<p>I forgot to add a link to the program website: [MIT</a> MITES Program](<a href=“MITES – MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering and Science”>MITES – MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering and Science)</p>
<p>The following classes (save Humanities) are determined by diagnostic tests taken in the first week of the program. But even after you receive the results from the test there is still some flexibility concerning which class you’ll eventually take. For example suppose you’ve taken Biology but have never taken Chemistry but you think Biochemistry would be fun to learn. No fear! You can still take Biochemistry (or Chemistry if you have a change of heart) but you probably won’t be allowed to take Biology. This organization goes along with the spirit of MITES which attempts to give all students the opportunity to push and challenge themselves. </p>
<p>Mathematics: The math classes were divided into two categories based on exposure to calculus. If you’ve never seen or heard of a derivative before, you’ll (probably) be put in Calculus I. The syllabus for Calculus I consists of a (short) review of pre-calculus followed by a trip through a first semester of Calculus (limits, derivatives and applications, and integrals). If you fall into the other category AKA you’ve heard of a derivative, then you might take Calculus II. Also, I am not kidding about this “heard of a derivative” thing; there were some students who had never taken calculus (but knew of it) and ended up taking calculus II (one of these students ended up being one of the top students in the class). </p>
<p>Personal Note: When I first came to MITES, I drastically underestimated the syllabus for Calculus II. From available information, it seemed like the class would consist of a short review of Calculus BC and then finish off with basic multivariable calculus (vectors and partial derivatives). Instead, we started with partial derivatives and didn’t stop until we got to the Integral theorems of Vector Calculus which allowed us to translate Maxwell’s Equations (another topic in the course) into their most general form. Now, If you do eventually go to MITES don’t expect the class structure to be exactly as described because as teachers vary, so do the syllabi. But what you should expect is a challenging curriculum which will hopefully keep you up at night tooling away at problem sets.</p>
<p>Life Science: The life science classes consisted of Biology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry without a lab component. I’m not sure about the Chemistry curriculum but I think it was pretty similar (although undoubtedly more difficult than) AP Chem . Biology was (much like its MIT counterpart) devoid of zoology and organismal biology but focused on the microbiological and biochemical aspects of life. Biochemistry was in its truest sense very much a combination of Biology and Chemistry(surprise, surprise) with the syllabus consisting of amino acid titrations and a detailed study of the chemical structure of lipids, amino acids, DNA, and carbohydrates. </p>
<p>Physics: The physics classes, like the calculus classes, were divided based on exposure. If you had never taken physics you were placed in physics I; if you had some exposure, you were placed in either physics II or physics III depending on extent of that exposure. The syllabus for physics I was Kinematics and Newtonian Mechanics which included (I think) work and energy. Physics II was very similar to AP Mechanics w/o gravitation and oscillations. It also apparently included some electricity at a basic level. Physics III was (supposedly) an entirely different beast. It was, as told by the instructor, based on a sophomore level physics course at MIT. The curriculum had the central theme of oscillations and waves and employed Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Vector Calculus, and Fourier Series to treat the topics of coupled oscillators and the mechanics of waves via the wave equation (students eventually derived the wave equation by making continuous, the discrete interactions of oscillators). </p>
<p>Humanities: Now I know what you’re thinking. “Isn’t MITES a science-and-engineering program? What’s a humanities class doing in the course list? And what the hell is a humanities class?” Well, the Humanities class has the rather trite purpose of introducing students to college level writing and reading analysis. But in concurrence with the general philosophy of MITES my Humanities class went far beyond the standard curriculum and touched upon topics such as language, prejudice, and science and ethics to not only facilitate discussions but to give some meaning behind our writings and class presentations. There were many other tidbits that made this class especially interesting but I think its better for you to experience it than for me to talk about it. </p>
<p>Engineering: The engineering courses were the only sciency courses that weren’t determined by a diagnostic test. Instead, when accepted into the program we got a choice of four different engineering courses: engineering design, digital design, genomics, and electronics. Engineering design was a mechanical engineering course, Digital Design was a programming course, Genomics was more Biological engineering and Electronics was obviously electrical engineering. I can’t make a definite statement concerning the difficulty or breadth of all of the previous courses (seeing as though I only took one) but in regards to the electronic course let’s just say learning in that class was like trying to jump on a train that accelerated exponentially over an extremely hilly valley. So yeah…</p>
<p>Workload: This category might have been more appropriate in each respective subject but anyway here it is. Um… MITES is hard…Yea you’ve probably heard of that before so you’re probably looking for something more substantial which would give you some sort of visceral indication as to the true difficulty of the program. SOOO Here it is ! Besides the fact that the instructors expect more from you than most high school teachers, the material they assign is also infinitely more complex. For example, in one week of the Physics III course the instructor assigned a problem set that not only took most students three days of collective and concentrated effort but also required around twenty pages to write the solutions to the problems. The Humanities class was also pretty tough because the instructors had the uncanny ability to assign major papers right when we had the least amount of time to complete them. But still, I hesitate to say that the work I did in MITES was harder than my high school classes. In truth, the work was probably more difficult but I was so much more willing to complete it than I had ever been with my high school homework. But this has more to do with the environment rather than the material. Oh and I almost forgot one of the most important things about the classes; they have TAs. But not just regular TAs that you see once a week for an unmemorable review session but TAs that live with you at the dorm (Simmons Hall) and help you with much more than your homework. Indeed, the TAs are the moral and social support of MITES without which MITES would be a much less enjoyable program. The TAs usually are MITES alumni who either go to MIT (woot! woot!) or Harvard (…meh) or any other school they decided to attend after MITES. But let me reiterate, they are awesome people with whom you’ll hopefully establish lasting relationships.</p>