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MIT</a> - Academic Guide: 8. PROGRESSING THROUGH MIT ↩︎
<p>Re:day in the life</p>
<p>Typical Monday/Wednesday: most science classes are scheduled MWF so these are my lecture heavy days.</p>
<p>-wake up around 8:30-8:45
-1.5 hour biochemistry lecture, learn how blood clots
-1 hour genetics lecture, learn why sibling marriages are illegal
-1 hour organic chemistry lecture, learn what happens to marshmallow peeps in sulfuric acid
-either genetics recitation or a free hour (either spent in the library if I have a lot of work, or spent on unproductive internet sites…)
-intermediate pistol, my PE class that I love love love
-go to library
-go back to dorm at 6 to get food at dining, catch up with friends at dining
-2 hours of club sport practice!
-it’s a pset party (or hang-out time, depending on the amount of work we have)!</p>
<p>typical Tuesday/Thursday
-wake up around 8:30-8:45 I’m probably in the only humanities class in existence that meets at 9:30AM. I complain about it, but it’s actually nice to have the same wakeup time every day
-1.5 hour discussion on the literary techniques in the book of Isaiah
-go to lab. Set up a PCR for ~3 hours, tend to cell cultures for about an hour
-grab lunch from a food truck (hint: vegan bacon is amazing. Chicken quesadilla is also amazing)
-organic chemistry recitation, even more useful than lectures. My TA tells stories about grad student life
-library time
-go back to dorm at 6 to get food at dining, catch up with friends at dining
-hang out at friends’ room. Do work, or discuss issues in science education, or squeal over cute bunny pictures on the internet.</p>
<p>And so life is good (at least I really enjoy it). Some days (like today) I decide I need a break and come home right after class, so the “go to library” part may get skipped every now and then.</p>
<p>I am very interested in what is listed as Area 1: “Systems, Communication, Control and Signal Processing” on the MIT EECS website. It seems like a very good fit given my interest in Math and Computer Science. However, I am not so interested in hardware stuff. Is it possible to specialize in that area without having to take many (Say, not more than 2-3) hardware courses? Is it something many students do or is that a rarity? Any suggestions (regarding courses to take etc.) for a prospective undergrad who eventually wants to do graduate study in “Area 1”?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Mit is great indeed and I am sure I would enjoy having any of the days you described, but I am in this fortunate and unfortunate situation - I have better financial aid packages from both harvard and princeton (the difference is about $6-8,000 from MIT’s) and this difference is significant. My parents say that they will manage if that’s really what I want maybe by taking an extra loan. I am not sure though that it is. I really love mit and feel this match between me and it, but I could be happy at the other places I guess. Do you believe it’s worth it? (Also, I am feeling a bit guilty for my parents…)</p>
<p>^ I don’t think the worth of MIT can be quantified by a certain established sum of money, because this answer is different from person to person. MIT is REALLY AWESOME, but to a person it may be worth 10,000 extra, but to another person, it might not be able to be worth more than 100 because of realistic practical concerns.</p>
<p>As far as I am aware, you will probably enjoy the most fun and interesting student life here out of Harvard and Princeton (I have many friends at both). The MIT culture is really unique and is truly unparalleled. But whether that is worth the extra loan is really a question that you have to answer yourself.</p>
<p>Why not contact the finaid office and let them know that you have a very strong interest in MIT and would want to attend (if you do), and ask them nicely whether it would be possible to increase your award? A telephone call never hurts.</p>
<p>EDIT: I just read your other thread about you having appealed for finaid already. I hope it turns out well for you!!</p>
<p>@arollingstone
I may be a little biased but in my opinion, every single dime is well worth for both schools(Harvard & MIT). So in short, it totally depends on your personal preference I think. I would go with MIT anyday but if you aren’t interested in science&math that much, Harvard is probably the better choice. I recommend you to consider the schools without regard to financial side, because you will most likely have undergraduate experience once, and once you graduate you can easily cover the monetary difference, however the experience can not be compensated.
That being said, I do not mean that Harvard isn’t good… It is good… But I merely mean that with its culture and history, MIT is totally unique in regards to science and engineering.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the posts. Personally I think that both schools are great for the sciences that interest me, i.e. math, physics and economics. I was more in love with mit and I have been emotionally attached to it, but now I am confused because money unfortunately matters in my case. The good part is that whatever I choose, I will have access to the courses of the other and that I have many friends in both places! :)</p>
<p>Any last-minute questions?</p>
<p>Somebody give me something good as I sit in lab on a beautiful spring Sunday.</p>
<p>I didn’t respond to Nadelle’s concerns earlier (“What if I change my mind and want to do archaeology”) since I thought that the existing answers were pretty good, but upon reflection, I thought I should give an alumnus perspective. Of the EC’s in my region, one majored in Music Composition at MIT, and now works in technology. Another majored in EECS, then went back to art school after MIT and now works as a fashion designer. Of course many of the alumni work in the fields in which they studied, but changing your mind is not something that is necessarily a problem.</p>
<p>No Questions Mollie,
Except Thank you.</p>
<p>Thank you to Mollie, Chris, Matt (if he’s ever on CC) and anyone involved in the admissions process. You have all been extremely helpful, informative, honest, cool, quirky, and the best admissions staff ever. So glad I’m gonna be able to run into a few of you on campus next year.</p>
<p>I’ve been looking at summer session classes, and it seems everything in the summer session are independent research courses and like graduate school math-refresher courses. They don’t have any mainstream courses in the summer. Is this correct?</p>
<p>Can students stay on campus during Thanksgiving/Spring break?</p>
<p>^^^ Yes, that’s correct - Harvard and BU both offer summer classes, though.</p>
<p>The dorms are open year-round, and Thanksgiving / IAP / spring break housing is included in your regular housing bill. Summer housing costs extra, but MIT does offer on-campus summer housing for students.</p>
<p>^^^ I believe 18.03 and 18.06 are offered over the summer, though people will take them at BU or Harvard simply because it’s cheaper</p>
<p>^^Yeah, 18.03 and 18.06 were offered in the summer, and I remember there were 2 or 3 classes which were titled “Advanced Mathematics for Engineers.” It was probably like Fourier transforms and other applied math–definitely not graduate level.</p>
<p>^ Yeah, taking summer classes at MIT is a terrible idea. The summer tuition is ridiculous!</p>
<p>Yes, can I take 18.03 at BU or Harvard this summer? Is anyone doing this?<br>
And would it be crazy to do Real Analysis my first semester (as a transfer)?
And is the first semester as a transfer graded normally or as pass/no record?</p>
<p>^If you are a math or engineering major, 18.03 is the easiest non-GIR you’re ever going to take at MIT. It’s probably easier than the GIR’s too. So that’s one advantage of taking it at MIT as it may boost your GPA.</p>
<p>^I don’t think this is a fair assumption to make. Many people I know found 18.03 to be extremely difficult, especially since most of them took it immediately after taking 18.02. It definitely isn’t an easy subject.</p>
<p>^ Seconding what Karen said. 18.03 was definitely harder than a lot of in-major classes I’ve taken :)</p>