I’m having a lot of trouble deciding between UVA and MIT.
UVA is a state school for me, so it’s a lot cheaper. My parents have told me not to worry about the money, but it still definitely has to be something I think about.
I’m definitely interested in studying engineering, but there’s not one subject that really stands out to me. MIT definitely has a stronger and more varied engineering programs. I could also see myself ending up pursuing more of a business degree in a field like management or finance.
I definitely see myself as more of a mainstream person. I’m really into pretty much all sports and definitely like to party occasionally. UVA seems like a place where more people share those characteristics, but I think I would be able to find my niche at MIT with those types of people. I would run track at MIT, which is a big plus, but would also take up a lot of time. I’ve never considered myself super smart; mostly just a really hard worker. I’m also kind of worried that I don’t have a specific passion coming in like many MIT students do. Science and math are my favorite subjects, but there’s nothing that’s really stuck out to me. Basically, I’m a little worried about fitting in at MIT.
Thanks for any advice!
I can’t really tell you to choose one path or another, but I do think you’d absolutely find like-minded friends at MIT on all fronts – into sports, liking to party, playing a sport, hard workers, coming in without a really burning passion for something in particular. None of those aspects strike me as red flags, and they’re actually all quite common.
Although it seems from CC and other places that everybody who comes to MIT has loved some specific subject since they were small, it’s just not true, which is why MIT gives you until all the way through the end of freshman year (or even sophomore year, if you need the time) to pick a major. And even those who think they’re coming in with a specific burning passion do end up changing their minds with reasonable frequency.
I don’t know if this clarifies anything for you, but I don’t see anything you’ve said as being a dealbreaker at MIT.
It’s great that your parents can pay for you to go to MIT. Take that offer. You won’t regret it and your parents won’t regret it. My son was in your position 6 years ago: MIT or UCB. I told him to go MIT and he did.
You can easily at have part-time jobs at MIT and highly paid intership jobs in the industries during the summers if you go to MIT.
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I've never considered myself super smart
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But clearly MIT thinks you are smart enough.
What did you decide and why?