<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>Right now I'm really considering MIT, but I have few reasons to sway me from other schools.</p>
<p>Just wondering what your reasons are for wanting to apply to MIT! Also, if you have been accepted or are currently attending, what made you choose MIT and how are you enjoying it?</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch!
:D</p>
<p>I’m planning to apply this fall. For me, it’s really just the general vibe there that everyone’s not only really smart, but also creative and interesting. Also, it’s in Boston, which is the best college town in the country, at least in my opinion. MIT also has a really great athletics program, combining the somewhat more relaxed attitude of a DIII school with teams that are still competitive. Visit and you’ll see what I mean! :)</p>
<p>I think what first drew me to MIT was the amount I’d hear about while reading articles that interested me. I read a lot of blogs/magazines/articles, online and in actual publications, about technological developments, inventions, research being made, etc, and MIT researchers are always in there somewhere. This is mainly what I want out of my life (to have the chance to research and create something that I myself would like to use, and help in developing technology) so I’m really drawn to MIT 
After I read up more about it and watched a couple of lectures online, it seemed that it was extremely ideal for me. They emphasize creativity, aren’t too strict in their admission process for grades (somehow, the “get a 2400 or you’re out of luck at this college” attitude just pushes me away - I don’t like it) and the professors are excellent (Can tell from the lectures), the lessons are amazing, & the research opportunities they give you in grad school are probably better than any other college around. There’s also the diverse student body which would undoubtedly open my eyes further about the world, not to mention the extremely intelligent people there, and the vibe of creativity given off.</p>
<p>I’m sure there’s probably 300 reasons I missed but that’s the gist of it 
I’ve also heard some great things from people I know who have attended/visited MIT.</p>
<p>When I found out what MIT was, I visited their website. The first thing I saw was a bunch of student-designed toys (part of 2.00B Toy Product Design). I knew from there that a school that wacky was a school I needed to attend ^.^</p>
<p>The architecture. I’m not kidding; I’m like the only person that likes how it lookD: And not just the more flambouyant buildings, the entire campus.</p>
<p>^ Hey now, I like how it looks! I love the variation, from the classical-looking buildings of main campus to the bizarrely adorable buildings like Stata.</p>
<p>I would prefer more grass, though. But Killian suffices :)</p>
<p>I love the attitude, the landscape, the place, the resources, the people, the culture, the intelligent community, and the idea that you can do stellar things while still being laid back and enjoying life.</p>
<p>Name brand.</p>
<p>psets. Yes, Psets.</p>
<p>I think the thing I like most about MIT is having people there who are like me. A lot of the people I know at MIT never felt like they fit in during high school, or any other time, but at MIT I have found people like me. I am no longer the smartest one in the class, and I have met people who are positively brilliant, and who are some of my best friends. I like the opportunities that MIT has afforded me, and the chance to explore my interests. I have discovered so much about myself at MIT and I’m not sure I could have done that anywhere else.</p>
<p>I am going to apply to MIT next year, and I think that the number one factor in my decision to apply and the reason that I really want to go there should I be accepted is the atmosphere at MIT.
After visiting MIT a couple of years back I knew that MIT was the place for me because of the interesting people that I met as I visited the campus and the vibe that came from the college.
Information from my brother who currently attends has backed up my first impression and has made me continue to want to attend MIT.
I think that I can best communicate the atmosphere at MIT as I understand it by copying a blog post from one of my brother’s friend at MIT.
Names and locations have been omitted in order to protect privacy.</p>
<p>"It is 7 AM. I have been up all night. I can finally make a real post about MIT. Here are some of MANY highlights of the past few months, not really in chronological order.</p>
<p>I was rollerblading back to [dorm] one night, at 3:30 AM after an amazing party. I had no shirt on, was wearing a black, pinstriped fedora, and my shorts were covered with chocolate frosting. As I bladed down the infinite corridor, not only were there OTHER PEOPLE in that particular hallway, but as we passed, they didn’t even give me a second look! I was not doing anything unusual. That was the exact moment I realized: MIT is where I belong.</p>
<p>[Fraternity name], the fraternity, took freshman indoor skydiving during rush. If you are not familiar, indoor skydiving is where you stand in a vertical wind tunnel, and they shoot air at you fast enough for it to lift you right off the ground, keeping you suspended. My father and I have wanted to do this for years and years, and let me just say that it was everything I’d hoped it would be. He and I are of course going to go whenever he comes up to visit.</p>
<p>My amazing roommate [roommate name] and I were coming back from somewhere and as we passed the Simmons lobby, we saw little tiny blocks of wood. A whole bucket full. We immediately set out to build a 20 foot tower, freestanding, in the middle of the room. After more than an hour of work, no glue no connectors, only blocks and stacking, we managed to get within about 6 inches of the 2-story ceiling. It was a masterpiece, a true triumph of engineering. I stood on the ground and marveled at its beauty while [Roommate] worked on the last few blocks. Then, as swift as a breath, it started shaking, swaying, oscillating…What came next can only be described as an explosion. It was absolutely glorious.</p>
<p>I had fallen behind on my reading in class, and I soon stopped reading altogether, knowing I could never catch up with it. The essay got assigned, and yet I never got time to work on any of it. I faced a terrible decision on the night before it was due: to quit the class or perform the miracle that would be necessary to pass. At 10:00 I began skimming. By midnight I had an argument. At just over an hour a page, I finally pressed submit the following morning at 9:00 AM. Sore, depleted, yet proud, I swore I would never put off an essay until the last night again. I got an A- on my essay. I did the same thing two more times.</p>
<p>I had already failed a Calculus test, and I was determined not to let it happen again. [Friend] and I studied for hours, literally HOURS for the next test, and I felt I had a good handle on the material. I confidently strode into that test, having prepared more for it than I did for the AP calc BC test, and I got my ass handed to me on a plate. I couldn’t even grasp half the questions. I have never before been so harshly beaten by math! 40% on a midterm. Second failure in a row. Pain.</p>
<p>The night before my Calculus final, my entire grade was riding upon it. Snow fell and stuck for the first time all winter. All the southerners were so cute! Their young, unfrozen eyes glistened, entranced by the soft, virgin blanket of snow. Snow fell from midnight to 2 AM. At 3 AM they begged to go outside. We went. Instead of sleeping or studying more, we ran outside and carved a giant 9A in the snowy field, along with a giant awesome-face. Then, we built a HUGE snowman. I would estimate that he weighed in total around 900 lbs. We perched him up against Simmons so he could greet people walking in and out of Simmons as they went to meet their finals. Bad News: I got and F on my calc final. Good News: It was a high enough F for me to still do well in the class. Pass/No Record is awesome.</p>
<p>I was giving a little tour of MIT when I saw through a window, a robot. These are not uncommon but I was still surprised, so I moved in to inspect. Through the window I saw a head, two arms, and a body, normal robot style. But as I peeked lower, I found not legs, but a frickin’ segway. A segway robot. Just sittin’ in a room there. My tour subjects didn’t appreciate it nearly as much as I did.</p>
<p>AND OH MY GOD I CAN’T BELIEVE I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THIS</p>
<p>It’s near the beginning of the year, I sleep with my room door open. Around 10:30 one morning, I awake to a light, gentle scratching at the top of my head as I hear a cherubic female voice sing, “[Blog author], hey [Blog author]? Wake up…” Stunned, I turn over in my sheets and see [Friend name], a chinese girl, standing beside my bed. She extends a plate on her arm and says “I just baked some cookies, would you like one?” Those of you who know me will understand why a little bit of my soul actually effervesced and ascended from my chest as a small white cloud into heaven itself. ([Friend} claims the cookie incident was not even a big deal)</p>
<p>There are hundreds more moments like these, in the next 3 weeks I will record them as I think of them. It is now 8:10 AM"</p>
<p>I hope this helps other people to fall in love with MIT as I have.</p>
<p>^ Did you repost that with permission? You left quite a few details in. I can only think of one fraternity who took people indoor skydiving, and tracking people from that frat who lived in Simmons is not difficult.</p>
<p>What I liked most was the research going on. They had all sorts of research! Our tour guide said his “research” was teaching middle school children how to build robots. The hacks are awesome as well.</p>
<p>Lol Hacks are the “best” things about MIT</p>
<p>Truth be told, I picked MIT because it was a top school for my desired major (EECS). Ironically, I am no longer a course 6 (I’m an Econ/Management double major). However, I also chose to attend MIT over, say, Stanford or CMU because of the collaborative and “work hard, play hard” spirit of the campus. Everyone here at MIT is driven, dedicated to pushing boundaries, constantly improving, and still having a blast while doing it. It’s tough, but that’s what I wanted. I wanted a challenge that could build me up to a better person, both academically and personally.</p>
<p>I like best the large collaborative culture, smart students, and the academic freedom. At MIT, more so than any other places I’ve known, we are encouraged to push ourselves to our limits, due to the nonexistent prerequisite nonsense, as well as overachieving peer group. By overachieving, I mean that people here always try to push themselve at 100% + 5-15% more.</p>