<p>Everyone talks about how rigorous MIT is and the amount of work it requires simply to receive a "C". What is it about MIT that makes it so difficult? Why are these so-called p-sets so difficult? </p>
<p>I really just want a more specific picture of what makes MIT so difficult. Also, if anyone can indicate how MIT's difficulty compares to other top schools in the Northeast.</p>
<p>MIT is difficult because professors expect a lot from students, and because students and professors believe that students can achieve great things. MIT is also difficult because there’s a strong emphasis on learning critical thinking and reasoning skills, rather than just memorizing facts and equations – although memorization may require a large time input, it is much easier than actually understanding and reasoning through material. Most MIT classes won’t require you to memorize large volumes of information, but they will require you to apply what you’ve learned in class in novel contexts on problem sets (psets) and tests.</p>
<p>This is somewhat like asking why it’s so difficult to become, say, an elite athlete. It’s difficult because it requires a certain baseline of ability, it’s difficult because it requires dedication and commitment, and it’s difficult because it’s just hard to force your body through superhuman workout sessions. In the same way, MIT is hard because it’s hard to make your brain work so hard.</p>
<p>At any rate, though MIT is difficult and it’s rarely possible to effortlessly glide through a class, most people at MIT are getting Bs in most classes.</p>
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<p>Do you feel that MIT is different in this respect from other top schools? I know that you have not been an undergraduate at Harvard, but what can you gather about the differences in general learning philosophies at MIT and Harvard?</p>
<p>I do hesitate to generalize, because I understand my biases as an MIT undergrad looking at Harvard as a graduate student.</p>
<p>But in general, it is my opinion that Harvard students are less dedicated to academics and more dedicated to extracurriculars than MIT students are, and, as a result, Harvard professors ask less of Harvard students. That’s not to say that Harvard is a cakewalk, but academics are much more central to the MIT experience than the Harvard experience. For myself, I am glad that I attended MIT as an undergraduate and not Harvard.</p>
<p>Is “MIT 18.01 Single Variable Calculus” calculus I or calculus II? This course is definitely harder than our calulus I. We only do derivatives and applications in calculus I and then integrals and series in calculus II. Or may be it is combination of Calculus I and II?</p>
<p>18.01 is differential and integral calculus. 18.02, the next semester of calculus at MIT, is multivariable.</p>
<p>That is a lot of material for one semester even though they did not went deep into convergence and series.</p>
<p>18.01 is essentially the same as a calculus BC course in high school. I have no idea what Calculus I, II, or III is at other schools; I’ve heard them referenced but I don’t think they’re very standardized. </p>
<p>As far as why MIT is hard, it’s basically what Mollie said: the professors expect a lot. The classes move quickly, and the professors expect you to keep up with the material, and to actually understand it and be able to apply it rather than just have an idea of what the material is, or have memorized some applications and ways to solve them. They expect you to take a concept, understand what it means, and understand the implications of that meaning. Honestly, though, MIT is doable, but you need to be committed to working hard and learning. One good thing about MIT is that it’s easy to keep yourself from failing. We have a very late drop date, and in my experience professors and TAs are usually pretty forgiving if you email them the day before a problem set is due begging for an extension and explaining how completely and totally hosed you are. They want you to learn the material, and they want you to succeed. No one is rooting for you to fail.</p>
<p>Another point of view: MIT is hard because the professors try to break you down and rebuild you as a better engineer. =) Or critical thinker, in the more general sense.</p>
<p>As an example, I took one exam where the class average turned out to be around a 70. The professor actually said to the class, “Well, it looks like I made this test easier than I thought it would be. I intended for the average to be a 50.”</p>
<p>This reveals something very important. It’s not that the professors want anyone to do poorly, it’s that they want everyone to be challenged to the absolute best of their ability. The only way to do this is to make the material harder than the smartest person in the class is capable of. If you keep getting everything right, you’ll never know if that’s the best you can do, or if you could possibly answer an even harder question correctly. You only know you’ve reached your limit when you fail.</p>
<p>Therefore tests and psets tend to be too hard for you to finish perfectly by DESIGN. Some people at MIT are so used to getting perfect grades that they fail to understand that at first. (Dormitory hallways are full of upperclassmen chuckling at freshmen who are fretting about the first “B” they’ve ever gotten in their lives.)</p>
<p>So it’s hard intellectually because it’s designed to challenge you, but it’s important to note that it’s hard psychologically or emotionally because it can be hard to keep an appropriate amount of perspective. Depending on the context, getting a 35 on a test might mean you’re a verifiable genius. If you lose sight of that, the academic rigor can really get you down, making completing MIT “hard” in a very different sense of the word (in addition to the “traditional” way that it’s hard.) </p>
<p>I bring this up because it has a lot to do with what people mean when they refer to MIT as difficult to “survive,” and because I believe it is another important and intentional aspect of the academic culture. It teaches lessons about resilience and dealing with failure that are every bit as important as the specifics of lessons about tensile strength, or recombinant DNA, or what have you.</p>
<p>Interesting… I like what I’m hearing. In high school I’ve had teachers who make absurd tests and no one does well; however, it’s not on a curve, therefore the grades are of a depressing nature for such a test. The curving seems to be nice and I’m definitely down to get a 35% on a test as long as that makes me at least half of a verifiable genius. </p>
<p>It’s good to hear that the difficulty goes beyond learning insane amounts to knowing how to apply things. I’ve definitely enjoyed applying concepts in school than just learning things and regurgitating the problems that we practiced in class.</p>
<p>It’s also hard because professors like classes in which they give out 30% A’s, 40% B’s and the rest C,D,F’s…</p>
<p>I once took an MIT class where the grade distribution ended up being like this:</p>
<p>20% A
20% B
40% C
10% D
10% F</p>
<p>This was not a GIR. It was a sophomore-level class required for a major. I also took another class that had a distribution that I suspect was at least this bad or worse.</p>
<p>Most classes are much better than this, though. Remember that the average MIT GPA upon graduation is above a B average.</p>
<p>Don’t believe the lies. It’s not hard to get a C at MIT. Not everyone can do it, but I think those unfortunate few that outright fail their classes usually have extenuating circumstances, severe lack of motivation, or excessively bad time management skills. </p>
<p>You don’t have to be especially smart to do well at MIT. Just know that the less intelligent you are, the harder you’ll have to work.</p>
<p>Don’t be a hero. Humble yourself, put in the sweat and the blood, and you will be just fine.</p>