<p>I hear the same thing from future Swarthmoreans all the time (only there they seem to make a fetish of work stress, and deal with it by fooling themselves into thinking it is a positive. Maybe they are all in the wrong place! ;))</p>
<p>(Gotta go have my annual half a beer, and then go lie down.)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice. :) </p>
<p>Just to let anyone who's curious know, I've decided to go to MIT.</p>
<p>great choice. enjoy</p>
<p>Janeeyre:</p>
<p>Congrats. You made the right choice for you!</p>
<p>Our son had the same choice two years ago. It didn't help that the Stanford pre-frosh weekend was just days before decision date--hard to shed that glow! He agonizingly made his choice the same way over30s son did: He realized he might regret <em>not</em> going to MIT!</p>
<p>Our son had few APs and went to a noncompetitive high school. He's doing fine. Don't worry--you won't crack up. The only people who have a tough time are the perfectionists who can't handle a few Bs. </p>
<p>My heart tells me that if you love MIT culture you belong there! On the other hand, because it is so grade-deflated (my son has gotten a C, and quite a few Bs), supposedly med school is tougher. But there are a lot of pre-med majors. Have you posed that question on the MIT board? Good luck! My son has never regretted his decision!</p>
<p>janeeyre - congratulations!</p>
<p>janeeyre - congrats! fyi ( or just a reminder, as you probably already know), you can take courses at Wellesley to round out the humanities (I didn't know about the Harvard option that marite mentioned). Also, when I was at Wellesley, the very first year of Wellesely-MIT cross-reg, I took some very fun humanities courses at MIT ( as well as econ and city planning).</p>
<p>jmmom: cross-registration is available for MIT and Harvard students.</p>
<p>Congratulations!!!!!!! Now, enjoy the rest of your senior year knowing you made a great decision about your future!!</p>
<p>Intelligent decision. I have many MIT undergrad friends who went to Stanford grad school, and they all say it's not close. I've also (job) interviewed kids from both schools. Again, hate to say it, not close. That said, Stanford is better bang for the buck: considerably less work for nearly same (some might say same) prestige.</p>
<p>Go bust your b*** for the next 4 years. Then for the rest of your life look back and relish... hey, that was... fun, kind of, in a way... no, really, it was.</p>
<p>Hooray for your decision---I was late to see the thread and was afraid you'd chosen Stanford. You are choosing MIT for all the right reasons, IMHO.</p>
<p>My son is '07 and I was '75. Please feel free to send PMs if I can be of assistance.</p>
<p>Piggy-backing on this discussion, I wonder if anyone could tell me the relative merits of Stanford vs. MIT for math and/or computer science? Are there schools that would be better than S or M for those fields? What would be good safeties?</p>
<p>Have a blast at MIT, janeeyre!</p>
<p>Pesto,</p>
<p>I am sure I'm biased, so take this fwiw. Of the people I know who've gone to either or both schools, I have to say MIT grads have a certain extra sharpness and confidence that they can tackle anything. That said, obviously both schools have produced some outstanding grads. </p>
<p>As to relative merits, imo MIT is a much more intense place, for better or worse. There's an energy, earnestness and eagerness to learn, to master. In consequence, there's more pressure, altho' I have to disagree with people who talk about grade deflation etc. Unless things have changed drastically since my time, it is not that difficult to get As. And Bs were handed out quite liberally, as a matter of fact. In the end, the pressure comes not from grades, but from yourself. A rather unique place and opportunity well worth the effort, at least in hindsight.</p>
<p>As to a good safety for CS and/or math, I suggest UIUC and UMAA, especially since they have rolling admissions and will tell you very early to set your mind at ease.</p>
<p>For those MIT fans, you may enjoy hearing about the East Campus 1st and Only Time Travel Convention on NPR's All Things Considered <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4627767%5B/url%5D">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4627767</a> (temporily scheduled for this weekend).</p>
<p>Excellent, thanks for the link, dmd77 -- S says he knew about it, appreciates the link to the story, and is disappointed that the transporter to the opposite coast isn't perfected just yet.</p>
<p><<unless things="" have="" changed="" drastically="" since="" my="" time,="" it="" is="" not="" that="" difficult="" to="" get="" as.="" and="" bs="" were="" handed="" out="" quite="" liberally,="" as="" a="" matter="" of="" fact.="">></unless></p>
<p>MITalum.... I have to ask when your time was. In MY time ('75) A's were only given to those at the second standard deviation above the class average (except in some humanities courses). B's for one standard deviation above. C's were for those of us who managed to reach class average. I have no idea what happened to those who didn't reach class average. Maybe they dropped the course. In my graduate-level bio courses, B's were easier, because the class average was set to B.</p>
<p>Thanks for the post on the time travel convention. Used it in my blog...</p>
<p>dmd77,</p>
<p>'73 (VI). Are you sure about the distribution? I would have guessed +/- 1 std dev around mean is a B. I can't recall knowing anyone getting a C. Now, like many, I have signed up for some hairy grad courses that got away from me, and rather than taking a chance I just dropped them late.</p>
<p>The key, imo, is to resist the temptation to overload on the number of courses. </p>
<p>-A. (Also in the great pacific northwest)</p>
<p>Thanks, mitalum, for the insights re MIT and Stanford. Still wondering, though: any better schools than S or M out there for math/CS? What about Berkeley or Cal Tech? And what are the standings of Cornell, Princeton, Swarthmore for those fields? I'm just cranking up for child#2.</p>
<p>Better, I don't know, but CMU, RPI, UIUC, all have good math and cs departments. Harvard has a great math department, but so-so cs. Brown has a good applied math department. Chicago has a great math department, more theoretical than applied. Michigan and Wisconsin both have great math departments. I have not investigated the cs. there.</p>