Rachael
The best thing about MIT is the opportunities that arises from being an MIT student. Being an MIT student opens doors to places you would never imagine, but graduating from MIT means the sky is the limit. One thing I would change about MIT is the cliques or groups that people tend to form. Even within the Black community at MIT, there is a separation between African-Americans, Carribeans, and Africans. I think there is strength in numbers and expanding our network of students enables us to know who we can go to for help and support when we are struggling with various subjects and problems. I think MIT is the right size. When you tell people you go to MIT, you can get different reactions depending on the person. Some people, mostly adults are surprised and impressed. Some are doubtful, but most are really impressed. When you tell a student from another school, they are also usually surprised. Although, sometimes people are under the impression that MIT students think they're better than everyone else, which at least I don't believe. While MIT is in Cambridge, which also where Harvard is, it is only across a bridge into Boston where there are many, many colleges. I would definitely say Boston is a college town. I think MIT administration is good. Students are very independent and aren't given many rules or restrictions , so in that sense it is nice not to have strict administration. There is school pride in the sense that everyone is proud to be and MIT student. It's especially nice when you go out to other places. There are many things unusual about MIT. People make liquid nitrogen ice cream, make DNA strands in through the middle of a stairwell, play tetris on buildings, and drive robots through hallways. There are plenty of unusual things here.
Ryan
Best thing - surrounded by amazing people
1 thing I'd change - segregation of races in living groups
size just right
People are impressed/surprised
In my dorm
College down yes
administration? I don't notice them
I don't know controversy
People have love/hate relationships with this school
MIT is full of smart people, but they're pretty humble
I'll always remember orientation
Saferide isn't on time or kicks people off...I'm pretty happy (other than the work)
Carolina
The best thing about MIT is the huge diversity of people here. There are students here from all over the world and it's a learning experience to get to know about how other students work and live when they're not from your big city / small town. Also, the professors are pretty a-ma-zing here. They definitely live up to the hype and then some. Also another plus: the most competitive thing about MIT is getting in. Once you're in, everyone is so helpful and willing to help you with whatever problem (homework or real life) may come up.
Thing I'd change? I think it'd be great if we had a "reading period" to prep for finals, like Harvard does. It would make it less stressful for sure. But then again, I like getting out earlier, and I would probably blow all of that gained time doing something not related to studying for finals. So I would change the shuttle times. It gets unreliable sometimes and it makes me late for class. Pretty annoying.
This school isn't huge. I personally think it's a great size. I know a good amount of people in my class (year), and it never feels overwhelming. But there's enough people to where you can blend in the crowd, if that's your thing too. Great size.
When I say I go to MIT, I get the "omG you LIEZ" response. Then I get the "whoa, so that must mean you're a genius" response. I don't lie and I'm no genius, there's still tons left for me to learn. MIT keeps whatever ego I might have in severe check. Just as soon as it starts to creep out, here comes a test grade, or here comes an impossible problem set. So while responses are usually very flattering and all, and it does make me proud, I don't let it get to my head. I've done very well here so far with this mentality, and by the off-chance that you're reading this and you're a valedictorian at your high school, I'll tell you this now to save you tears later. You being valedictorian at your high school means crap here. You pulling straight A's in every class you ever took means even more crap here. You'll be overwhelmed like you've never been before. You'll have to (gasp!) ask for help with your work. No one will care how many AP's you took in high school. You'll more than likely fail a test or two (if you're lucky, only a test or two) before you graduate. Guaranteed. But how do you respond when you do? That's the most telling part of whether or not you belong here. I wasn't a valedictorian at my high school, but my high school was tops in the state and I was above average there. It's translated very well to MIT. My transcript would prove that easily - high school and college. Advice: come in with a clean slate and a humble attitude, and with a killer work ethic, and you'll be amazing. It's not impossible to get A's here. Hard, sure, but not impossible.
Most of my time on campus I'm just hanging out in my dorm working there. Or I'm in my department's lounge working with other aero/astro masochis-- erm, students. :)
If you looked up "college town" in the dictionary (wouldn't that be something?) you would probably find a miniature Boston map next to it. Boston decreases by a quarter million in population over the summer. I'll leave that explanation up to you.
MIT's administration is very good in my opinion. They have to deal with so much crap, and yet they do it pretty seamlessly for the most part. When I came back for my sophomore year, I had changed my mind about my major, and the switch wasn't hard at all. It's all very smooth for the most part, never had a problem.
The biggest recent controversy here?... Probably the thing with Marilee Jones last year. There was a lot of disappointment with how that all went down, and a lot of people I knew were sad that MIT had to let her go. But such is life sometimes...
School pride, it depends. I think we're all proud to be here, but with sports? Personally I don't think our sports are advertised that well. I never know when there are any games. Makes it hard to "show off" my school pride. But you definitely see a lot of MIT gear being worn all the time. That has to count for something, right?
Something unusual about MIT: the architecture. Some of it is just absolutely awesome (the Dome in particular is a terrific sight on a beautiful day, especially across Memorial Drive). Some of it is weird (Simmons, Stata, Kresge). But at least we keep it interesting, and we don't have boring little red brick buildings that are all indistinguishable from each other... cough, Harvard, cough. :)
One experience I'll always remember: frat party hopping with my girls freshman year. Great times. Also, nothing spells bonding like working until 5-6 in the morning on a problem set, then taking a stroll at that time to go turn it in (and still seeing some people up doing who knows what).
Most frequent student complaints? Having to write essays for humanities classes. Well, what do you expect? We're freaking MIT students. Much love for those majoring in humanities though. You guys have all my respect.
Shawn
The best thing about MIT is the tremendous amount of resources that being an MIT student brings. Last year, I had a nobel laurate lecturer in my introductory physics class and a professional witness for my class on New Orleans. As a freshman, I had the opportunity to participate in a UROP (Undergraduate Research on Oppurtunities) in my department (Brain and Cognitive Sciences).
If I could change one thing about MIT, I would improve campus dining. Currently, the few dorms that have dining on-campus only serve dinner and that is basically between 5 to 8PM. When the dining halls are not open, there are few options in the Student Center. Although the Student Center recently improved to add Subway, the quality of the food is nowhere near where it should be.
MIT is the perfect size. The entire campus is accessible via the various shuttles.
When you tell people you go to MIT, people either automatically think taht you are some sort of super genious or the classic... "MIT... what's that..... Michigan Institute of Technology..... Oh... So It's like FIT."
I spend most of my time in my dorm, either working on psets or just hanging out with my friends.
The Boston/Cambridge area is definitely a college town with schools such as Harvard College, Boston University and Boston College in the area.
MIT's administration is really good. The deans are available to counsel and talk to students.
The biggest most recent controversy was the incident with Professor Shirley. There was a lot of controversy as to the reason why he was denied tenure from MIT.Some say the incident was race related.
There is a lot of school pride, mainly around academics and just love for the school. I think that everyone basically has a love-hate relationship with MIT. A big thing on campus is IHTFP, which doubles as I have truly found paradise and I Hate this F-ing Place. People generally do not have pride in athletics.
One unusual thing about MIT is all the different types of people that are at MIT. There are two main cultures: East Campus and West Campus. In East Campus, you can do everything from building a roller coaster to having a steer roast. West Campus, is where the more traditional college students stay. In addition, each dorm on West Campus has its own individual culture.
One experience I will always remember is getting kicked off the Saferide with my friends because we were being too loud.
The most frequent student complaints center around campus dining.