<p>Ok, so I received a long awaited application in mail this week from MIT. i could not be more excitedd, my dream school sending me an application for no apparent reason a year in advance. Well my parents are not so thrilled..see I live in Alabama and my parents can barely go a week without me because my younger brothers aren't much help around the house. Anyway my mom pretty much refuses to even think about me going to MIT because of the distance. She comes up with exscuses like only weirdos live up there and go to schools like that, and you'll get the same education at a state college (Auburn University) as you will there and you can get a full ride to Auburn and money won't be a problem. My dad on the other hand is open to the idea but is a little hesitant..Now I understand that they are scared because I will be the first child to leave the nest but I need some help. Someone please list reasons as to why MIT is better than a state school...if they won't listen to me maybe they will listen to the masses! Congrats to everyone accepted!!</p>
<p>To me, one of the biggest advantages of MIT over most state schools is that MIT is considerably smaller -- classes are smaller, there's a smaller student-faculty ratio, and it's much easier to find a work-study job or a research position.</p>
<p>There's also a pretty considerable amount of student support at a school like MIT vs. a state school, in part because MIT isn't reliant upon state money to function, so there's more money per student floating around. MIT has great student support resources -- career services, medical services, counseling services, tutoring services, and others. </p>
<p>At MIT, it is completely possible to know all of your professors. It is completely possible to have a meaningful undergraduate research job as a freshman. It is completely possible to be friends with your academic advisor.</p>
<p>All of this doesn't even take into account that it is simply easier to stay dedicated to your education when there are a lot of people around you who are equally dedicated. That's certainly not to say that MIT people study all day and never have fun, but there are definitely fewer MIT people who are just at college to get wasted and laid. That sort of atmosphere -- very intelligent, very dedicated students -- is much more conducive to learning than the more heterogeneous state school environment.</p>
<p>I know it's not fashionable to say that classes at MIT are taught at a deeper level than classes at other schools, but in many cases I think it's true. It certainly seems to me that the students who went to MIT in my graduate program have a stronger grasp of the material than students who went to state schools -- classes at all schools tend to be taught to the lowest common denominator, and the lowest common denominator at MIT is not as low.</p>
<p>I feel like there's no way of responding to this without sounding pretentious - I'm not trying to, I'm just telling my experience. =/ I don't know if all of this applies to you if you get a full ride to a public school (I know some publics treat certain students better), but I think it shows a difference in the committment the school makes to their students.</p>
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<li><p>Being far from home forces you to grow up - I'm from California. My friends at UCs tell me how they bring laundry home on weekends, or their moms bring soup and clean their dorms when they're sick. You don't get that when you're a 6hr flight from home, but it's OK. You learn to deal, and that helps you grow up. Your parents and siblings will learn to deal also - I'm an only child, and my parents hated the thought of my going so far away. However, over the years, they've adapted, and I think it was easier with me being so far. They're going to have to, some day.</p></li>
<li><p>MIT helps you find a job better - I'm a senior. I interned the past three summers and just went through a semester of full time job searching. My company this past summer had an in-house career fair for interns looking to convert to fulltime - having MIT on my resume got me invitations to lunch, personal lab tours and the like from senior managers. The other interns just got a standard email saying their resume was put into the system. And those are the people who even got an internship - I know lots of UC students who take summer classes because they can't find a job.</p></li>
<li><p>Privates do it better - My friends also have to take summer classes because many times, they can't get the classes they want in the semester they want. My freshman year at MIT, I recall this one class having too many students wanting to take it, so they opened up a second section. This also provides for the whole UROP program (undergraduate research), which is just simply amazing - you get to work with great professors on really interesting work.</p></li>
<li><p>You get to meet lots of amazing people at MIT - I think I'm only average smart, but I'm definitely surrounded by amazing people. I know a freshman who's been editing for O'Reilly since he was 14. I think just being around these people makes me smarter and helps me learn more.</p></li>
<li><p>You get to meet lots of amazing people not at MIT - I have friends from Harvard, BU, BC, Tufts, Wellesley, Brandeis, Yale, Brown, etc., all of whom I met during college. When you come to MIT, you don't just get MIT - you get the entire Boston area. Yea, maybe we're a weird bunch collectively, but we're a successful weird bunch. My friends on Wall Street tell me that everyone there is from some highly prestigious school - MIT, Harvard, Stanford, UPenn, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Campus life is amazing - There's so many different dorms, independent living groups and Greek living groups, each with a distinct personality, so that you can definitely find a place to fit in. You're guaranteed housing for four years, and I've had a single for three of them. Living with roommates is fine - I know people who've done it for all four years - but having a single is also awesome in the privacy that you can regulate.</p></li>
<li><p>Boston is an amazing city - There's so much culture and history here. I've been to the theatre, Quincy Market, Boston Commons, and just this past Thanksgiving weekend, some friends and I went for a walk through Boston and passed John Kerry's house. It's a great place to become an adult in.</p></li>
<li><p>The professors are amazing - I don't think this reallys needs much description. I met with a professor last week for info on my research project, and had him sign a textbook because he co-authored it. I also took signal processing with Alan Oppenheim himself - a man so well-known in the SP world that my dad learned his SP from a translated copy of Oppenheim's book.</p></li>
<li><p>They really help you with your financial situation - I know people who pay practically nothing to attend MIT because they have financial difficulties. MIT does their best to make sure qualified people are able to attend regardless of family money issues. Even if you're upper middle class - the group that gets shafted the most by college financial aid - MIT is willing to hear you out and give you more money if you need it (they did for me).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I could go on. There are so many reasons why MIT is an awesome experience and anyone who can ought to try it. I hope that's helped.</p>
<p>bump...de bump</p>
<p>MIT gives you a lot of opportunities that you simply can't find elsewhere. A state school allows you to take classes, get a job, maybe know a couple of professors well, and maybe do some research. plain stuff. At MIT, the professors and students are amazing and they will inspire you to reach higher potentials.</p>
<p>I think the list above covers everything I can think of, so I'll tell about my experience with a fairly similar situation. </p>
<p>When I told my mom I wanted to apply to MIT, she asked me why I wanted to attend school 'with a bunch of antisocial Asian guys' in a massive city on the other coast. Needless to say, she did not like the idea too much. Slowly however, she has started to like MIT. </p>
<p>I think the major thing was showing her that MIT now is not the school it was 30 or 40 years ago. The MIT blogs were a fabulous resource and it definitely helped that my dad liked the idea. I think one of the biggest factors was mentioning research going on or some small bit of trivia with out saying that it was MIT-related. Then, when she inevitably asked where it came from, I would tell her. Mind you, I didn't try to do this, it just sort of happend.</p>
<p>Hopefully, the awesomeness that is MIT will shine through and convert your parents. Good luck!</p>