<p>I'm interested in the parallels of Physics and religion...mostly the Vedas. I'd like to major in physics, but also minor in religion.
But it feels like MIT, the institution of TECHNOLOGY, would look down upon religion...it feels like its not as liberal as Stanford or Princeton.
It sorta the reason why I got turned off by Caltech.</p>
<p>But I hear MIT students can take classes at Harvard...Am I being too cynical or is what I say true?</p>
<p>“it feels like its not as liberal as Stanford or Princeton.”</p>
<p>If you’re using the word ‘liberal’ in the political sense of the word, neither of these places are particularly liberal, nor are they particularly god-fearing. </p>
<p>If you’re using the word in the sense of a ‘liberal education’ i.e. a broad liberal arts education, there are many people at MIT who have strong interests in the humanities, even if science is the paramount field of study to most. MIT will certainly have the resources for you to study the Vedas. Certainly, MIT would have no formal policies which would ‘look down upon religion.’</p>
<p>Having said that, you should probably check out OpenCourseWare to see if they have enough religious studies classes for you.</p>
<p>Only one way to find out.</p>
<p>Mention your interests in your admissions essay. If the admissions team feels it’s inappropriate for the given school, they simply won’t grant you admittance.</p>
<p>Science is not the antithesis of religion, as surprising as that may sound.</p>
<p>You can certainly cross-register at Harvard, though it’s not really easy or common. My son, a Physics/Computer Science major, found it difficult to find a Harvard language course which fit into his schedule. Also, I believe Harvard’s final exams occur on a different schedule than MIT’s, which can be problematic when planning vacations. I believe Mollie was one who cross-registered, and may have some comments to make.</p>
<p>When you think of MIT, you think of science, but you might also consider that MIT hosts the world’s best linguistics department; the school isn’t exactly slacking in the humanities.</p>
<p>While it’s definitely true that MIT has a great linguistics department, as well as a great political science department, and a pretty good humanities school over all, I think it’s important to note that as far as I’ve ever heard, there’s no such thing as a minor in religion. There’s a major in Philosophy, and there’s also an anthropology department, but that’s about as close as it gets. I know many religious people at MIT, and religion is certainly not looked down on or scorned (for the most part, I obviously can’t guarantee that you’ll never meet a narrow-minded person over the course of 4 whole years). BUT I would say that if studying religion is an important part of what you want to do, you should look elsewhere. Not only would it be pretty freaking difficult to take enough courses to effectively constitute a minor at Harvard, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either. At that point, why not just go to Harvard in the first place? Or really any other school that can actually provide the opportunity for you to pursue the things that interest you? What appeals to you so much about MIT that you would consider going through all that trouble, and are you really sure you can’t get it elsewhere?</p>
<p>I’m not trying to discourage you or anything, and I’m not saying that you’re not necessarily a match for MIT. But from what little you’ve said, it doesn’t really sound like MIT is a match for YOU. You should think about this seriously.</p>
<p>
Harvard has changed its schedule, effective this year – it will be quite a bit easier logistically to cross-register.</p>
<p>I never cross-registered, although a few of my friends did. Jess Kim, the blogger, has cross-registered a few times, and I’m sure she’d be happy to answer questions on her experiences.</p>
<p>Cross registering is easy. I did my entire humanities concentration (4 classes) at Harvard because it was MORE convenient for my schedule. MIT only offered the classes I wanted at one time a day. On the other hand, our humanities oriented neighbor up the river offered the same classes 3 times per day. A 5 minute ride on the T shouldn’t deter you. A 45 minute ride on the Wellesley bus is a far different matter, unless you are going for other reasons …</p>
<p>OP, wow that’s a fascinating topic. It’s been a little played out but there’s still lots of research to be done. How sure are you that you want to study this in college? If you’re very sure I would recommend applying to Harvard (this should make me popular). It’s got this joint concentration option which is kinda like a double major. You’re required to write a senior thesis which links your two fields of study, which would be perfect for your whole Vedas+Physics thing. Any reason in particular you’re considering MIT instead of Harvard (apart from it being amazing)?</p>