<p>I am a high school senior this year and MIT is one of my top schools. I want a challenging school and I am not afraid to work hard. Im...for lack of a better word..a nerd with a social life. I havent had a chance to visit MIT but it seems to stand out from the rest with its focus on academics. I want to be a Brain and Cognitive Science major. can anyone in this major at MIT tell me what it is like? Im not a big partier, but as long as its not completely socially desolate, then im ok.
I go to a small high school, but i am valedvictorian in my class. I like math and science, but im afraid that my small school education will make me get my ass kicked at MIT. i also want to know my chances? I dont think that i have a non-existant chance, but out of all my possible schools, MIT is my 'long shot'. the other schools I am applying to are University Of Rochester,Cornell University, Duke University, RPI (even though its a little close to home), Amherst College, Brown University, Tufts University, & Williams College. </p>
<p>so any advice would be helpful, especially from a brain and cognitive science major.</p>
<p>(Yes. Mollie and Matt were both married today. It rained early, but the sun came out and shone upon the happy celebrations by the afternoon. Much happiness to all. Ooops, off topic!)</p>
<p>I was a course 9 major (that's BCS) who graduated this past spring.</p>
<p>Course 9 has a decent social community, but I wasn't involved in it much - I was somewhat marginal in the course 9 undergrad community (which is one reason I want to go to some of the events as an alum, to help students like me). BCSS is the primary holder of course 9 social events.</p>
<p>However, at MIT, your primary source of social life is not normally your major - it's your living group and extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>As for small-school educations, I think freshman year is the great leveler -- everybody has to take the General Institute Requirements, and they really help get everybody on the same page. If you come from a relatively weak high school (like I did), you'll have to work a lot harder freshman year than the kids who went to strong high schools, but by the end of the year, you'll be on a level playing field.</p>
<p>I really like the way the BCS department does things, in most cases -- there's quite a bit of flexibility with course choices, so each student can tailor his or her courses to his or her interests. Many of the upper-division courses rely heavily on reading the primary literature, which is much more interesting and relevant than learning from a textbook. Undergraduate research is also very highly prioritized in the department, since there are relatively few undergraduates and many faculty members.</p>
<p>And yes, Matt and I got married on the same day. Adam and I got engaged about 12 hours after Matt and his wife did last August, and I'm told that Matt was the reason Adam and I got bumped to the Harvard church and couldn't get married at the MIT chapel. :-P</p>