Was that pre-covid? Covid changed many things. In-person meetings are no longer viewed as irreplaceable.
1 Like
Point is that there are many routes from cold calling ( online applications) or getting actively recruited.
Definitely pre-Covid, but just…thankfully!
Many of the people who showed up to job fairs simply said apply online no matter how strong an applicant was.
Those are pretty low salaries (and the difference is not great at all in practical terms)–I would have expected much higher given how well tech has been doing…
It is possible to pursue a humanity degree at MIT as a first or second major or minor.
https://registrar.mit.edu/stats-reports/majors-count
MIT is ranked #2 in the world in Arts and Humanities (after Stanford).
Harvard is #5.
1 Like
I see $80K at Vandy vs $111K at MIT at 10 years (for whatever this stat is worth).
1 Like
Honestly, I think this is a bit too much proving, and the “case for MIT” seems almost too perfect and contrived at this point. IMHO, I cannot imagine anybody who is interested primarily in the humanities would go to MIT…
5 Likes
Which is why we chose, based on facts known to us at the time, an institution that we felt was the best academic and social fit for DS and would provide the greatest opportunities for him to develop into the best possible version of himself.
Indeed:-)
1 Like
That’s a decent difference; however, those salaries still seem quite low at 10 years out. What kind of ROI are they getting???
Agreed! And rankings are not the only factor or even the primary factor that assures a successful college or post college experience and life.
1 Like
This is the key consideration after financial assessment.
2 Likes
That’s across all majors. As I said, you need to compare major to major. The Vandy average is lower due to having more low earnings majors than MIT. The MIT numbers are high due to CS and finance.
1 Like
Someone interested primarily in the humanities should not (and probably would not) apply to MIT. However, if they want to combine world class education in STEM and humanities, they might be interested to know that MIT has world-renowned humanities, philosophy and economics departments. There was also an argument upthread along the lines of “what if they change their mind”.
I personally was actually surprised to learn how highly ranked MIT’s humanities offerings are when I first came across that information, and perhaps this would be new information for someone reading this thread.
2 Likes
Sorry, my bad, I misinterpreted that you were looking specifically at mechanical engineering. I thought you just capitalized “me” for emphasis 
I know little about ME.
I would say though, do not go to MIT just for the ROI. Go to MIT because there’s nowhere else you’d rather be - if that is, of course, the case.
I picked ME because it’s the biggest engineering specialty. The OP didn’t specify what field of engineering, so I thought it was a reasonable proxy.
This is not to disparage MIT in anyway. It’s a great institution. I have an alum in my family, and one who turned it down for a full ride elsewhere. Too many though choose MIT over more affordable alternatives, because they simply fear saying no. They can’t articulate what they will get by making the choice other than “It’s MIT.”
As others have said, better make sure it’s a good fit. My son was qualified to at least be competitive (he had a high GPA, test scores, great ECs and was the Rensselaer Medalist at his HS). He didn’t even apply to MIT or Caltech because he wanted a more “typical college experience.” Cost aside, four years at MIT will be very different than 4 years at Vanderbilt.
As a side note, Olin has the highest 10 year average at $133k.
7 Likes
On the other hand, I would not advise going into debt just to go to MIT–certainly not with salaries like the ones being quoted above and especially when the competing offer is a full tuition scholarship at a decent school (you’ll likely be treated like royalty there). The ROI just does not seem worth it…
3 Likes
And just to clarify, 30-40 years ago, when private college tuition was ~$20,000/year, I would say definitely go to MIT. However, when it’s creeped up to >$80,000, it starts to look more like an investment where ROI comes into play…
2 Likes
Probably. DS got a personal email from Vandy’s Chair of the Engineering selection committee offering a personal meeting to answer questions about the program etc.
He politely declined.
ROI wasn’t a factor in our decision (not a primary one that we tried to quantify anyway).
Academic fit was first and foremost.
As one of the top few dozen kids his age in his academic discipline in the US, he would likely have no academic peers at Vandy, and being a big fish in a small pond was not what he wanted.
Vandy’s fraternity-centered social scene is also not something that was particularly appealing.
The ROI already showed up though. The summer internship he has arranged after sophomore year is worth two years of the price difference between the two schools.
And we have reasons to believe that his resume (that includes certain extracurriculars unique to MIT that I do not want to disclose as that would be deanonymizing) was a significant factor in his getting the first interview.
2 Likes
People over index for brand when making college decisions because of potential for future $$$ upside and social equity all the while downplaying real dollar implications that have a massive effect when compounded into the future.
I had a friend who had the choice to go to Ross MBA for free,(a school he liked) but chose to go full pay to U Chicago because its apparently more prestigious. And then after two miserable and expensive years joined the same Big 3 consulting firm as part of a cohort with a ton of Ross grads.
That $300k will be worth almost $450k by graduation. If MIT is a true fit and the OPs family can afford it then it’s a no brainer.
Otherwise, I don’t see a case for MIT here.
1 Like
There’s also a saying: “if you have to ask, it’s probably too expense…”
1 Like