<p>I know there's a couple of these threads floating around but I wanted to see if I could get some advice a little more personal to my case:
-So as of now I don't have a preference to which but my parents have more or less decided on MIT. I think if I really wanted to go to Caltech, my dad would be okay with it but my mom might take some time to convince.
-I plan on being pre-med and majoring in bioengineering or something like that.
-My main extracurricular was dance and I'd like to continue that in college, whether as a club in the university or just taking classes from a local studio.
-I don't know whether I prefer a big or small school?
-I live in Washington (the state), so Pasadena is a lot closer in terms of flying costs than Boston.
-I've never visited Caltech and don't think I'll be able to, but I like California weather. I visited MIT during the summer and liked the campus and the area but fear Bostonian winter.</p>
<p>It’s too bad you won’t be able to visit Caltech. I think the only way to make an educated decision is to visit both schools. Both of them will have weekends dedicated to showing you their cultures; if at all possible you should go to both of them.</p>
<p>MIT vs Caltech is like Harvard vs Yale. Just like how only Yale students think Yale is better than Harvard, the only people in the world who think Caltech is better than MIT is Caltech students.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Don’t go to Caltech. Too many reasons to list here. Plus it’s 6am.</p>
<p>Go to Caltech if you like the weather and the campus (I guess you would call it a southwestern style architecture.) Personally, I prefer Caltech’s campus.There is a more scientific/theoretical vibe there. Traditionally, you don’t go to Caltech if you are premed but they have recently gotten rid of the massive grade deflation so some of the warnings people will tell you about it may be outdating. In fact, MIT is also known for grade deflation, so MIT might be worse in this respect now.</p>
<p>Go to MIT if:
you don’t want to take super-theoretical versions of math and physics for two years (Apostol for calc, Purcell E & M, plus another year of physics)
I’m going to guess there is the possibility of more free time, though engineering at MIT is often brutal too. The bioengineering major didn’t exist when I went there, so you can ask someone else about it.
it’s important to you that the person on the street recognizes you are going to a good school. Only semi-educated folks know about Caltech (which is all you need for employment.)<br>
you prefer an urban campus
you want a more entrepeneurial/engineering vibe to the campus
you want your classmates to have more diverse interests (more of them will be athletes, for instance)</p>
<p>If you are making this decision, I suggest you visit the campuses. At least look at the pictures/youtube videos.)</p>
<p>I think the “safer” option might be MIT, because it seems that the size of Caltech makes it likely that some of their majors are quite centered on certain things, whereas you might find a broader spread at MIT. This really doesn’t affect theoretical disciplines as far as I can tell, though. Even in a non-strictly-theoretical discipline, you can really enjoy Caltech if you research the program more closely.</p>
<p>to the OP: if you took the more theoretical versions of calc and physics at MIT and then continued on to take another year of physics (equivalent of a minor) while majoring in some kind of biomedical engineering related field, your academic experience may be similar to Caltech. The difference is that at Caltech you are locked into the theoretical physics sequence for a couple of years while at MIT it is an option.</p>
<p>I bet the math majors are similar at MIT and Caltech. At Caltech, though, you will be probably be forced to take a proof-based version of calculus. At MIT, you probably could stay in applied math side for your whole 4 years.</p>
<p>My son is also making this decision (along with one other school) and I just wanted to share something I’d read on these forums somewhere along the way (so feel free to take credit if you’re the original author). My son had heard so many people say they didn’t like Caltech because it was so small, but he felt that was an advantage. But this post spelled out more exactly what the disadvantages of it being “too small” could be. This is what I have saved:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It can just be murder from a social aspect. You know how you have that one person in HS that you just cant stand for some reason? Well, if theyre in your major at Caltech, theyll pretty much be in ALL your classes for 4 years. If you date someone and break up, youll still see them every day for 4 years. If you do something stupid or embarrassing in class or at a party, EVERYONE will know and no one will forget. For 4 years. </p></li>
<li><p>Just like with HSs, a smaller school means fewer class choices. So basic freshman physics will be freshman physics. Unlike at MIT there wont be the advanced version and the remedial version and the more-theory version and a zillion different electives. If your HS was very strong (or youre very smart) you may be bored in that physics class. If you dont have a strong background in physics or have trouble with it, you may be really struggling. In either case, youre stuck.</p></li>
<li><p>Youll have to search out a job. Yes, with a Caltech degree, youre very marketable, but unlike MIT, due to size, companies dont actively recruit and have job fairs all over the campus all year. Figure that something like 70+ percent of Caltech grads go on to grad school, around 200 in a graduating class plus a variety of majors and it just doesnt make sense for IBM or GE to send someone there since they figure those few people theyre looking for probably already have something lined up before they ever get there. Means you have to do the legwork more than them to get what you want. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>We’re definitely not ruling out Caltech but just wanted to share those thoughts on the size!</p>
<p>I think this is partly wrong. First of all, there is only the more-theory version of physics freshman year. If you are that good, there probably is a way to place out. It is true that if you aren’t good at theory, you’re in for a long year.</p>
<p>And there are a zillion electives to take; I remember caltech’s course book. It is like MIT in that respect. MIT may have more electives, but at worst caltech is second in the country.</p>
<p>They do have a smaller class size, but everyone is STEM.</p>
<p>For its size and even otherwise, Caltech has a very nice selection of classes. It’s not bound to have the same number as MIT, but I think only a few people would benefit from the extra zillion - after all, after a certain point, you focus on what you want to focus, and can’t expect any class even at MIT to cover exactly that specialized material. But yes, there are probably more random things going on in a department which is simply bigger.</p>
<p>The other thing is that at MIT, the breadth of stuff covered in various mathematical disciplines will simply be greater too, so that’s more on the same point.</p>
For this reason alone, you’ll probably want to be at MIT. At MIT, you’ll find Theatre Arts & Dance, a Dance Troupe, and multiple dance clubs. In addition, there are many dance organizations and studios in Boston.</p>
<p>Dance Troupe: dancetroupe.mit.edu/
Folk Dance Club: web.mit.edu/fdc/
Ballroom Dance Club: web.mit.edu/bdclub/
Theatre Arts & Dance: theaterarts.mit.edu/mailinglists/
MIT Asian Dance Team: mitadt.com/
This list just scratches the surface…</p>
<p>OP, you will also find lots of dance classes at Caltech: ballet, tango, Latin, ballroom. Easy to research this. Having a kid at both schools, I think each has it’s advantages. I just want to write that don’t take what you read on this board too seriously. Career fairs are quite active at Caltech, people can place out of courses, and I don’t think that so many go directly to grad school. They are both great schools, probably more alike in terms of the peer groups than other colleges. Even tho Caltech has a smaller population, it was the first time my son had more than one friend who shared his interests. </p>
<p>Be glad you have a choice. Visit, look at courses, and go with your feelings.</p>
<p>The academics at both Caltech and MIT are comparable, as is the prestige and employability. The social life is quite different. Caltech has a unique housing system, where all students are sorted into one of 8 houses/dorms, with a built in social life. You can participate in the house activities as much or as little as you wish, but everyone has their house as a safety net and support. It is really a lot like a large family group, with a LOT of loyalty within each house. Most Caltech students find the small campus size to be a benefit - you get to know most everyone, and the collaboration on problem sets and within study groups is wonderful. It is suburban, within an easy drive to LA, but clearly set off from the urban noise and bustle.</p>
<p>Does either school have substance free dorm designations or is that not a big deal at each school (as in the drinking culture isn’t a big deal)? What about single sex dorms or at least floors? How does one choose a roommate at each school?</p>
<p>Roommates are random at MIT as a freshman unless you join a fraternity. If you happen to know someone before you get there, you probably could request to room with them. If this is a big deal to you, you might want to attend the so-called freshman leadership program at MIT before the start of the year. It’s a big social event and you might be able to meet someone you would get along with as a roommate.</p>
<p>You can change roommates after a semester, though that may logistically tough to do at mid-year.</p>
<p>There is a big drinking scene at MIT in fraternities. There are dry frats, but I doubt they are really dry considering they only went dry because they got in trouble with this. </p>
<p>The drinking is less of a big deal in the dorms, though it does go on. In my experience, it’s not something you will see on a daily basis in the dorms (even though my dorm wasn’t dry.)</p>
At MIT, there’s only one single-sex dorm (McCormick), but many dorms have at least some single-sex floors or suites. </p>
<p>For housing selection in general, students will rank the dorms in order of preference for a lottery over the summer, and be given a temporary assignment based on the summer lottery. When they get to campus, there is a period dedicated to residence exploration, at the end of which students can choose to stay in the temp dorm or to rank new dorms in order of preference. A second lottery is run, and students are given a final dorm assignment.</p>
<p>After the final dorm assignments are made, each dorm will conduct room assignments by its own process. Often a dorm will have a night of “in-house rush”, where new freshmen will travel to each floor/entry/subunit within the dorm, meet the residents, and then rank the floors by preference. At this point, students will submit their preferences about single-sex housing and roommates (many, I think most, people choose to room with others they’ve met during CPW or orientation), and student room assignment chairs will assign each student a final room.</p>
<p>Roommates are not random (unless you want it to be). You can enter the housing lottery in a rooming group even before you get here. And after you get here, in all but a few dorms, you have a chance to move again after REX and pick who you want to live with. Also, even if you do join a Greek house, you can’t move in until after freshman year anyways.</p>