<p>My son is hesitating about MIT because he feels that he isn't very "hands on"- he is more of a theorist (currently interested in abstract math) and not into building stuff. How well do such people fit in the MIT environment?</p>
<p>Is he thinking about becoming a math major? Because I don't think there's a lot of "hands on" there, if "hands on" means physically building stuff ;)</p>
<p>Yes, his current plan is to be a math major; the question isn't about what the math classes are like but rather whether he'd feel out of place in the school as a whole.</p>
<p>Why limit yourself? Maybe participating in the "hands on" things will change his mind about them :) On the other hand, there are plenty of theory-nerds here, too, and I can't even imagine how one would go about "not fitting in".</p>
<p>I can see super "hands-on" people being limited by a thinking-and-not-doing culture, but it doesn't make any sense the other way around :)</p>
<p>My daughter, who is now a sophomore at MIT, was the same way. I was certain she would not get in because everyone else from her high school who had had been involved in activities like building robots or creating machines to solve problems. She did get in (obviously) and fit in just fine, partly because there are so many choices of activities to do and places to live. I believe there was one (out of eleven residence halls) dorm she did not choose to live in because she heard students socialize partly by building things.</p>
<p>I'm definitely not a builder, and I did fine.</p>
<p>As dalmatiansrock says, the building aptitude/motivation of students varies by living group. The guys in my living group didn't build squat. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks to people who posted and PM'd me on this. Now if only son would make a decision....</p>
<p>Also, he might not realize that none of the first year classes have lab components. Freshman physics and freshman chemistry are not lab classes. I took labs later, in my major, and had summer internships in labs, but I didn't have anything even remotely hands on the first year. Might have changed - this was the late '80s - but perhaps someone will comment if this info is no longer accurate.</p>
<p>Oh, there are no required labs for math majors. "project lab" isn't a lab in the conventional sense.</p>
<p>I'm a prospective applicant and theorist as well. I'm really not into "building things" (although I'm always open for new experiences). However, MIT's motto - Mans et Manus / Mind and Hand - doesn't mean building things to me. What really counts, I think, is the will to apply knowledge for the welfare of humanity and never to forget that life is more than a mere theory.</p>