, relevant project can help a lot, etc).</p>
<p>In a field which isn’t largely pen and paper, the access to top facilities (as was already mentioned) helps a lot.</p>
<p>I prefer being broad, because someone into “physics and materials science” could easily end up swayed highly theoretical or very much not based on a bunch of factors. </p>
<p>Let me emphasize that there are two very different kinds of prestige at stake here. People use the acronyms like HYPSM on this site, yet those schools have little to do with each other when you talk about departmental prestige. For instance, a UCLA student with a glowing recommendation from Terence Tao stating the student compares favorably to very successful researchers in harmonic analysis is probably going to take them almost anywhere they please assuming they’re applying somewhere which does the kind of research they want to do.</p>
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<p>Quoted from extreme agreement :)</p>
<p>Yes, it is possible, but I’d say it is easier for chem or bio rather than engineering. If you are in engineering at U. of Florida, you had better be in the top 2 or 3 in your major there to have a chance at MIT. Also, you need an 800 on the math subscore of the general GRE. A decent score on the verbal (600+) would be nice but not as necessary.</p>
<p>For chem and physics, it is easier to get in from a less prestigious school because the GRE subject test is hard and valued highly. For instance, the average chem GRE at Berkeley (#1 school) is probably around 800/990. A score of 700+ is considered good by top 5 schools. So if you do well, you can really distinguish yourself. It’s a tough test; you had better know everything you learned in orgo, plus know the fundamentals of some other subjects. Physics is the same way. Get in the 900’s and you will really be taken seriously. Also, for lab-based schools, you have some control over your record because publishing can really improve your record. Publishing is easier at better schools. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t just choose any Florida school though. I would say to go to the flagship. Also, the recommendations hold more weight if your professor is important, so that is one reason to choose the state flagship rather than the satellite schools. In my experience, the smart but not spectacular students at the satellite state schools tend to end up at the flagship of the system. It’s harder for them to go directly to a prestigious school out of the state (but again, it may be possible in chem or physics with publications and/or a good GRE score.)</p>
<p>Aoother tip: if you end up going to a small school or even maybe the state flagship, it might be possible to do a summer research internship at a major university. If you can do one at MIT, that of course would strengthen your research rec immensely. Think about it. if an MIT prof vouches for you that you are good in the lab and that they want you, that eliminates the unknown quantity aspect of your application. Many smart people just aren’t that great in the lab, so this is important. Again, this would be more effective for more lab-based (rather than pen-and-paper fields.) I’ve seen people from very small schools get into top 5/top 10 schools with this strategy. </p>
<p>I know a guy at u. of michigan who got a 3.9 out of 4.0 in the chemical engineering program and then did research his junior year in a well-known lab at MIT. At the end of the summer, the prof told him he could come back for grad school. U. of Michigan is a little more prestigious than Florida, but I think this would have been the same result from Florida. Basically, if you clear certain hurdles in terms of GPA/GRE, if you get the prof’s endorsement from the school you want to go to, you are very likely to get in.</p>
<p>In short, if you choose U. of Florida, do these things:
- Get a 3.9 out of 4.0
- Get an 800 on the math part of the GRE general
- Get a high GRE subject score if you are in a science
- Get a 2nd author publication, especially if you are in a lab-based field. Take an extra year after graduation to do this if necessary.<br>
- Do a summer research fellowship at MIT if possible and get a good rec from an MIT prof</p>
<p>Also, if you are a total star, you can apply to an NSF grad fellowship. Get this and you get in automatically to any school in the country. I’ve heard even if they reject you, if you end up getting the NSF they’ll let you come anyway. For the NSF, I would get 3.9/4.0, have at least one 2nd author publication and have an excellent rec from a good professor, and have a 900+/990 score in fields which value the GRE subject test. Basically, to get such a score, you would have to crush all your classes and be the sort of person to retain the info in general.</p>
<p>^NSF fellowship does not require gre scores anymore.</p>
<p>If the GRE scores will be considered, I highly recommend you submit them. This is especially true if you don’t come from a big-name school. The GRE and in particular the subject test is the best way to show that you can match up academically with people from big name institutions.</p>
<p>^GRE scores are not considered (or used) for NSF graduate fellowship. </p>
<p>for grad school admissions, yes, you’re correct.</p>