<p>I see some one asked a similiar question, but here is mine: If you're accepted by both MIT and Stanford, and your interest is in engineering. How do you make your choice? What factors do you consider in the process? Where are the major differences b/w those two? Anyone has any insight in this regard?</p>
<p>A few academic thoughts to consider
- Whether you like the system of “distribution” or “core” classes everyone takes
- Whether there is good depth and breadth of classes in your intended major
- Whether there are other majors there you like, should you change your mind on your intended major
- Where you have good access to a faculty advisor, a professor
- Attrition rates, graduation rates, grad school admission rates</p>
<p>A few non-academic thoughts that impact quality of life
Do you find
- Pleasant campus housing (if you are living on campus)
- A meal plan that seems like it would work for you (if you are living on campus)</p>
<ul>
<li>How is the freshman orientation and freshman support system?</li>
<li>What is the time and expense from door to door, home to college?</li>
<li>Do you like the weather there?</li>
<li>Can you get “off campus” if want to get away from all of the college students?</li>
<li>Is there good access to support in case you get sick?</li>
</ul>
<p>Are both schools about the same price?</p>
<p>If the choice is between MIT and Stanford, obviously one determining factor will be distance. Did you include the cost of flights and transportation to/from airports when determining COA? How about transporting your luggage: you may need to add shipping or storage fees. Do you have family nearby in case there’s a problem? There are several short breaks throughout the year (Thanksgiving, Passover &/or Easter) to consider. Where would you go during that time? (Note: not all students go home, so they might be going to friends.) Then there’s the time distance. Would it be problematic if you aren’t in the same time zone as your parents?</p>
<p>Are you okay with snow?</p>
<p>D was accepted to MIT and Stanford. Some of things she is looking at:</p>
<p>Semester vs. quarter system
Housing (they go into a lottery every year at Stanford, but not at MIT)
How well she enjoys the company of kids she met/will meet at the admit weekends
Location (college town vs. suburb)
Weather (snow vs. sun)
Specific major/ concentration that she wants to pursue
How easy/ difficult it will be if she decides to switch majors</p>
<p>Would you like to be in a big lively city or an hour or so away from one?
MIT has a very unique housing system - look into it.</p>
<p>You know you can’t really go wrong here - go with your gut!</p>
<p>depending on whether you’re an international student or URM or not</p>
<p>~ the diversity of the 2 colleges
~ if it matters to you
~ any cultural activities / clubs etc
~ how difficult are their classes
~ how far away from home
~ weather ( warm, sunny or cold )</p>
<p>Whether you like to pick oranges off a tree and eat them.</p>
<p>Another factor - take a look at the locations of each from a viewpoint of acquiring local internships and employment opportunities. Of course, you’d have excellent opportunities from either one, even on the other side of the country from it, but sometimes access to companies local to the school is good.</p>
<p>Stanford is in the heart of the Silicon Valley so there are a lot of companies in that area. There are opportunities in the area of MIT as well but it may not be quite as extensive as in the Silicon Valley. </p>
<p>Also on location - you might to stick with an area closer to where you’re from due to the familiarity and practical aspects of the travel or you might want to move to the area further so you can gain the experience of a different area.</p>
<p>Where you go to school may also ultimately influence where you get a job coming out of school, so think about where you might prefer to live, long-term. </p>
<p>Depending on what your particular interest is within engineering (which you may well not know yet) is there faculty at one of the schools doing particularly interesting work in areas of interest to you?</p>
<p>MIT has a common first year for freshmen, so that is advantageous if you’re not 100% sure what you want to concentrate on. (I don’t know if Stanford offers the same thing.)</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone sharing your ideas. Did anyone heard that life in MIT is very tough/stressful? </p>
<p>Also, MIT may bring you to the frontier of one field, but if that is not what you like after 4 years, you may get stuck in that area because the course there is a little narrow in scope?</p>
<p>Last, is there any survey that looks into how successful for average students , after graduated from MIT and Stanford for 5 years, 10 years?</p>
<p>MIT is definitely tough/stressful, and for the right person, also incredibly stimulating and fun. They say getting an education at MIT is like taking a drink of water from a firehose. It’s fairly intense. 
I know more about MIT than Stanford, but I’d be somewhat surprised if Stanford didn’t turn out to be similarly intense.</p>
<p>Look at your likely course selections for MIT and Stanford to see whether one or the other would allow you to maintain a wider scope (if that’s what you choose). Hopefully you will have opportunities at either school to figure out before you graduate if the area you’re focusing on is not actually where you want to be, and change directions. </p>
<p>As for success – how do you want to define/measure that? If you want salary data, that’s probably available. But that’s a pretty narrow definition of success. </p>
<p>Good luck with your choice! I don’t think you can make a bad choice here, so consider all the factors that are important to you, and then take the plunge!</p>
<p>If the choice really is between MIT and Stanford, one factor worth considering is that – despite the existence of other majors – MIT is very much a tech school. Stanford, although it’s known for science and engineering, is not. It’s a comprehensive university.</p>
<p>So one factor to consider is whether the student wants to be in an environment dominated by people who share his/her technical interests or with a more varied population.</p>