<p>So after months of waiting, I'm down to MIT and UPenn. =) They are the only two reaches I managed to get into, but I am happy because they are two of my top four choices. (Harvard and Stanford rejected me)</p>
<p>At the moment I'm leaning towards MIT because I fell in love with the school during the admission process. Through reading the admission blog I can really feel how much the admission officers care about all the applicants and students. =) </p>
<p>Anyway, my main problem is: I don't know what I want to major in. I think I am about 50% biology (genetics/evolutionary), 25% social science (anthropology, psychology, archaeology) and 25% pre-med. As of now, I am intending to major in biology, but will MIT be able to accommodate my change in interest if I somehow change my mind? How strong are MIT's anthropology and psychology programs? (As far as I know, MIT does not offer psychology, so I guess I am referring to Brain and Cognitive science) Also, what's MIT like for pre-meds?</p>
<p>Secondly, what is the social scene like at MIT? I was watching some videos online and it seems like MIT students party a lot. I am an introvert who's not really into partying- I prefer "quieter" activities like going to the movies and hanging out. Will I find people like me at MIT?</p>
<p>Lastly, I am lucky enough to receive a very generous financial aid offer from MIT. Provided that my family's financial circumstance does not change, will I receive a similar amount of aid every year? </p>
<p>I know I have a lot of questions, so thank you to everyone in advance!</p>
<p>If your family’s financial circumstances are the same, your financial aid offer will be the same each year. No bait and switch.</p>
<p>As far as social activities go, you can find a group of people at MIT who are into just about anything, and the beauty of the residence selection system is that, once you find those people, you can choose to live with them. On any given Friday night, my group of friends was most likely to be found in our floor lounge with take-out and a rented movie; my husband’s group of friends was most likely to be found in theirs with a hearty game of beer pong. Both groups (and many, many others) happily coexist at MIT. </p>
<p>In terms of your academic interests, MIT is a great place to be a biology major, and many of MIT’s biology majors also consider themselves pre-med. The department is very strong in genetics, but there aren’t really any labs that study evolution/organismal biology – if that’s a strong interest of yours, you could take a class or two up at Harvard. The social sciences programs are good, but most people take classes in them rather than majoring in them. On one hand, this means that majors in those departments get a huge amount of attention from professors. On the other hand, it means it’s a little unusual to graduate from MIT with a degree in anthropology.</p>
<p>Thank you for the reply Mollie. I have a few more questions.</p>
<p>How strong are MIT’s social science departments? Will I be better off if I take anthropology/psychology/archaeology classes at Harvard as well? Is it usual for MIT students to take classes at Harvard?</p>
<p>Also, will MIT prepare me well if I decide to become pre-med?</p>
<p>It’s not that MIT’s social sciences departments are weak, and I certainly don’t mean to imply that someone would be better off taking those courses at Harvard. It’s just that most people who take classes in those departments aren’t majoring in them.</p>
<p>But it’s not unusual for people to cross-register and take courses up at Harvard – it’s not something most people do, just because there’s enough at MIT to keep most people busy for four years, but it’s not unusual.</p>
<p>You can see MIT’s premed stats [url=<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/career/www/infostats/preprof.html]here[/url”>http://web.mit.edu/career/www/infostats/preprof.html]here[/url</a>]. Last year, 85% of undergrads who applied to medical school got in (although the rate the year before that was quite a bit higher, so I’m not sure which year was the outlier). MIT will certainly prepare you very well for medical school. MIT’s culture, though, is to be collaborative and caring more about learning than about grades, so “typical premeds” might not feel that they fit in. (You might also consider talking to cellardweller, whose daughter is a senior and just finished a very successful round of applications to MD programs.)</p>
<p>@Mollie:
I just committed to MIT! It’s just too hard for me to say no to opportunities like UROP. =)</p>
<p>I don’t know what a “typical pre-med” is like because I live aboard, but MIT’s collaborative culture is one of the qualities that made me apply in the first place.</p>
<p>By the way, I noticed from your other posts that you majored in biology too. Did you have any minors? I am interested in many subject areas so I’m wondering whether it is common for students to have double majors+double minors at MIT.</p>
<p>I was a double-major in biology and brain and cognitive sciences. I started out as a BCS single major, and was planning to minor in biology, but I ended up taking enough classes to actually graduate with the double. About 20% of MIT students used to double-major, but that number might be higher now, since the requirements for graduating with two majors are less stringent than they used to be. </p>
<p>It’s definitely a logistical challenge to actually complete two majors and two minors, and would generally require taking heavier courseloads than normal to fit in all the classes. But you’re free to take classes in different departments without having an official major or minor in the subject – it would be just as effective to, say, double-major and take a few classes in another department as it would to actually have the official minor designation.</p>
<p>Biology in particular is a pretty flexible major in that there are relatively few required classes and lots of room for electives and/or UROP research. In particular, a chemistry minor is pretty easy to do because many of its requirements overlap with biology requirements.</p>
<p>That’s a pretty good reason - Australia is a long plane flight from Boston. I was surprised that Mollie wasn’t bugging you to attend both admitted students’ weekends more :)</p>
I feel like I might have a few auto-responses after seven years on CC.</p>