<p>Everyone has the same favorite things (great teachers, peers, research etc.) and everyone complains about the work but generally seems to like it. But I think you can learn more by asking people the worst things about a school.</p>
<p>I know for Johns Hopkins I've heard lots of complaints that grad students teach too many classes. That kind of thing. Anyone?</p>
<p>I’m assuming that this is directed at MIT students/alumni, correct?</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/783382-what-some-negatives-mit.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/783382-what-some-negatives-mit.html</a></p>
<p>Go have a field day. I think there’s more if you search for it, this topic has come up a few times in the past.</p>
<p>I like this question. I’ll try to keep my points brief, with the disclaimer that other students may have had vastly different experiences.</p>
<p>MIT has a very large and complicated administration at the helm of the university. It’s sometimes difficult for students to effectively communicate with the people in charge, and even if the people in charge are really trying to help students, it’s not always easy. Consequently, it can often feel like the administration is “not listening” to the students, especially in the realm of student life (dining, athletics, etc.), but even sometimes in the world of academic policy. Similarly, there is a continuing trend of hiring new administration officials who have absolutely no previous experience at MIT. It is sometimes difficult for these people to understand the MIT culture, and there policy choices sometimes reflect that lack of understanding.</p>
<p>Some people at MIT think they’re more like what an MIT student “should” be than other people who are just as real and legitimate students. When it comes with student-administration interactions, those kinds of people tend to be the louder, more obnoxious ones. They can sometimes convince the administration that a minority viewpoint is a majority viewpoint, and that’s usually not good when the administration needs to decide on important policy. </p>
<p>I think there’s enormous pressure to take on lots of classes and activities and research when it’s really unhealthy for some people. Everyone is trying to be really “hard core” and I get the sense that the mentality is, “If you’re not super-busy all the time, you’re doing something wrong.” Students should be free to do as much or as little (within the bounds of reason) as they want, and there shouldn’t be social coercion to push those limits to unhealthy degrees.</p>
<p>Up-and-coming faculty members face much more pressure to do outstanding research than to be outstanding teachers. Assistant/associate professors without tenure who turn out to be great professors but whose research doesn’t make the cut are denied tenure and leave MIT. You can read about this history of this process and get some current perspectives on it from this article in The Tech: [Unraveling</a> tenure at MIT - The Tech](<a href=“http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N28/tenure.html]Unraveling”>http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N28/tenure.html)
This phenomenon is not specific to MIT, but it’s still something that many students are unhappy about.</p>
<p>The Greek system can be overwhelming for many freshmen. In many ways, Rush is designed to convince new students they’re ready to make choices that they may not be comfortable making. Fraternities and sororities can exert a lot of social pressure on freshmen (even if they mean well!) to “Go Greek.” There doesn’t seem to be enough balancing pressure from the non-Greek people (a slight majority of campus) to help frosh realize that they shouldn’t rush into a decision to pledge just because a lot of other people are doing it.</p>
<p>^ Amen on the “hard core” ideology. </p>
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<p>It frequently seems like the majority of students don’t care either way about where an issue may land. If the goal is to make the largest amount of people happy, going with what a large minority wants, and the majority doesn’t care about, seems like a good decision. Of course, there are other considerations, but the point is that I don’t fault the vocal minority if the majority doesn’t care enough to say much.</p>
<p>Though the majority could very well have the opposite views of that very vocal minority. But I don’t really hear about those views if they do exist, and don’t know where to look.</p>
<p>I suppose the most useful thing would be the administration taking a campus-wide vote on student opinion.</p>
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<p>Urg, this. I didn’t feel pressure to join an FSILG when I arrived at MIT, but later on I became curious and checked them out. For many, there’s pressure to make a decision very quickly, and some do push the envelope. Though I will emphasize that this is “some”, not all.</p>
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<p>I will note that simply because the research is outstanding doesn’t make all the teachers bad. Being a good researcher will not make you a good teacher - but being a good researcher will also not make you a bad teacher. We could almost certainly have better teaching if the focus was shifted a little, but I just want to make it clear that it’s not an all-or-nothing case, and our faculty is quite good IME.</p>
<p>(Not saying that you were saying otherwise, skysk, I just want to clarify that teaching being a secondary-ish focus doesn’t make the teaching horrible ^.^)</p>
<p>Forgive me if I’m ignorant here, but what is meant, exactly, in the following:
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<p>The Greek system and “Go Greek” mean…?</p>
<p>^ The Greek system refers to fraternities and sororities, and “going Greek” refers to joining a fraternity and sorority :)</p>
<p>It has been over 3 decades since I graduated from MIT. A lot has changed since then so I can’t comment on much of the current state of the school. I can say that while I was in school the concept of Hell and MIT weren’t much different. It can be a real academic pressure cooker. After being on the top of my high school class in math and science (but not English) I discovered that I was only average at MIT. Talk about a blow to one’s ego and somewhat hard to deal with. Sports were/are a great relaxer from the grind of the classes.</p>
<p>After the afore mentioned passage of time, being only average wasn’t so bad. You’re still pretty smart and I learned a few new sports. So, if that is the only thing I can say bad about the place, it isn’t so bad after all. Actually, I’ve probably forgotten all the bad stuff by this time. At this point I only have good memories about my time there. </p>
<p>So my point. Whatever you don’t like about MIT at the time, it probably isn’t really that bad. It has a lot to offer. I got involved in undergraduate research and, in general, had a much more positive experience than my friends that didn’t. So, if you go there (or any other school); get involved.</p>
<p>Interesting reading: The Idea Factory: Learning to think at M.I.T. by Pepper White. the first third of the book reads almost like a sales brochure for MIT, then it turns.</p>
<p>My sort-of-coy but completely serious answer to this has always been:</p>
<p>MIT is very intense. This is both the best and worst thing about it.</p>
<p>that i have to wear pants to work </p>
<p>WHY WILL NO ONE ACCEPT MY PERIOD-PIECE DANISH PANTALOONS???</p>
<p>…that it has such a lame literary magazine.</p>
<p>And an admission officer who wants to wear period piece Danish pantaloons to work.</p>
<p>(^I kid I kid :P)</p>
<p>The acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Complete and utter lack of a decent performing space (for theatre, dance, etc.) And no, Kresge does not count; it’s a freaking round stage with no proper curtains. Little Kresge doesn’t count either; as the name implies, it’s tiny. La Sala is not a stage. Walker can’t have proper lighting. And Killian is about as large as my living room.</p>
<p>Oh, and the fact that booking rooms is usually impossible. Kresge is usually booked 1-2 years before the event actually occurs, which is insane.</p>
<p>Keep in mind this is coming from a dance team captain, though ;)</p>