Harvard and MIT
I went to visit Harvard and MIT today.Harvard - The campus is GORGEOUS. I went during freshman year, and it's even more beautiful with the snow. That said, I did not like the vibe they gave off. During the admissions talk, they gave off the feel that they didn't really care. It was almost if they were saying, "Look. We can say whatever you want, you'll apply no matter what." Also, they are WAY too proud of how many people they reject. When admissions officers memorize the exact number of people they reject while only knowing approximately how many they accepted, you know you have a problem. They do have a lot of money though, which equates to a lot of opportunity. I really got the feeling that you could do almost anything you wanted and the university would support you. That's definitely very nice. I don't know whether I want to apply. This definitely still needs some thought.
MIT - The campus is not what one would call beautiful. I do, however, like the environment. Like caltech, it is extremely science oriented (duh) and it has the nerd/hacker culture. I'm not sure how the humanities teachers are (which I do care about), but they have Noam Chompsky, a very surprising revelation. So if, on the off chance, I get into MIT, I'm definitely taking some poli-sci classes. Definitely one of my top choices though.
posted by Edward Young @ 4:33 PM
4 Comments:
Harvard...I didn't like the campus, because it was too square for me. I did like the library, because it was bigger than GIGANTIC.
really? @ my harvard info session, the people seemed really warm and friendly.
what i hear from castillejans who went to harvard is that, in general, a lot of kids at harvard don't work as hard as you'd think they would. they say that there's this kind of ennui based from the thought: "oh, well, i got into harvard, i've got everything set..." and the grade inflation is crazy, so i hear. that's what people have told me, anyway. but whooo knows.
noam chomsky! i remember reading up on a lot of his stuff for LD. good times. that'd be cool if you were able to meet him.
honestly, u can't go wrong with either school. if one school has classes that the other one doesn't, you can always cross-register. i have some friends that are doing that and they might be able to provide more insight into it if you're interested.
Hey ed, found your blog through Arun's. A bit on the admin tour; my friends does it, and she says one of many questions they do get, surprisingly, is how many we reject. So i guess they've worked that into the tour. After all, there is an unhealthy obsession with "admit rate."
And yes, with the huge purse, hehe, it means students benefit. I hope you apply, if you got any questions, drop me a line. College apps is quite a process; I'm more than happy to help with any app, any college.
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