<p>I did graduate work at MIT and can tell you a few things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>There isn’t a university in the world that works you harder than MIT. It is the ultimate academic challenge and you will not breeze through your courses. Your ego will take a beating. Boston is, relatively speaking, not a fun city - at all. </p></li>
<li><p>There isn’t a university brand in the world that has a better reputation for the intelligence of its graduates. Once you attend MIT, people assume you are a genius until you prove otherwise. </p></li>
<li><p>You WILL be better prepared, knowledge/experience wise, than your counterparts at Ivy League universities. </p></li>
<li><p>The campus culture is powerful, but quirky. For an example, see here:[IHTFP</a> Hack Gallery: Chronology](<a href=“http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/]IHTFP”>IHTFP Hack Gallery: Chronology)</p></li>
<li><p>MIT and Harvard cross list - so you can take just about any class you want at Harvard, for MIT credit, without an hassle and you will often have Harvard students in your upper level courses. </p></li>
<li><p>The student body is not physically attractive. At all.</p></li>
</ol>