<p>^^^</p>
<p>I'm trying to get my brother to do the same thing.</p>
<p>haha MIT could also be the worst four years of your life if you don't fit in...the thing with HYPS is that they have relatively normal social lives compared to MIT students - again, just playing on stereotypes, but still....</p>
<p>Is the difference academically between the two that big?</p>
<p>I know it sounds stupid comparing the two academically, but besides the prestige factor is the ACTUAL academic education significantly better at places like harvard and princeton vs. top schools like michigan, chicago, carnegie mellon, etc?</p>
<p>"Boston is at least somewhat predictable. In michigan, it will blizzard for three days then on the fourth day it will be sunny."</p>
<p>I've lived in ann arbor for 7 years and that statement is 100% false. Also the weather in Ann Arbor is just as bad as Boston.</p>
<p>I've lived in ann arbor for 15 years and that's how I felt about ann arbor. Of course, i've never been to boston so I can't compare the two, but a2 weather is pretty bad.</p>
<p>Which HS do you go to?</p>
<p>I think I may go with Michigan b/c MIT doesnt have Biomedical Engineering and the research areas in Michigan are good.</p>
<p>I totally do not want to go to LSU but I needed one school that will accpet me and be totally free. I really want to go out of state. This would have been UTexas but I applied before I got National Merit and did not know out of state is waived from UTexas now. SO LSU should be out of the question now.</p>
<p>I asked some ppl at school and some say I would thrive at a place like MIT others say why the hell would you go there "too many nerds"</p>
<p>What would be the benifits of going to MIT over Michigan? Rather than the "oh I graduated from MIT" benifit?</p>
<p>Well, MIT is a smaller school, so there's more opportunity for interaction with professors. That's certainly not to say that it's impossible to interact with faculty at Michigan, but it's quite a bit easier at a small school than in a large state school environment. </p>
<p>At MIT, students aren't treated like children -- we attend class and do research alongside graduate students. Undergraduates can generally take any graduate classes they wish to take, so the strength of MIT's graduate programs and the strength of the undergraduate programs are quite closely linked.</p>
<p>I really feel like the greatest benefits of an MIT education (other than the obvious -- it's really easy to get into top graduate schools and get great jobs) aren't in the classroom. The most valuable experiences I had at MIT were outside the classroom, brainstorming with other students and discussing ideas with professors. That's something that comes with a small, uniformly bright student population and a large, outstanding population of researchers.</p>
<p>Personally, I think it's ridiculous to listen to people whose only knowledge of MIT is through stereotypes. I feel like I had a "normal" social life at MIT -- I was captain of the cheerleading squad, went out every weekend with my friends, and had my share of wild party nights. But I also got to be first author on a peer-reviewed scientific paper and get admitted into every graduate school to which I applied.</p>
<p>
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What would be the benifits of going to MIT over Michigan? Rather than the "oh I graduated from MIT" benifit?
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</p>
<p>I think I have to agree with molliebatmit on this one, as she basically covered all the bases. Greater access to faculty, research involvement starting from day 1 (and not cleaning test tubes, but REAL research involvement). Easy access to high-level classes. Ability to switch majors at will. </p>
<p>
[quote]
but besides the prestige factor is the ACTUAL academic education significantly better at places like harvard and princeton vs. top schools like michigan, chicago, carnegie mellon, etc?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I believe so, and that's mostly due to something else that mollieb hit upon. The truth is, most of the actual 'educational experience' of college is not obtained in the classroom. You spend only a tiny fraction of your time in the classroom. Most of it is spent interacting with other students. That's where the REAL education usually happens. </p>
<p>The truth is, you're probably not going to remember what happened in your classes years after you graduated. Heck, I can barely even remember exactly what classes I took, much less remember what happened in those clases. What does stick with you are the things you learn from other students, as well as the general networking involved in making friends for life. </p>
<p>
[quote]
I think I may go with Michigan b/c MIT doesnt have Biomedical Engineering and the research areas in Michigan are good.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Frankly, I find this a rather poor reason to not apply to MIT or any school. The truth is, there is practically no difference at the undergraduate level between BioMed E, BioE, ChemE (wth a bio focus), EE (again, with a Bio focus), etc. Furthermore, the truth is, you're probably going to switch majors anyway. I believe CNN once reported that the typical college student switches majors (at least mentally) about 4 times before finally settling on one. </p>
<p>Don't get me wrong. There are valid reasons to dislike MIT - personal fit probably being the most important one. I agree that MIT is a rather quirky school that doesn't fit well with some people (although it fits other students perfectly). But I don't see the lack of the BioMedE undergraduate major as being a particularly good reason.</p>