(Accepted into both Undergrad programs)
Priorities:
Academic Instruction
Student Life
Applicable Skills
I plan to study either study computer science (both), aerospace engineering (MIT), or Electrical Engineering (Yale). Most of you will scream MIT in response, but was wondering if Yale’s massive increase in funding and liberal arts education is better for my career field. (Looking to worth at company such as spacex or develop for google. I am also limited on having to do a technical degree due to a scholarship, so not going to really change my mind on that, and really don’t want to.
On the social life aspect, I heard its harder to learn to code when you’re surrounded by people who have no idea what coding is, which can easily happen at yale. However, I also heard its easier to participate in extracurricular and have a more active social life while at yale. In addition, I want to join Greek life and know both have a presence of Greek, but didn’t know how much that affects social life at each. Finally, I really love the residential college system at Yale and was wondering how much of extreme advantage over MIT that is.
Academically, I am 100% O.K. with not taking humanities classes but also wouldn’t mind taking polysci classes and history / government classes, but don’t want it to rule my life over the years.
Finally, since I’ve heard MIT is a lot more time consuming and rigorous, does this really pay off in the long run or am I sacrificing social life for little benefit.
Any help is appreciated.
There is a reason people will scream MIT. If you want to do any engineering, it is generally the superior choice, esp for the fields you mention. You should visit MIT you can. The course work, esp. in the areas you mentioned is quite rigorous, but you will graduate ready to work (although many engineers get masters) with an engineering degree everyone respects (if not considered the best in the world).
While MIT requires some humanities, you won’t have to take too many. The quality of the humanities at MIT are quite high and you will quickly find that most MIT undergrads are well read. Many are heavily engaged in policy, sports, politics and other outside activities.
The Greek life at MIT rivals most schools. Most students who participate in a frat live there at some point, but you can also live on campus. The dorms have their own character that creates a close atmosphere - in most cases.
Being in Boston, which is a major hub for colleges, and a town that is manageable but has all the amenities including culture and sports is hard to beat (but certainly beats New Haven - admittedly I am not a big fan of New Haven). I have had many friends at both schools and generally people are quite happy with their choice, given the criteria you present, I would definitely say MIT. That being said, you will also get a strong education at Yale. Good luck
Both are great institutions, however if you want to study computer science of Engineering Yale is a wrong place for that. You will be very limited in number and type of courses that you can take in CS and Engineering. You should look at what both schools offer in these areas before you make a decision. At Yale you will take significantly more courses in Humanities. And yes…Boston is much more fun than New Haven.
You should compare courses offered in those majors. MIT is a huge name in STEM but Yale can afford to spend a lot on your education and there are advantages to being a relatively rare CS or EE major in a soft science/humanities paradise.
If the MIT course offerings blow Yale away and cost is close, and you are ok with MIT’s dorms/food/culture, MIT is probably the better choice.
But if Yale competes in terms of offerings, and cost is close, I think that makes the decision more interesting. It’s Yale – nothing they offer is less than at least pretty good, and even in STEM Yale will open doors. You certainly will get plenty of prof attention.
Visit both and get your gut feeling. Kids at MIT reportedly have fun despite the rigor and Yale is known for its residential college system. If you were accepted by both, you’re very lucky.
@prezbucky That’s what I was thinking of too, the fact that Yale is funneling millions and millions into CS and Engineering is very enticing. Both costs are basically the same. Hopefully as you said I’ll know after I visit CPW and Bulldog days.
@gmfreedom Although I don’t know which I’d like better, Boston or New Haven, I hope to get a feel for that soon. On the academic side, if i was just choosing by academics I would go with MIT, but there is more that plays into college choice
@beaglemom I have heard about MIT’s greek life being decent but didn’t know the extent, I am glad its bigger than i thought.
Thank you all for the advice
Actually, they are fairly comparable in volume, but with different emphases:
MIT requires 8 humanities, arts, and social studies “subjects” (MIT-speak for courses), including 2 writing intensive ones:
http://web.mit.edu/hassreq/
Yale requires 6 courses in humanities, social studies, and writing, but also has a foreign language requirement that requires 1 to 3 courses beyond that:
http://catalog.yale.edu/ycps/yale-college/distributional-requirements/
Since the first answer screams MIT, I thought I’d give reasons for attending Yale instead.
At Yale you will interact heavily with students from a number of diverse disciplines, while at MIT almost all of them will be engineering or science majors. It’s easy to underestimate the importance of soft skills later in life, and I think 4 years at place like Yale does a great job at building those.
The presence of having many artistically talented people on campus also means the arts scene is unparalleled, and this makes a huge difference to campus life. Yale students also seem much less stressed out on the whole (take a look at the MIT Confessions FB Page for an idea of what campus culture might be like at MIT), and the residential college system does a great job at bringing people together.
Yale also arguably has a much more beautiful campus, where you will be spending 90% of your next 4 years in, and it’s only 1.5 hours away from New York. The engineering community is also smaller and tightly knit, centering around the CEID, CS ZOO, and West Campus. It’s worth thinking how that might help you shine more vis-a-vis being one of a few hundred engineering majors at MIT.
I also thought I’d point out the things that don’t really matter as much as people think they will:
Firstly, if you’re concerned about career prospects, there really isn’t much of a difference between the top schools. Google is a top employer at both places, and a capable engineer in both universities will no doubt be able to land an interview at a company like SpaceX. Similarly, with regards to curriculum, you can easily assemble a more rigorous course load at Yale if you wanted to, and a lot of undergrads indeed do, with some people starting right away with advanced math courses for instance. I also wouldn’t place much of an emphasis on location. Students spend at least 90% of their time on campus, and about half that remaining 10% is usually spent on excursions outside the city.
I don’t think this will be an issue at a school like Yale. It may be less techie than MIT, but there will still be plenty of students who have been writing code since they were like 10. I doubt you’ll come across anyone who has no idea what coding is.
Honestly, I don’t think it matters. They’re both great, and both have good reputations and a foothold in recruiting at large tech companies. MIT is stronger in this particular field, of course, but I don’t think it matters so much at the undergraduate level.
MIT is going to be a lot more stressful. Cambridge is a much nicer city than New Haven. If you think you can handle the stress go to MIT. If you want to have a bit more relaxed environment, go to Yale.
In the end, you can’t go wrong, but I think once you visit both schools, you will know almost immediately which one is the right one for you. If you can, spend a weekend at both MIT and Yale I could go on, but if you are really undecided see them in person.
If you want to work in the engineering domain, this is a no brainer. As an engineer, the MIT brand is invaluable. If you just want to study engineering, but then work in consulting or banking, then it does not matter which school you go to.
For your goals, MIT really fits the bill much better, but there certainly are positives to Yale as mentioned. I agree with @beaglemom , go visit and it may/likely be obvious.
Thank you everyone for the advice!