<p>I have heard from many many people that MIT has outstanding music composition professors. Does it make any sense to go to MIT if one's interests lie in music and probably poly sci or econ (w/ strong math background)?</p>
<p>Perfect sense. In my understanding (incoming freshman) both the econ and poli sci departments are outstanding, econ being one of the best in the country. Music dept. is also excellent as you have noticed. So yes, if you can get in, MIT would be excellent for those majors.</p>
<p>Also remember that all undergraduates, regardless of major, must complete the [url=web.mit.edu/catalogue/overv.chap3-gir.shtml]General Institute Requirements<a href="GIRs">/url</a>, so interest and ability in math and the sciences are assumed. You might want to read "back-issues" of [url=sam.mitblogs.com/]Sam's blog<a href="he's%20a%20student%20and%20one%20of%20the%20Admissions%20bloggers">/url</a>, I recall he's taken some music composition courses at MIT, you may find his comments helpful.</p>
<p>One of my friends is double majoring in chemE and music and is absolutely in love with the music program... she took some odd 86 units last term, the majority of them in 21M (music).</p>
<p>So yeah, apparently those in MIT Music love it...</p>
<p>MIT's humanities (and yes, music) programs are of the high caliber one would expect of a world-renowned school, and there is more personalized attention available within them because relatively few people major in them. I would say that if you can handle the GIRs, going to MIT for music wouldn't be a bad gig at all!</p>
<p>I would also like to direct you to Matt's entry [url="<a href="http://matt.mitblogs.com/archives/2005/08/victorian_liter.html%22%5Dhere%5B/url">http://matt.mitblogs.com/archives/2005/08/victorian_liter.html"]here[/url</a>].</p>
<p>I've been reading about how MIT couldn't care less about your ECs. Is that true? Also, does MIT place more emphasis on math/science related accomplishments than arts/humanities accomplishments?</p>
<p>No, and no. :-) We care very much about EC's, but it's quality, not quantity. That's why we have only 5 slots on our application; we want to know the 5 things that mean the most to you. It tells us much more than a big laundry list or resume. We need people with a wide variety of interests, talents, and creativity to make a class whose members will inspire each other. Therefore arts/humanities interests can be just as powerful as science/math interests when applying to MIT.</p>
<p>One final question: Does MIT give more importance to test scores than to ECs? </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>You do need good grades and scores to be competitive, yes, but the majority of the applicant pool is competitive in this regard. It's the "other stuff" (essay, recs, interview, EC's, etc) that can make you stand out from the pack.</p>
<p>In terms of what's most important in the selection process, it's all considered together as one package - in the context of where you come from, what's been available to you, and what you've done with those opportunities.</p>
<p>Cool - I asked that because many put MIT and Cal Tech in a little buble of their own, arguing that MIT cares little about the package and most about the test scores. But what you're telling me is that MIT is just like every other school in terms of it's admissions process - you need to have everything.</p>
<p>Thank you for hanging around this forum and answering our questions!</p>
<p>MIT is quite different than CalTech in terms of humanities...
Music is virtually nonexistent at CalTech while at MIT, its extremely strong but not very well known.</p>
<p>I would venture to say that at this current time, MIT's composition faculty (just considering Ziporyn and Harbison) is equal if not better than Eastman, Northwestern, Peabody etc. </p>
<p>I really think it's a hidden gem.</p>
<p>Would you recommend it for an undergraduate education (in Music and poly sci/math)? Also, many have commented that not having people available to play one's music is a big deal. Will there be any more people to play my music at Harvard than MIT? Also, is it likely that graduate students at Yale would be willing to play the music of undergraduate composition students? </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Well, what kind of players do you need? Certainly there are plenty of talented musicians at MIT -- the figure I saw the other day was that 60% of the undergraduate student body participates in music in some way, shape, or form.</p>
<p>I would recommend MIT if you're primarily focusing on poli sci/math and secondarily focusing on music. If that's not your set of priorities, you might have to do some hard thinking -- MIT's music program is great, but certainly not many people go to MIT with music as their absolute first priority. That doesn't, of course, mean it's not the right choice for you, but it's worth a little hard thinking.</p>
<p>Well I've got a classic case: I LOVE music, but my dad came from nothing, so he insists that I must have a backup that can provide financial support. I also like poly sci/econ too, so it's really not that big of a deal. And while there may be few composition majors at MIT, there are a number at Harvard (I have a few friends there). </p>
<p>[FYI, I"m watching minority report, and it's amazing.]</p>