<p>Hello!</p>
<p>Can you answer my questions about the education at MIT?
Are there minors? If yes, can I choose them? Are they obligatory?
If I know that I would like to major in EECS 6-2 and minor in Math and Physics, will I have to go to other lectures in the first year?</p>
<p>Some programs have minors – it is up to a department to decide whether or not they will offer a minor program. You can choose to have up to two majors and two minors, but are not required to have more than one major only.</p>
<p>Unless you will come in to MIT with a large amount of AP or advanced standing credit, most of the courses you take freshman year will be for the General Institute Requirements (GIRs). If you intend to have two minors, it’s best to plan your courses fairly early, to make sure you can get everything in.</p>
<p>In addition to what Mollie said, take a look at the websites of the departments you are considering, as they list requirements for their degrees. Often, the difference between a major and a minor (I think math may be this way, but I’d need to check) may only be a couple of additional classes. Granted, these would be high level courses, but if you can fit one extra each semester senior year, say, that minor is now a major. So, if you’re going to load up on courses for a minor, you should check how close that would put you to the respective major.</p>
<p>GIR is very unusual for me (I am Hungarian). Is it possible to skip this year and start with the second year? I am willing to take every IB / AP exam to begin the uni in the second year.
This may sound very boastful but the grammar school has been so boring for me that I can’t stand these subjects for another year.</p>
<p>Have you been accepted yet…?</p>
<p>I haven’t sent my application yet because I’m not sure that I want to go to an US-style university. The freshman year is a very repulsive thing.</p>
<p>lol
10char</p>
<p>It’s lol for you because you’re familiar with the the four year education so you don’t think that the first year is unnecessary. But I don’t know why is it good to study subjects which can’t be connected to your major and which you have studied enough before the university.</p>
<p>No, it’s lol for me because you’re apparently too good to learn anything from GIRs, but this whole discussion is moot until you have an acceptance in hand. Which, I might add, has a roughly 3% chance of happening, IF you even get around to submitting the application. MIT is one of the best schools in the world. You can quibble about minutiae like placing out of requirements, but being well-rounded intellectually is nothing to scoff at. I believe you can do credit by exam if you truly are god’s gift to earth and have nothing left to learn from MIT, but if that is the case, why bother going to any university at all?</p>
<p>
For some GIRs, it’s possible to receive credit for the course by getting a 5 on the appropriate AP exam. For others, it’s possible to receive credit by passing an advanced standing examination offered by the department.</p>
<p>MIT’s GIRs include two calculus courses and two physics courses, so I’m not sure why you think that the subjects “can’t be connected to your major”. There’s also a chemistry course required, but you can fulfill that requirement by taking a materials science and engineering course, which is useful for many branches of engineering.</p>
<p>MIT also requires eight courses in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, which cannot be waived by AP credit or examination. Students generally take these courses one per semester, and there are a wide variety of courses from which students can choose.</p>
<p>Are only the science GIRs obligatory, the PE, HASS, REST ones aren’t?</p>
<p>napalm2013:
I didn’t say that I know everything or know more than the other students at MIT. I just want to skip non NatSci or engineering lessons because I am not interested in them. I probably know the topic of the introductory math lessons because I go to Math specialized class where we cover many topics.
I’m interested in what should I do to get into MIT if they take only 2 SAT subject tests, TOEFL into account. I might have an interview but I haven’t got an interviewer.</p>
<p>No, all of the GIRs are obligatory. They are general requirements for any MIT undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>REST (Restricted Electives in Science and Technology) are required courses, but they are generally not outside your major area – most majors require at least two courses that fulfill the REST requirement. For example, EECS requires either 18.03 (diff eq) or 18.06 (linear algebra) and 6.041 (statistics); all three of these courses qualify for REST.</p>
<p>Courses for the HASS (Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences) requirement, as I said above, cannot be waived by examination or AP credit. They are not all taken in the freshman year – most students take one HASS course per semester. There are a huge variety of courses available, so there’s no need to take courses you find uninteresting. Importantly, HASS courses teach skills like writing, which may seem unrelated to engineering, but which are absolutely critical for a successful engineering career.</p>
<p>PE (physical education) courses are also mandatory, but they are not academic courses, and don’t take up nearly as much time as an academic course. You can take PE classes at night, or during January (Independent Activities Period, IAP) – personally, I took all four of my required PE courses during two IAPs. You can also receive credit toward the PE requirement by participating in a varsity sport.</p>
<p>You may find one of Ryan’s videos helpful:</p>
<p>[How</a> to Graduate from MIT - YouTube](<a href=“How to Graduate from MIT - YouTube”>How to Graduate from MIT - YouTube)</p>
<p>Mollie, as a mom watching how stressful (but fun) MIT can be, I might encourage students to take PE each semester, or at least be involved in a physical activity or something that can relieve stress. Just sitting and doing academics all the time sounds too stressful for me (but this comes from my perspective as a dancer and a wiggly person in general).</p>
<p>OP, my son’s not crazy about a couple of the GIRs (chemistry and biology) but consider that most colleges will have you taking a lot more courses that seem “unnecessary” than MIT does. My son’s taking chem this semester and will probably not take bio until his senior year. In between, he’ll get to take bunches of classes that he likes.</p>
<p>OP, my son brought in transfer units and will be able to have sophomore standing next semester if he wants it. So, in essence, he can jump into the “good stuff” of his double major (and possible minor) after this first semester. (Though his advisor sounds a little too optimistic in encouraging him to take sophomore standing and six courses next semester! I’m encouraging him not to do that…)</p>
<p>The good news is, if you take the hardest, most boring of your GIRs during your first semester, you just need to pass-no need to worry about grades. That policy is certainly benefiting my son!</p>
<p>^Well, it was tough for me, and for a lot of people like me, because I was involved in a club sport. I had practice in the evenings three times a week, so I was certainly physically active, but I didn’t get PE credit for it. (IMO, MIT ought to allow club and IM sports to be counted toward the PE requirement…)</p>
<p>I agree! My son’s friend is a soccer player and is doing a UROP as a first semester freshman (she chose to get paid rather than get credit). She should get credit for all those hours spend on the field. My son did IM flag football but they didn’t make the playoffs so he’s done for now. I’ll encourage him to do a spring sport.</p>
<p>Does she get money for UROP or for sport?</p>
<p>I love and do sports(cycling, kayaking) currently and I’m going to do some sports at MIT but GIR makes me feel that I do them for the credits and not for fun.</p>
<p>lab,</p>
<p>She gets paid for the UROP.</p>