MIT vs. Yale??

College Search & Selection
1

<p>The thing is, I want to pursue sciences in my major/career but still study Liberal Arts; music is especially important to me too. I love the attitude at MIT towards sciences, but there's two things that are pulling me towards Yale:</p>

<p>(i) Liberal Arts. I know MIT is technically a liberal arts institute but whenever I check online, and even here on these forums, no one seems to refer to it as Liberal Arts. Yale's liberal arts seems amazing though so if someone could please tell me if there's much of a difference between the two??
(ii) The Residential Colleges. Seems like that's a huge plus point for Yale and honestly the system seems pretty cool. I know MIT also has colleges but I'm not too sure about details. I can't go see them so is there anyone who's seen/knows about them both and could provide a comparison please?</p>

<p>I know neither of these things seems like a big enough factor but obviously they're both amaaaazzzzzziiiiiinnnnnnngggggggg and top in the world and there's no doubt about academic quality, opportunities, etc.</p>

2

<p>Get into both and then worry about “choosing.”</p>

3

<p>MIT for engineering, physical sciences and computer science. Yale for all the rest.</p>

4

<p>I’m not being haughty thinking I’ll get into both, I’m just curious. Besides I didn’t expect a reply in a day, so I wanted to post early in case! :3 Of course finding the “perfect match” for yourself is also a journey so I want to get prepared as early as possible. And I know the textbook answer, MIT for sciences, Yale for humanities. But I would appreciate a more indepth answer… I think my question was fairly specific.</p>

5

<p>As you know, both of these schools are super reaches. If both schools are attractive to you, then apply and visit on their admitted students programs. You will get a sense which one is best for you and that might not be the same answer that other science focused students with music/liberal arts interests would choose. Pizzagirl is not giving you a flippant answer. At this level of school very few students have to worry about many of the cross admit options which they struggle with in December.</p>

6

<p>MIT has a fairly extensive set of General Institute Requirements in all of the liberal arts (humanities, social studies, science, and math):</p>

<p>[MIT</a> Course Catalog: Undergraduate General Institute Requirements](<a href=“Welcome! < MIT”>Welcome! < MIT)</p>

<p>Yale’s distributional requirements are listed here:</p>

<p>[Distributional</a> Requirements | Yale College](<a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/distributional-requirements]Distributional”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/distributional-requirements)</p>

7

<p>MIT for a rigorous education. Yale for a great social experience and a fantastic credential ( [The</a> American Scholar: The Disadvantages of an Elite Education - William Deresiewicz](<a href=“http://theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/]The”>The American Scholar: The Disadvantages of an Elite Education - <a href='https://theamericanscholar.org/author/william-deresiewicz/'>William Deresiewicz</a>)). Oh, and MIT will also give you the social experience and the credential.</p>

8

<p>MIT for science, math, engineering, economics. MIT can also have an advantage in business/management/ entrepreneurship/finance.</p>

9

<p>At that level, there is flat out no significant difference in prestige, if you get in, you are clearly a straight A 2300+ sat high scholar. I would choose the school that suits you better; while MITs “math and sci” might be stronger, Yale’s does not suck.</p>

10

<p>Yale is a pedigree school, and if you want to go into liberal arts and get a good job, you need to come from a pedigree school.
I wouldn’t waste time at MIT unless you are doing something with math, the institute is for geniuses who know they want to innovate and solve problems for mankind…liberal arts are not the biggest concern there by any means.</p>

11

<p>

</p>

<p>Spoken with all the knowledge and experience of a high school junior.</p>

<p>And utter nonsense.</p>

12

<p>MIT’s philosophy, poli sci and economics departments, among others, are actually among the very best in the US, so I wouldn’t say the quality of instruction in the humanities and social sciences there is necessarily unremarkable compared to that at Yale.</p>

<p>Also, it’s naive to assume that everyone at Yale and MIT is a “straight A 2300+ sat high scholar.”</p>

13

<p>I think drac313 is a disciple of informative.</p>

14

<p>Pretty much everyone at those schools is in that “straight A 2300+” group, with the exception of a few hooked individuals.</p>

15

<p>So that’s why Yale’s 25th-percentile SAT score is below 2120 (I say below b/c the cumulative of the three section scores is bound to be lower than the actual 25th-percentile score)… If by “a few” you mean at least 60% of the student body, then yes, you are probably correct.</p>

<p>You can go to the results threads in the MIT and Yale forums and see for yourself that a 2300+ SAT score is definitely not a requirement for getting in.</p>