<p>Another bad point about MIT is, with absolutely no effort, one can become anonymous, at least that’s the way it was 30+ years ago when I was there. Especially if one is in a large department (EE, physics). Many classes are absolutely huge. My first 3 physics classes (8.01, 8.02, 8.03) had 300 students. My organic chem class (5.41) was in the largest lecture hall (26-100) and students sat in the isles. My 2 intro economics classes and bio class (7.01, taught boringly by a nobel laureate) had 200+ students. For 3 years, my only personal contact with profs was on registration day when my advisor signed my course selection card. And that 5 minute meeting was the extent of his interest in me. For that reason, my high school senior daughter is now applying to much smaller and friendlier colleges (no universities). MIT was certainly not TV’s “Cheers” where “everyone knew your name”. However, having MIT on my CV has certainly helped my career, and I am proud to have graduated from there. MIT was what I thought I wanted back then, though.</p>