<p>Those who claim that MIT does not care about its undergrads obviously have never attended. My D is currently a freshman at MIT (premed) and is very happy with her experience. Even the top faculty teaches introductory classes. There is free tutoring as needed and nobody can fall through the cracks. MIT has only about 4,500 undergrads in total and offers unmatched resources in the sciences. NO school offers as many research opportunities to its undergrads, and that is especially true in the life sciences where research is built into the curriculum. Its biology department is one of the very best in the country, if not the best. In addition to the largest neuroscience center in the US it also has a top notch cancer research centers, numerous labs, and a joint program with Harvard Medical school (where undergrads can take classes if they wish). </p>
<p>MIT also has a world class faculty in the humanities and each student is required to take at least 8 humanities classes to graduate. Its philosophy, political science, linguistics ane economics departments are all top ranked. While engineering majors have a pretty full schedule, most science majors can take a number of electives. </p>
<p>Don't let the reputed difficulty of the MIT curriculum scare you. If you are good enough to be admitted, you can handle the work. Premeds actually do very well at MIT. There are no weeder classes, tremendous opportunities to volunteer and shadow physicians at hospitals such Mass General or the Brigham's. Most of your premed requirements are part of the GIR, so that you are ready to take the MCAT at the end of sophomore year. Around 90% of the undegrads who apply to med school from MIT and take advantage of the premed advising get admitted to med school and most of them to top med schools. About 10% of MIT applicants get into Harvard Med school, nearly as much as Harvard College. </p>
<p>While there are many excellent schools, and Rice is certainly one of them, MIT stands apart in the sciences. The experience of being surrounded by some of the brightest and most creative students of your generation, interacting daily with researchers at the leading edge of science, is truly transformational. At the same time, the atmosphere is not at all competitive. It is a highly collaborative environment and studying and homework is done in groups. There is a very palpable feeling of constant innovation and pushing the envelope that is simply not found elsewhere. There are very good reasons why VERY few students admitted to MIT enroll elsewhere, and that includes large numbers with full rides at top colleges. After all, many admitted students won national and international awards. </p>
<p>Be sure to have actual information from current students before making your decision and not base it on rumors or misinformation. After all, you only have one chance to attend MIT.</p>
<p>frutiaspice-
Oops-- sorry for the gender booboo. Do you care about the percentage of males/females at the schools? I believe it is more balanced at Rice than at MIT. Do factors like cost of living, weather or any of that matter to you? What aboutgreek life (MIT) vs Residential college system (Rice)? IF all thigns are relatively equal for you, you might want to think about these variables as well. Agreed, asking MIT to reconsider financial aid isnt a bad idea, but if they don't give merit awards, it is unlikely you'll see much from them. Even without the inccedible financial incentive, Rice is a wonderful school! True, Boston os a great city, and I understand your challenge, but I don't think youcan go wrong at either school. Rice has less name recognition, but not at grad and med schools, where it matters. Keep us posted ! Good luck!</p>
<p>When we visited MIT we were fortunate to have had special arrangements for tours, sitting in on classes, etc, set up by a friend of the family through the "alumnae division of large gifts" :eek: Despite that, DS came away with the strong feeling that the focus of the faculty was on the grad students. Yes they talked about the undergrad research opportunities, but several faculty walked by and when introduced (oh- this is so-and-so, an nobel laureate) didn't give us the time of day. Not even a smile or a nod. DS spent time in classes, with students, at frat houses, frolicing in the beautiful freshly fallen snow. He came away with the very strong impression that while certainly opportunities were there, the undergrads were not the priority, and he was disappointed. He didn't even apply. This is not intedned to disparage MIT in any way- it iw a wonderful school and DS had always thought he wanted to go there. But when we were there it didnt feel "right" to him. That said, we were treated well :)</p>
<p>Unlike other science and technology oriented schools, MIT has largely achieved gender parity. While a few engineering departments such as electrical engineering and computer science are predominantly male, most other departments are very balanced. Some like biology and neuroscience are majority female. </p>
<p>While MIT has great graduate programs, it is consistently ranked as among the best undergraduate institutions in the country. On a per student basis, it lavishes more resources than any comparable institution. It has one of the lowest faculty/student ratios, small class sizes and all classes are taught by full professors. Unlike schools like Berkeley where the large number of undergrads have to compete for a small number of opportunities in research, the MIT undergraduate research opportunity program (UROP) is the oldest and largest program of its kind in the country. EVERY undergrad gets involved in research. MIT's</a> UROP: Basic Information </p>
<p>In the sciences, there are many benefits of undergrads having access to the resources of a world class research university. The top faculty teaches there (and they all teach undergrads), you get to be a participant in frontline research, even to have your name published as part of research papers. You are definitely NOT some type of second class citizen. You can take advanced classes simply not availbale to undergrdas at smaller institutions. </p>
<p>Again, I would not base my decision on information from students who did not even apply to MIT. You were actually lucky enough to be ADMITTED. You should really get more feedback on the MIT boards from current students before making a decision that could have a major impact on your future. Finances is seldom a reason by itself for turning down MIT. MIT grads have some of the highest salaries upon graduation. If you decide to go on to graduate or professional school, MIT is a strong feeder to the best programs in the country. In the end, less than 3% of admitted students turn MIT down for schools where they get a free ride. Need based aid is as good or better than anywhere else and is all grant based.</p>
<p>^^^Their need based aid may well be "as good or better than anywhere else" but that is irrelevant for this poster, who has been informed that she isn't getting any. For her, the cost difference is considerable, and in this case, finances may well be a reason for turning down MIT, even if it seldom is for others.</p>
<p>All this MIT talk is charming, but the key fact is, MIT will cost $80K+ more to attend. For someone interested in going on to medical school, it's simply not worth that much extra money.</p>
<p>My son loved Rice. If finances were an issue for us, he would now be choosing between Rice and some Ivy Leage schools. And he would have made the choice for Rice in a minute. I don't know if you visited but it's a fabulous place. So friendly. So socially open. Great academics, particularly in the sciences. In a great city that is changing very day. And if you want to go to medical school later I am not sure that MIT actually is any better.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You'll be likely to get a more diverse education at Rice. MIT has tons of requirements, and no prospective doctor should be without lots of humanities courses! Half the battle is talking to patients, after all.
[/quote]
MIT students are required to take 25% of their courses in the humanities, and many choose to take more.</p>
<p>About 85% of MIT premeds are accepted to medical school, and the average GPA of applicants is a 3.6/4.0. MIT is hard, but if you want to get a high GPA, you will likely be able to do it.</p>
<p>I think one thing to ask yourself is this: if you go to Rice and decide later not to become a doctor, will you regret not having gone to MIT?</p>
<p>If you want to compare statistics, about 90% of Rice premeds are accepted to medical school.</p>
<p>Just because she may decide not to become a doctor doesn't mean Rice is a bad school and something to "regret" over MIT. If anything, I feel it's more open than MIT, where the emphasis is so huge on math and sciences, though the option of humanities is there. </p>
<p>You don't really see many MIT grads who have anthro or English degrees, simply because MIT really focuses on math and science.</p>
<p>Anyway, what do you think frutiaspice? You should definitely contact MIT's financial aid office and try to negotiate!</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think one thing to ask yourself is this: if you go to Rice and decide later not to become a doctor, will you regret not having gone to MIT?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>If you go to MIT and decide not to become a doctor, in fact decide you want to do something that isn't very lucrative at all, will you regret having spent $80K+ extra on your undergrad education?</p>
<p>mollie can probably address this better than I, but unless the OPs family is just on the line between getting need-based aid and not, AND there was an error of some sort made, I do not think MIT will be offering any money. Non-merit schools are known to manipulate their packages in response to offers from "peer schools" (i.e. adjust the ratio of loans to grants) but, to my knowledge, they do not offer need-based aid to match merit offers if the student is not eligible for need-based aid.</p>
<p>From someone that has seen extensive data on medical school admissions from both schools, I would say, again, that MIT does a clear better job at placing students into top medical schools. However, if you are from Texas, I would go with Rice because their in-state medical school placement is great and the state schools are much cheaper. Only you know what kind of debt you and your family are capable or willing to take on, so if $$ is a big issue, that is another reason to go to Rice. Getting into Baylor though will probably be tough because you will be competing with Rice/Baylor people. But, again, given your stated preference of MIT's atmosphere, I would choose MIT. If you want to do a lot of coursework in the humanities and social sciences though I would choose Rice.</p>
<p>Agree with midmo and kenf. My younger s is in a similar situation-- planning to be premed and wants to save the education dollars we have allocated for him for med school. We expect to hear Monday from school #2 he is still considering, about their results of their merit aid reconsideration. School #1 has offered full tuition and he will get more per annum for his NMF award than at school #2. So, event though school #2 has a slightly better "reputation/ranking" than school #1, they are both excellent schools and he will get an excellent education at either one. He is going to choose the school that makes the most fiscal sense. I believe, as with Rice/MIT, with an undergrad degree from either the chances of getting into a good med school are strong (assuming grades and MCATs are good). </p>
<p>In this (the OP's situation), unlikely that MIT will come up with dollars even close Rice's offer, since MIT doesnt offer merit $$. The Centuries scholar program at Rice is a wonderful opportunity, with immediate research opportunities with a specific identified faculty member whose research matches the interest of the student. Century</a> Scholars Those who are familiar with Rice are familiar with this wonderful honor. It comes with both scholarship and stipend money.</p>
<p>You are getting good input from people familiar with each school, OP. I am sure you will make a good choice. As for my older s, he didnt like the "feel" of MIT when he was there. He preferred the Res college environment. I agree, fit is important. If you feel the "fit" is that much better at MIT and you can afford the significant price difference, then go for it. Good luck.</p>
<p>Another thought....
You could always try Rice, and if for some reason you are unhappy, you can apply to transfer to MIT. You will have gotten at least one year of significantly reduced costs, and the immediate research opportunity as a century scholar that could perhaps help you to link to a faculty research lab at MIT should you transfer. Looking at all the costs (including travel from CA and the cost differential of MIT and Rice), you are probably loooking at closer to a $90-100K difference across the 4 years. Thats a lot of money. </p>
<p>Youare getting strong "sales pitches" from people familiar with each school. You cant go wrong with either school.</p>
<p>Transferring to MIT is not really an option. Unless you have some international awards and MIT really wants you, it just does not happen. MIT really wants its students to go through its extremely thorough core science curriculum and most advanced courses build on the base acquired during freshman year. No other school, with the possible exception of Caltech offers such an intensive first year academic program in the sciences. Freshman year is also the period where the strongest bonding among students occurs as most students end up taking the same science classes and work in groups. It would be very hard for new students to adapt to the MIT culture after freshman year.</p>
<p>Proof? I find this hard to believe. Both schools do an excellent job placing students in top medical schools. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, getting into BCM will be tough, but you are not going to compete with Rice/Baylor people because they already have their admission guaranteed. Rice gets tons of non Rice/BCM kids into Baylor. And I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but Rice is across the street from the Texas Medical Center, which has 40+ institutions, including 13 hospitals, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, and pharmacy. You can find tons of opportunities there.</p>
<p>^^ Besides Baylor, there are plenty of other excellent med schools in Texas, including UT Houston, which is right in the same medical complex as Baylor. My (almost) son-in-law is graduating from UT Houston med school and got into a top residency program, and most of his classmates did also. Those schools all like Rice grads.</p>
<p>And if MIT doesnt really take transfers, someone ought to tell their webfolks, cuz they have a nice link describing the transfer procedures MIT</a> Transfer Admissions
[quote]
Transfer Admissions
If you've spent a year or more at another college and come to the conclusion that MIT would be a better fit for you, we welcome you to apply as a transfer student. Although spaces are very limited, transfer students are especially welcome on campus for their fresh perspective, maturity and focus.</p>
<p>Regardless of when you come on board, MIT offers boundless opportunities and possibilities for growth and exploration. Though we can welcome only a few transfer students each year, they bring a unique perspective and understanding to life along the Infinite Corridor.