<p>@Clairbear29, haha I knew it was merely a fiction made for a movie, but the image of MIT remains still. I do think there gotta be some math/science geniuses in MIT who are comparable to that guy in 21.
@PiperXP, it is always exciting for me to see movies that place one of its settings at well-known universities like 21 at MIT, Spiderman at Columbia, and Social Network at Harvard. Yes, lot of the characteristics may not be the reality, but it’s fun to watch.</p>
<p>I think for the publics who don’t have detailed information on MIT but merely know that MIT is one of the top U.S universities and very selective in its admission, such movie strengthen such stereotypical image. Others’ from my country comments were ‘Of course, it makes sense. That guy is from MIT!’.</p>
<p>For all you “21” fans, there actually is a class that takes place at MIT during its IAP period (month of January) where students program computers (bots) to compete in poker for $ 30,000 worth of prizes: [MIT</a> Pokerbots 2013](<a href=“HugeDomains.com”>http://mitpokerbots.com/)</p>
<p>And separately, there is also a live poker competition that is sponsored by Susquehanna International…apparently they do some recruiting this way.</p>
<p>@HateSMUS: The summer before last I lived next to The Thirsty Scholar, the pub where Zuckerberg got rejected at the start of the Social Network. It is not conveniently near Harvard. Not at all.</p>
<p>@lidusha, you mean where Zuckerberg was dumped by his girlfriend? If you are referring to the place, I suppose so since Harvard, Boston U, MIT are all in Boston. But that’s only a small portion of the movie though. Harvard campus and its dormitory were the major settings. BTW, the name of the pub is funny. ‘The Thirsty Scholar’. Do you have any idea why it was named so?</p>
<p>Sometimes I get frustrated when the only prestigious school someone has heard of is Harvard. All the while MIT was ranked number one globally by U.S. News.</p>
<p>^^ I sincerely hope that you realize before you go to college that prestige is less important that you’re actual education. MIT sophomore bio students will learn things that Harvard bio students will only cover in their senior year. It’s coming to a point where employers recognize that MIT kids are just too good to turn down, even more so than Harvard grads.</p>
<p>I am aware of that. I was just expressing how frustrated I get when facing ignorance.</p>
<p>Why do you care…?</p>
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<p>Getting the jaw-drop is fun sometimes, but it gets old after a while. The important thing is that potential employers know how good your school is, which they will.</p>
<p>Surely, there are people who only knows Harvard as a world-renowned university. Those people don’t have any idea about U.S universities. The reasons behind are probably Harvard’s ranking of 1st on USNWR for years, Ivy league status and its alumni donation. Seriously, those who are only aware of Harvard is not worth considering. Every one of my friends and acquaintances knows MIT is a school comparable to Harvard. Why would you even be worrying about people whom you would never interact with.</p>
<p>Just my two cents, but most people here in India believe that MIT is the paragon for American universities. This is of course skewed by the fact that most Indians want to go to study engineering, but nonetheless, MIT is viewed as peerless… In my neck of the woods at least, no one would receive as much praise as an MIT grad…
Now if only UChicago would get the same love here :(</p>
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<p>That’s nice. I had not heard of MIT until the end of junior year of high school, and many of my friends didn’t know either. We don’t all grow up in privileged environments.</p>
<p>(I obviously know what MIT is now, as I’m graduating from it this June.)</p>
<p>I think it’s because I’m an international student studying in North America. Most of my friends are wealthy enough to study in U.S / Canada and generally ambitious, so all of them have heard about MIT. Even those who know very little about U.S universities are aware of MIT in my country. Only few people say ‘Harvard is the best’, and majority would say ‘Harvard, Stanford and MIT are the best U.S universities.’</p>
<p>I have an anecdote when talking about MIT. When I referred to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lot of people had no clue which university I was talking about. But as soon as I used the abbreviation of MIT, they went ‘ah~ MIT!’ MIT brand is quite substantial along with Stanford’s and Harvard’s in my country. PiperXP, I suppose you are an American student. It’s interesting that lot of your (American) friends in high school didn’t know of MIT.</p>
<p>I should’ve known some of you would obsess over my comment. I was just sharing an observation. The fact that employers know is beyond obvious and the reason I care is because the person I talked to just happens to be my father. It would be nice to know that my dad understands what goals I have in mind.</p>
<p>@HateSMUS - I am an American student. As you noted, being wealthy has a correlation with what you know about prestige. My friends didn’t seek to go to an out-of-state school (and neither did I - I applied to MIT on a whim). Despite MIT being in our country, it was 3000 miles away and there was no reason we would’ve heard of it.</p>
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<p>That doesn’t clarify much for me - my mother didn’t know what MIT was, either, nor did her entire family (who I live near).</p>
<p>It’s slightly ironic that American students are less aware of their top universities than students of my country to a certain extent. I would attribute it to Asian’s societal systems in which people pu emphasis on the ranking of one’s university and its prestige.</p>
<p>^^He speaks the truth.
I had heard of MIT since the 8th grade…but i never realized that I would be applying there till the start of my 12th grade…
NOW ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR RESULTS:)</p>
<p>Piper,</p>
<p>I can’t remember when I first heard about MIT. It was probably when I met a young lady who was attending MIT and she had purple hair and I thought, “I don’t want my son going there.” LOL That was maybe my son’s sophomore year in high school. So glad my early false (and just plain silly since I’ve always wanted to dye my hair purple or pink) prejudices didn’t prevent my son from choosing MIT.</p>
<p>But yes, in our neck of the woods (also 3,000 miles away), we know exactly two other students who went somewhere else besides a) nowhere b) local community college c) local state uni. and none of the three (my son included) went to the local high school. And our neighborhood isn’t a bad neighborhood at all. It’s just a typical working class neighborhood, that’s all.</p>
<p>I just want to say</p>
<p>MIT > Harvard</p>
<p>kthxbye</p>