MIT v. Columbia

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>(I posted this on the Columbia sub-forum as well, but I wanted to know the MITers' thoughts!)</p>

<p>As one of the most indecisive people in the world, choosing a college for next year is certainly not my cup o' tea. As I only have a week left, PLEASE let me know your thoughts...thanks in advance!</p>

<p>Background: premed, biochemistry major at Columbia, biology major (biochemistry track) at MIT</p>

<p>Columbia:
Pros-->lots of perks...Rabi Scholars program (pretty much guaranteed research opportunities, "special" treatment, research stipend over the summer); $12,000 financial aid (new offer...I got nothing at first...); beautiful campus; grade inflation (supposedly...correct me if I'm wrong!) = good for premed.
Cons-->pretty rigid Core (lots of requirements); I didn't really feel that comfortable there, since I'm a science nerd (damn, everyone is so cultured!); Columbia's more known as a humanities school; I like Boston better than NYC.</p>

<p>MIT:
Pros-->MIT has an amazing science program (duh); I felt like I fit in more there; core isn't as extensive; a million of my friends will be there (not the best academic reason, but still...); international prestige (for science, at least); not as many premeds = a bit less competition; no grading on a curve + collaborative atmosphere (pset parties, anyone?)
Cons-->it's frigging HARD = bad for premed; premed's supposedly a bit weak there; may have to compete with Harvard kids for internships in Boston; no guaranteed research (though I heard it's pretty easy to get a UROP); no financial aid (have to foot the fifty-something thousand dollar bill...); no "special" treatment (this is just me being vain...)</p>

<p>So, it's basically the prestige of MIT (don't get me wrong, Columbia's prestigious as well, but not as much in science...) v. the perks of Columbia...</p>

<p>So, there's my spiel...any advice would be wonderful!</p>

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<p>There’s a thread about MIT vs. Columbia just recently.
Here :
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/911977-mit-v-columbia.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/911977-mit-v-columbia.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Hope it helps!</p>

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<p>You are virtually guaranteed to be paid over the summer at MIT for any UROP you desire. I wouldn’t make a decision based on that. </p>

<p>In fact, you probably could get a paid UROP for this summer as well.</p>

<p>Don’t make your decision based on research availability.</p>

<p>I would make it based on the preference of liberal arts vs. more technical environment, or a gut feeling you have that points you in one direction or the other.</p>

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<p>I agree with collegealum314,</p>

<p>I think you should base it on which university you liked better.</p>

<p>ps. why is MIT bad for pre med?! if you are commited, you will do good there. </p>

<p>good luck!</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/906815-pre-med-mit.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/906815-pre-med-mit.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>lol tuangpi,</p>

<p>I was going to link to that too, then I realized she’s the one who started the other thread =)</p>

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<p>^ Lol. Indeed I did…I’ve been fighting w/ this for a while, and May 1st is creeping up on me…</p>

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<p>I am not associated with either school, but to me you first post reflects a clear preference based on fit for MIT.</p>

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<p>ha, my bad. I was not even looking at the OP lol</p>

<p>no wonder why I was like “damn, so many potential premeds this year lol”</p>

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<p>I still don’t understand why this is a concern. We really have an excellent premed advising system. Do you care to point to any specifics about the premed program that you’re concerned about?</p>

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<p>I don’t think this is a problem either. Harvard kids aren’t automatically “better” than us, and I think they churn out more people working in law or business anyway. If you come to MIT, all of our research labs are open to you during the summer to work, and there’s no competition there. I’ve spent all of my summers interning at various places (UROP on campus frosh summer, California last summer, NYC this summer) and hasn’t had a problem finding an internship. I volunteer at Tufts Medical in Chinatown and I don’t see any Harvard kids there… Don’t worry, the pond’s plenty big for all the premeds in Boston.</p>

<p>(I’m not sure what you meant by interning in Boston, but plenty of our students work at MGH - that’s Mass General Hospital - labs, and hint* they prefer us over other college students in Boston : P)</p>

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<p>To be honest, I have never heard of any friend here that consistently failed at getting an UROP. Not to be derisive, but I know people here with 3.5/5.0 overall GPA (premed average is 4.7/5.0) that still have UROPs. You’ll be fine. When the UROP program says that >80% of all MIT students participated in a UROP before graduation, they really aren’t kidding. </p>

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<p>I looked up the Rabi Scholars program and it does seem like a very selective program. At the same time, however, you can easily accomplish the same things as a student at MIT without all the frills of the titled scholarship. I guess what matters here is how much that title means to you, I guess. Yes, you can get a research stipend very easily here during the summer (full summer is usually $3,000+) as well as UROP for pay during term (pays at $9.75+ i think per hour - not sure what the base rate is now but it’s around that)</p>

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<p>Sorry to sound so harsh, but this is the only strongly outstanding concern in your list of disadvantages about MIT. If coming to MIT means putting a dent in your family’s finances, then you may need to consider accordingly. The Financial Aid Office has been known to reassess your family’s need eligibility if you are persistent enough with them, so that may be worth a shot.</p>

<p>Please let me know if you have further concerns about biology major and the premed track at MIT, either here or through PM. There’s a lot of misinformation that gets propagated about premed @ MIT and I want to clear things up as much as possible candidly and honestly.</p>

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<p>Strangely enough, this is true. I fielded so many premed concerns during CPW (significantly more than the '12 and the '13 CPWs!)…lol.</p>