Should i go to MIT

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>Hi guys!</p>

<p>This is my first post, so i'm a little shy. I was just thinking, is mit the right college for me? I just want your opinion. Remember, this is seeing if it is a good fit, not seeing if i will get admitted.</p>

<p>Here is what i want from college- i want a place where there are good engineering programs, especially in aeronautics. I want a place where the professors actually care, can answer your questions, and can help you out. I want a place where there are many research and intern programs, and has sports teams. The people should be nice, and should be a collaborative environment. The students should have freedom in doing somethings outside classwork and tests. The cost shouldnt be too expensive.</p>

<p>Again, these are just the things i want, and i know for a fact that i am not going to get all this. But is mit close enough to want i want? Please reply, and thanks for your time.</p>

<p>Savethegame</p>

2

<p>

I don’t know much about aeronautics, but MIT’s engineering programs are in general among the best. I don’t think you can go wrong studying engineering at MIT, and other programs are good enough that if you decide to switch majors you don’t have to worry about being in the wrong place for that field.</p>

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A lot of my professors have been very, very busy people, since most of them are at the top of their fields and being so awesome is very time consuming. I’ve found that professors are usually more than willing to answer questions, but that in the larger classes I’ve taken so far, helping individual students is mostly delegated to recitation leaders. I’ve had better luck connecting with professors in my smaller classes. You also have a closer relationship with professors who are your advisors in research or in your major.</p>

<p>Before MIT I went to a state school (PSU), and found one professor in particular who cared enough to spend hours (hours!) after class every week chatting with me about his research and math in general. So far I haven’t found anyone else quite like him, at MIT or at PSU, and haven’t gotten quite that level of attention from any other professor. However I suspect this might have more to do with him as an individual than the school he teaches at, so this might not be very informative.</p>

<p>

MIT is a hub for research and developments in technology. Most undergrads (I think 80%?) work in a lab at some point through the UROP (undergraduate research opportunities program) program. Undergraduates are often trusted with large roles in very important projects. (We always play an active role in the actual research and are never assigned to, say, wash glassware.) Professors post active projects online that students can apply to participate in; you can also approach professors for a position in the lab, attaching yourself to a current project or even proposing your own new ideas. How far you go depends very largely on your enthusiasm and how hard you’re willing to work.</p>

<p>I’m spending this summer doing research in a lab at MIT, and plan to stay in this lab for the rest of my time as an undergrad. The project I am working on (mentored by a Research Scientist in the lab) will have positive influence on future research in the field. Furthermore, I am working in the specific field that I hope to stay in for the rest of my life; what I’m learning in lab this summer has direct applications to my long-term career interests. MIT is an absolutely phenomenal place for doing research as an undergraduate; the research opportunities are actually what first got me interested in MIT.</p>

<p>Internships are also more than possible. I personally don’t know much about internships at MIT, except that many of my friends have spent summers working for awesome companies like Facebook.</p>

<p>

Collaboration on homework and studying is not just allowed, but encouraged. It’s not unusual for students to spend hours helping other students, at all hours of the night. So far at MIT I’ve met some of the nicest people I’ve known and I have not met any particularly mean ones.</p>

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Academics take up a lot of time at MIT, but this doesn’t mean you don’t have time for other things. The most important thing I learned in my first year at MIT was time management–stretching the time I have to fit what I want to do, which ranges from academics, to research, to volunteering with the service fraternity I’m a member of, to painting murals on our dorm’s walls, and occasionally to whitewater kayaking.</p>

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Financial aid at MIT is need-based, which means that the tuition you pay will be tailored to your specific situation. I have several friends who are going to MIT completely free because they could not afford to pay tuition.</p>

3

<p>^ To respond to the professor comment, you can often get that sort of attention during office hours. This past term, when I needed to work very hard in two of my classes, I went to office hours all the time and interacted a lot with both of these professors. You can’t tell in a large lecture if the professor cares, but when you go to office hours, that sort of thing really comes out :)</p>

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<p>Everybody who wants to study engineering should consider MIT and probably apply. </p>

<p>Should I go to MIT is a premise that assumes an admission. Should you apply totally depends on whether you have the credentials, the time (it is not part of commonapp) and the interest in MIT.</p>

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<p>You should look into many of the good engineering schools. Engineering is often collaborative, because everyone generally finds it pretty hard, and GPA isn’t usually glorified in the engineering culture (unlike in the premed culture). People generally spend their time doing a mixture of research, interning, taking useful classes, shaping skills totally out of personal will etc. Sometimes considering a wide spread of places will help you see what you like about any particular one more. Actually read about the engineering program structures, if you haven’t already begun doing so.</p>