<p>so i had an interview with a MIT alumni the other day, and i was telling her a story about how i built my first computer from discarded junk off the streets at age thirteen. a year later i overclocked it and something smelled very funny. etc., etc., she was nice and everything, but i couldn't help but to notice the indifference; every time i elaborated on an activity she would follow up with a commendation and then an extremely redundant question like "what did you learn from that experience?" for a moment she even reminded me of the 3rd newtonian law: for every action there is a reaction. i mean, i like playing chess because it's fun; i take things apart just for the heck of it; i want to go to caltech because the people and the weather are as crazy as i am. hence i was forced to come up with a bunch of sophisticated answers which weren't genuine. the interview was very dull, thanks to her, and it makes me think that if all alumni are like that, I might have to reconsider my application to their institute. </p>
<p>i am planning to schedule a caltech interview with an alumni in my area--for me to learn more about caltech, for caltech to learn more about me--and i'm wondering what to expect from it. it's funny how a pair of regional directors at two ivies told me an almost exact joke about how i should have a friend from hawaii/australia so that i can stay over their house for the summer (diversity seems to be the flavor of the month, doesn't it?). point is, i don't want to be entertained with jokes that are recycled behind every corner, or informed with the same information i can easily look up in a broschure. </p>
<p>"...if you'd like to speak to Caltech alumni in your area, please contact the Alumni Association at 626.395.6852." i'm sure they wouldn't mind if i invited one of the alumni for a cup of coffee. most of them, after all, are in their twenties, not forties.</p>
<p>by the way, i am in no way trying to get an advantage in the selection. i simply want to get some personal insight about the school and to get a jist of what caltech graduate is like. in a way, i'll be the one interviewing them, not the other way around.</p>
<p>I wouldn't judge a school based on one alumnus. Or even just alumni interviews. I think you're just being overly critical. I recommend (which, of course, you can ignore if you want to) applying to both Caltech and MIT anyway, see if you get into either, and then try to come and visit, and actually experience the college firsthand.</p>
<p>I think you have discerned a pattern that people have discussed on CC for some time. MIT has been trying to follow the "ivy model" of emphasizing diversity. But Dauntless is right that you should probably still apply since you have such a small sample size, and MIT is still MIT. To be fair, you might also find Caltech alums that don't really impress you (ie, are mainly at Caltech since it was their most prestigious choice and aren't really hardcore about math/science/engineering). Once again, I recommend Golden's book The Price of Admission, if you're really interested in how admissions committees work.</p>
<p>I agree with the others above me. Don't base one entire school on one crappy interview. I have been to MIT over the summer and met so many of cool people there, so you were probably just unlucky to end up with that alumni. I 've already had my MIT interview and it went well...no newton's third law there... </p>
<p>So, you should definitely apply to both schools, talk to current caltech students and MIT students, just as I have been doing, or visit both schools! (=D)</p>
<p>My son really liked the guy who interviewed him from MIT and the student who gave him the campus tour. However, he just did not like the feel of the campus as well as he did Caltech, which is a good thing, because MIT is very much into the diversity thing, and my son did not have that going for him. I really think you should apply to both places, because as others have said, one alumni should not be the basis of your decision. Even if you can't visit both places yet, wait and see where you get in and visit before you decide. I know everyone kept telling my son to visit everywhere, but being in the middle of the country, we could just not afford it. We went on a car trek east before his senior year, and visited the places he got into and was interested in on the west coast in the spring of his senior year. I do agree with you that talking to people who have been there is key, but I would not write off a school that may be perfect for you based on a sample of one, so going there, if you have the time and the money, is really the best way to go, and you can save a few bucks by seeing where you get into first.</p>
<p>This is what my interviewer stated," I gotta ask u some general questions cuz its part of the process... then we can get to fun stuff talking about whatever"</p>
<p>So hope that clarifies that aspect of "fake questions, fake answers"... by the way, u do know they type up a report and send it off to universities... so they do have to ask u pertinent and sometimes redundant answers to clarify certain aspects... and do add citations to their reports...</p>
<p>I interview out here for my undergrad school, and someone I interviewed last week actually wound up with two alumni interviews. The first person didn't respond for three weeks, so they contacted me, at which point the original alumni responded so they met with them, then me. They told me I was much more interesting to talk to since I was genuinely interested and not just filling time like they said the other person seemed to be doing. They also said the other person was similar to your interview where it was almost like filling out a form for them.</p>
<p>(There is actually a form I have to fill out after I interview someone where I answer questions like, "Do they really like what they're doing?" "Do you think they'll be successful in college?" "Are they actually interested in this school?" etc. It's likely you had a lazy alumni that just wanted to get it over with.)</p>
<p>Don't base your entire decision on an interview. I'd say the best way to learn more about either school is to actually visit the campus, sit in on some classes, meet some students, and professors, etc. It helped me a lot. Alums and students are NOT the same type of people. I'm a freshman at Caltech, and I don't think any of the people here will be indifferent to you, and we're far from dull. And don't worry, you'll fit in easily if you're "as crazy as we are."</p>
<p>Just for the sake of argument, I have questions:</p>
<p>Visit campus. What difference would this make?
(Let’s put it this way, if campus is an issue, neither caltech nor MIT will be a good choice)
Sit in some classes. What classes?
Meet some students. What students?
Meet some professors. What professors?</p>
<p>Be pragmatic, don’t waste time on those nonsense. You will never be able to have sample size large enough to rationalize your pick either way. Affording yourself “I did what I could” would be the only accomplishment.</p>
<p>Take my advice: if you don’t make your own decision, let your parents do it for you. If they are indifferent, turn to your high school science teachers. However, you have to read between their words though since, without exception, they are reluctant to be committal for obvious reasons. </p>
<p>One alumnus, two alumni.
Please stop giving the Brits chance to accuse us of slaughtering their language.</p>
<p>I dunno. I found both my undergrad and graduate school visits to be immensely helpful. In undergrad, I thought I was really going to like a handful of schools, but after visiting I was really turned off by the school's atmosphere. Walking around where I wound up going for undergrad I loved it, I had talked with a few professors within the department I wanted to join, and they were all really enthusiastic and willing to talk about what they were researching. At another school, when I asked how many students went on to grad school during an information session, the person actually laughed because so few people do it.</p>
<p>Biggs, with all due respect I don't see the point of posting "for the sake of argument" since this is not a thread meant to debate which method to getting to know a school is best. I am merely offering my opinion from my own experience. I don't think visiting was nonsense at all.</p>
<p>Sample size is a frivolous point to bring up (although Caltech is small enough he probably WOULD get a very good idea of the atmosphere and people by visiting for a day). There is no way in the world that someone could get a perfect idea of a school, but I believe trying the best you can is better than something like letting your parents pick for you. Unless they actually went to either school, having them pick for you is a close analogy to picking a school randomly out of a hat, which doesn't seem very pragmatic to me.</p>
<p>Seeing as how you'll be living on campus for four years of your life, I'd say the campus and the overall atmosphere is a pretty important factor to take into account. Sitting in on a few classes, especially freshman and sophomore classes, would help you get an idea of the level of education (and hopefully dispel the idea that Caltech is a torturously difficult school) The classes I sat in were mainly freshman chemistry/physics courses plus a sophomore organic chemistry class. They'll actually organize an entire day's schedule for you if you sign up for the Caltech In A Day program that's on their website.
And I must disagree with you that the Caltech campus is "bad." I think it is quite nice here.</p>
<p>The professors here are for the most part very open to students and more than happy to discuss their work. Talking to them could get you early contacts for potential summer research or something like that. They probably won't play that big of a role in determining whether you want to go to that school, unless you find a research topic you really like, but it never hurts to do so. As for which professors, it really depends on what your interests are. As for students, talk to anyone you want; the point is that we're all pretty nice people.</p>
<p>PS: I thoroughly apologize if I angered anyone from Britain with my last post.</p>
<p>uumm just my two cents:
MIT >>>>> Caltech
seriously dude, the ratio of girls to guys at caltech was enough to ensure that i DONT wanna go there...
u might think that you are attending these schools to study, and that social factors such as the ratio of sexes wouldnt matter, but it sooo does...</p>
<p>You're certainly right that the ratio of guys to girls at Caltech is higher than at MIT. This may be very important to some people, and I totally understand that being a "deal breaker" for you. That being said, the ratio (which I think right now is roughly 35:65... the last two classes were 38% and 41% female respectively) really doesn't matter that much to me or most of my friends--or really anyone I know. Of course, you seem to "know" that it matters despite obviously not having the experience of attending Caltech as a student, so my post might be wasted on you. A much bigger problem in terms of the dating pool quality is based on the level of dating experience incoming students have. In my opinion, nerds are nerds and increasing the quantity doesn't really help that much. One more thing, which I don't really want to discuss in this thread, but I know it's going to be brought up--Caltech and MIT have relatively different policies on affirmative action re: women. Most Caltech students (women included) would not trade our stance on AA for more women. </p>
<p>As for your other statement, "MIT >>>>> Caltech", if you really believe that I encourage you to offer more explanation on the subject. There are certainly reasons to prefer MIT over Caltech (and I would say reasons to prefer Caltech over MIT) but your point is essentially wasted space on the college confidential servers if you don't bother to justify it. Is it that you believe the academics are better? The culture? What are your specific reasons for feeling this way?</p>
<p>If you are an attractive, interesting, sociable guy, plenty of girls will want to be your friend/will want to date you. If you are not, you will certainly have a better chance at getting a girl at Tech than anywhere else!</p>