<p>Hey everyone who has something to say,</p>
<p>Which aspects do you often think MIT is one-of-a-kind?</p>
<p>Thanks:) just making sure if I really love it:p</p>
<p>As a parent of a junior physics major at MIT, I still sometimes wince when I see the tuition bill. But here are some examples of what I love about MIT, from the perspective of the one who pays the bills:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The amazing Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP) available, even to freshmen. Not only can students engage in research with faculty, they can do this for credit or for pay. To date, my daughter has participated in three UROPs.</p></li>
<li><p>The incredible faculty. I visited the campus a couple of weeks ago and sat in on a lecture of “Disease in American Society.” It was masterclass.</p></li>
<li><p>Fantastic learning experiences. My daughter is taking Quantum Mechanics 2, and her recitation instructor is Wolfgang Ketterle, who won the Nobel Prize several years ago. Where else in the country could an undergraduate student participate in a 15-person physics discussion with a Nobel-prize-winning physicist?</p></li>
<li><p>The MIT students. She has made great friends and formed lasting relationships. </p></li>
<li><p>Boston</p></li>
</ul>
<p>And I could go on…</p>
<p>I love that every time I step on MIT’s campus, even three years after I graduated, I feel like I’ve come home. </p>
<p>I think many of the really unique features of MIT are centered around the ability of students to choose their own adventures. Students have a lot of power to choose their courses and their living situations, and that kind of freedom isn’t available at many other schools.</p>
<p>Haha. CalAlum, I was in the Disease and society class too!</p>
<p>And I have to agree that Wolfgang Ketterle is an absolutely amazing lecturer and teacher; I have gone to his physics colloquium on bose-einstein condensate, and it was stunning. His german accent is only plus, it’s fairly cool actually :D.</p>
<ul>
<li>At MIT, more than anywhere else, professors/TA’s will treat you with great regard: that means they expect a lot from you (hence the psets in classes like 8.012, 8.022), but that also means it’s a lot easier to get a UROP, because they actually have a lot of confidence in the ability of an MIT undergrad to contribute constructively. Secondly, that also means that a relationship with your PI/Grad student in your UROP is a lot more like colleague vs colleague relationship; you have more independence and opportunity to contribute originally to your UROP project, and they are more likely to accept your inputs/ideas.</li>
</ul>
<p>Faraday, I was in “Disease in American Society” on October 20th, the day of the lecture on the 19th-century cholera epidemics in New York City. Students turned in papers as they entered the lecture hall, and from their bleary-eyed expressions, I assumed that many had pulled all-nighters. The young women who sat next to me immediately slouched down and promptly fell asleep as soon as the lecture started. About midway through the lecture, the professor said, “Now take a couple of minutes and turn to your neighbor to discuss this question: What factors contributed to the spread of cholera in New York City?” To my great surprise, the young woman instantly roused herself, sat up, looked brightly at me and said, “Well, my guess is that the lack of sewage treatment must have played a role.” I was floored that she had followed the lecture, because I could have sworn that she was lightly snoring…</p>
<p>MIT students are so good at multi-tasking.
:-)</p>