<p>MIT is somewhere between harvard/princeton-type schools and indian/UK-type schools.</p>
<p>it's all a matter of perception.
to the british, it's just normal that by 17-18, you decide on a career, and that's it. they don't feel they need more time, and they don't feel they make the wrong career decisions any more than people here do. they just find it strange that when you're supposed to be studying for your career, people are taking courses like sign language and literature.</p>
<p>as a result, they learn more in less time. i know that american unis have the best resources and best faculty etc... but the british complete "college" by 18, and for those that don't do PhD, university is done in 3-4 years (4 years is masters inclusive). you learn more.</p>
<p>i can see the advantages of a small amount of non-major courses (some useful writing, perhaps a bit of western civilization and maybe some ethics)... but not 10s of courses.</p>
<p>furthermore... learning "through" interaction has nothing to do with whether the courses are technical or liberal arts.... i'm sure that oxford engineers are in book clubs etc.</p>