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First, MIT's suicide rate is not "so high". It's an urban legend. Since MIT is a small place, you'd need to wait at least thirty years to amass a large enough population of MIT students to see if the suicide rate was different from the average college student suicide rate in a statistically significant fashion.
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<p>And they have. There have been nearly 50 suicides at MIT in the past 35 or so years. (<a href="http://www.colleges.com/Umagazine/articles.taf?category=health&article=HN_000301suicide%5B/url%5D">http://www.colleges.com/Umagazine/articles.taf?category=health&article=HN_000301suicide</a>)</p>
<p>The high suicide rate per capita at MIT (compared to other academically comparable colleges, not the national average) is very real and far from just an urban legend. And just one more suicide can have an evident and dramatic effect on a student body.</p>
<p>From the article:
"After [the suicide] happened it was something that stuck in my mind. I walked over there after everything was cleaned up just to take a look," he shudders. "When I got back to my room I realized a piece of glass had stuck in my shoe so the incident stuck in my mind like that piece of glass."</p>
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Since engineering and business students commit suicide at higher rates than other college students, and since 18- to 22-year-old males commit suicide at higher rates than females, you would expect MIT's suicide rate in the 90s to be higher than other schools.
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<p>Um...it is, to academically comparable schools. No one is talking about the national average here.</p>
<p>And I'm not quite sure what led you to the conclusion that engineering and business students commit suicide at higher rates. Even if it was true, majoring in engineering at an institution devoted to technology is very different from majoring in engineering at an institution that isn't. At the technological institution, the students are (looking at the student body as a whole) more comfortable with and more eager to pursue engineering. At a school which doesn't solely focus on technology, a student accepted to the school may eventually decide to major in engineering without realizing the supposed stress that comes with that field. This should serve to compensate for any alleged discrepancy.</p>
<p>And, regardless of whomever may make up the MIT student body, the fact remains the same: people at MIT have experienced more suicides per capita than many of its peer institutions.</p>
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On the weather topic, I also like the change of seasons. I like snow in the winter (blizzards especially!), the crisp air and leaf smell in the fall, the way the ground smells in the spring, and the absurdly hot summer days in the city. I think that living through the winter makes me appreciate the spring and summer to an even greater degree.
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<p>You like...blizzards? You like..."absurdly hot" summer days which are, by definition, absurd?</p>
<p>Sounds to me like you're deluding yourself about the abject weather you've had to put yourself through. Though if you're not, and you actually love cold, obnoxious weather, then by all means, I implore you to visit the scenic Antarctica. Coldest place on earth, but by god does it attract the tourists. Everyone loves severe cold!</p>
<p>And California, as I've said before, has 4 seasons of weather. Just without the annoying extremes.</p>
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I still think there are far more important factors in a college decision than the weather. I also think that anyone who picks a college based on the weather is superficial and silly.
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<p>No one's saying choose a college exclusively based on weather. But to claim that weather isn't an important factor is naive and, frankly, quite sad. There are palpable benefits to good weather. You interact with friends, you get fresh air, you get exposure to more things, you feel more adventurous, you can get EXERCISE (gasp).</p>
<p>Some really serious medical conditions are directly related to a lack of light, like Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), where sufferers experience symptoms of depression in the fall or winter. There has also been much scientific study on the effect of weather on human mood. A UMichigan study (<a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eurecord/0405/Oct25_04/31.shtml)%5B/url%5D">http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0405/Oct25_04/31.shtml)</a>, for instance, says "Get out?for at least 30 minutes. The positive impact warm, sunny weather can have on mental health and mood is real." You can do some additional Googling to find other articles concerning the relationship between mood and weather.</p>
<p>It just makes for a very different and much healthier experience. Live in California for a week or two and you'll see what I mean.</p>
<p>Being concerned about weather is far from superficial or silly. Pretending weather can be replaced by a heated hole in a building is, on the other hand, silly and a concept quite laughable to those who routinely benefit from the perks of good weather. You may be okay with rotting indoors most of your academic year, but don't assume others are as well.</p>