<p>Couldn't find one of these on here, so why are you applying to MIT???</p>
<p>because I'm a science geek!:]</p>
<p>I've been taking classes at MIT (run by undergrads- see esp.mit.edu in case you are in the area and havent heard of this program- I have found it to be really great) since the summer before tenth grade and I've never been in such a concentrated area of people with whom I can relate - like, at my school, it's like, wow, you like math, and classical music, and you took calculus in tenth grade, geez, what math are you doing now, what math exists after calculus, why would you want to do all that. At MIT the response I get is like, oh, me too! Have you read this book/heard this piece/seen this theorem? </p>
<p>All that, besides the great math and music programs, and cool culture, and UROP. :)</p>
<p>I don't even have enough time to list everything. If I get accepted, I'll post snippets of the supplemental essay I sent in explaining all the reasons I wanted to go to MIT.</p>
<p>Because MIT prepares you very well for any science- or engineering-related career, but it doesn't mean it is a school of nerds (maybe there are some, but I haven't heard of any and everybody says they are a minority) and the people there seem to be so nice and understanding (have you checked their blogs today?). Also, because they provide some cool classes in non-science related subjects and you have opportunities of getting involved in so many activities of any kind.......and I could go on forever.</p>
<p>Anyway, for a student like me who wants to focus on science and in the same time explore the world around you, MIT seems the perfect school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
...but it doesn't mean it is a school of nerds (maybe there are some, but I haven't heard of any and everybody says they are a minority) and the people there seem to be so nice and understanding (have you checked their blogs today?)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>MIT is totally a school of nerds. I'm a nerd. Some of the bloggers, certainly, are nerds. The issue is that nerds don't necessarily conform to popular perception of them. :)</p>
<p>I realize that this is sort of a pointless comment, but it always worries me to hear people say stuff like this. One of the things that makes MIT special is nerd pride. It's okay for people not to be "normal" there. I worry that people are trying to portray it as being like any other good school, but with more science and math.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I worry that people are trying to portray it as being like any other good school, but with more science and math.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Cut 'em some slack! You know well enough that a lot of people are totally insecure about what other people think of them. God forbid somebody call them a geek or nerd! No, they can't go to M.I.T. if that's what it means.</p>
<p>I want to attend a college with a focus on the maths and sciences, and be surrounded by so many people who are passionate about the same things that I am. I want to feel the thrill of late-night p-sets, of walking through the Infinite Corridor, of sitting in class to listen to lectures on differential equations and fourier analyses; to be able to meet people all over the world who share my common dream of getting an excellent education at MIT, to be able to advise future hopefuls and contribute something to the group of science nerds there; despite my lack of prodigious skills, I am ambitious, inquisitive, and quirky and would make the best use of every opportunity given to me.</p>
<p>I think it depends on your definition of nerds. I understand by that people who do not do anything else except study, lab work, research and study again. But in my experience, by nerd people usually understand any teenager passioned by science who is also good at it. I admire MIT students for doing everything a nerd does, plus going to parties, playing a sport or an instrument, tutoring or whatever.</p>
<p>Hacks = Awesome</p>
<p>Hacks are made by Students</p>
<p>So the students are pretty awesome.</p>
<p>(I also have conventional reasons but thats my major one.)</p>
<p>Why MIT? Because not everyone can go to Caltech, obviously :D</p>
<p>(Sorry, just couldn't resist :) )</p>
<p>Because MIT is one of the top for science and math, and is an elite school in general. Plus, from what i've read on their website, they've got the right idea about people and life. Ivy League schools have apparently extremely competitive student bodies, so its just a more intense form of high school. They're all looking for almost perfect scores before you can be considered "in the running", and while other parts of the application are important, scores will basically hold paramount to everything else. I just don't think they're a realistic representation of life. At MIT, kids are there not for prestige or to compete, but to learn and make things better. Collaboration and learning are their goals, which is definitely something I was looking for. They look at the whole person, not just their scores, which shows they're not searching standardized testing machines, but real people with real goals and passions, who is going there for the right reasons, not prestige.</p>
<p>Plus,
if(Massachusetts == snow && snow > 5)
{<br>
Snowboarding = "Yes!";
}
=D</p>
<p>^ yay Java <3
So who else is totally loving the idea of the Mystery Hunt? =D</p>
<p>"if(Massachusetts == snow && snow > 5)
{
Snowboarding = "Yes!";
}"</p>
<p>Assuming snow is the number of inches of snow in Massachusetts, all you needed to write was:</p>
<p>if(snow > 5)
{
SnowBoarding = "Yes!";
}</p>
<p>although even this is flawed. What you really wanted was something like:</p>
<p>SnowBoarding = (snow > 5) ? "Yes" : "No"</p>
<p>although C/C++'s string handling can get funky at times, so really you want to be working with boolean's anyway.</p>
<p>Oh man, I love the idea of Mystery Hunt in a major way.</p>
<p>Ahh I really just want to copy and paste my extra essay. I'll do it if I'm accepted. I'll see whether or not it works, first. ;)</p>
<p>haha a boolean WOULD work well, too bad the only time ive coded it was from a case study....i usually just use a flag variable or something because im THAT good =D</p>
<p>or of course, you could make a Massachusetts object.....</p>
<p>Massachusetts snow = new Massachusetts();</p>
<p>...and have a snow class inside it =P</p>
<p>Why? Because MIT is made of Win and Awesome; because MIT charges my lasers; because MIT once roundhouse kicked a kitten in the face and put it in orbit; because MIT tells dead baby jokes; because MIT is the love child of Longcat and Ceiling Cat; and because MIT is the only candidate I'll vote for on Super Tuesday.</p>
<p>why not MIT? :P</p>
<p>"or of course, you could make a Massachusetts object.....</p>
<p>Massachusetts snow = new Massachusetts();</p>
<p>...and have a snow class inside it =P"</p>
<p>Well you would have:</p>
<p>State massachusetts = new State(blah intializing stuffs here);</p>
<p>and then you would want to have
- an int member of State representing what type of precipitation (0 = none, 1 = rain, 2 = snow, 3 = pigs, etc)
- an floating point member of State representing the amount of precipitation</p>
<p>You could have a class for precipitation, and if you are really into OOP, a sub class of precipitation for rain and snow. But that's extremely unnecessary...</p>
<p>Short story: I'm being an ass
Long story: don't make these mistakes in interviews for internships! You'll get kicked out real quick! review your OOP!</p>
<p>Why would you create a Massachusetts class if there is logically supposed to only be one instance of that object? The State class makes a lot more sense =3</p>
<p><em>cough</em>course 6 hopefuls need to make an entirely new thread to debate program design<em>cough</em></p>