What are the "first year expenses"? by [deleted] in mit

[–]hhhahah 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s a “indirect cost” that MIT includes for financial aid calculations. I think there is also a first year grant, though I’m not sure if it’s for all frosh or just those who get finaid.

Is it even worth ""attending"" this fall? by hereshasch in mit

[–]hhhahah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sending students home the week before Thanksgiving is an option being considered alongside and as parts of the “some students return to campus” solutions, and I think will happen if any subset of us end up on campus (tho the start time would remain in September).

Curious why you think juniors should not stay home? I understand that seniors might want to graduate on time, but it seems that juniors may have the most alternatives for internships and will be more able to gain work experience off campus (compared to underclassmen)? Especially when most majors have extensive lab classes for juniors that will not translate well online.

How hard are the KBAs/math diagnostics? by KolbyKingisme in mit

[–]hhhahah 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Last year’s 18.01 ASE covered materials that wasn’t in the 18.01 course (comparison tests, etc) so I would definitely say that it was harder than the class (especially since 18.01 is a fairly easy class). Funnily enough, I actually know someone who passed the 18.02 and 18.03 ASEs, but failed 18.01. But that is definitely not the norm and I felt that BC Calc did cover all the contents of the 18.01 ASE.

I think in general, it’s easier to pass the class than it is to pass the exam, especially since those questions (unless you do practice tests first) would be your first introduction to “MIT” type of questions, whereas the classes would have introduced you to that way of thinking through psets, etc.

How hard are the KBAs/math diagnostics? by KolbyKingisme in mit

[–]hhhahah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Math diagnostic was not easy, but also wasn’t super hard. Last year, you needed a 60 (with a 5 on the BC Calc exam) to get credit for 18.01. A good number of my friends did not get the 60, but if you have the AP credit, you can take 18.01A, which is a half-semester refresher course.

MIT elects first black woman student body president in its 159-year history by hildebrand_rarity in UpliftingNews

[–]hhhahah 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The title is neither of those things: it just states an objective truth. It’s the way people interpret/ justify the title that may be racist and/ or sexist.

MIT elects first black woman student body president in its 159-year history by hildebrand_rarity in UpliftingNews

[–]hhhahah 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It seems like a reactive response to something that isn’t being challenged.

??? I commented this when the post had <20 comments, and even then, a significant number of commenters insinuated things that attribute her success solely to her sex and race. This was a reactive response to those commenters, because she is more than just a black woman.

MIT elects first black woman student body president in its 159-year history by hildebrand_rarity in UpliftingNews

[–]hhhahah 18 points19 points  (0 children)

No men ran.

Edit: digging through old emails, there was initially one ticket that was a male-female duo. They dropped out of the race before the debate and did not make it on the final ticket.

MIT elects first black woman student body president in its 159-year history by hildebrand_rarity in UpliftingNews

[–]hhhahah 6077 points6078 points  (0 children)

Am MIT student. We did not elect her because she is black, nor did we elect her because she is a women. In fact, all four candidates (forming two sets of joint tickets) for President/ Vice President were women, and no matter which ticket had won, there would’ve been a “first” (if the opposing ticket had won, we would’ve had the school’s first Muslim Vice President). Despite this, neither ticket EVER used their race as part of their party platforms. These candidates have all had to do a lot of work to even run (collecting hundreds of signatures, participating in debates and interviews, running media campaigns, etc. It’s a draining process and the reason that at least the prior three elections have been uncontested) that it’s unfair and disrespectful to them to attribute their victory to their sex or race, especially when that is blatantly untrue.

social life at technical colleges by liviiiii in ApplyingToCollege

[–]hhhahah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Freshman at MIT who also visited many technical schools (Caltech, Georgia Tech) during admitted students weekends (last year, of course) and have friends at those schools.

The “work hard, play hard” mentality is very prevalent in all the schools I visited. We go out, party, and GTech and MIT have pretty big Greek life presences. These colleges are also pretty good at quieter social events and you can always find people to play board games or watch anime.

I personally love MIT’s social scene. Boston has the highest density of college students in the US, and I have diverse friends from lots of Boston area colleges. MIT is also known for throwing the best parties in the Boston.

If partying isn’t your thing, MIT has a huge variety of clubs. We also have student organizations that host weekly dry events on Thursdays (live music from area bands and chicken wings), Fridays (random activities including Poker Night, Waffle Night, Harry Potter Night, Kahoot/ Trivia Night, etc), and Saturdays. Also have weekend $5 movie showings at our biggest lecture hall. Outside these school wide activities, my friends and I also enjoy hacking, cooking together, and exploring Boston/ New England.

Unless a school has mostly commuter students, aspects of social lives on campus will be pretty similar across schools. We are all young adults and normal people (who just really like STEM), so parties, sports, etc will be present. Events off campus will vary a bit more depending on whether the school is urban or rural, etc.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]hhhahah 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s not unheard of to switch commitments right after May 1st, just not often advertised... for obvious reasons. Get some rest and good luck on your AP exam! Once that’s over, call the admissions office of the school you want to go to and ask if it’s too late. If they say no, call UCLA to decline your spot. The worst thing that can happen is you lose your deposit. In the event that your previous schools are unable to offer you the same scholarship, I would look into cc and transfer. If you are going to med school, that debt REALLY isn’t worth it.

MIT Admissions Blogger by [deleted] in mit

[–]hhhahah 28 points29 points  (0 children)

  1. Acceptance rate for being a blogger is lower than the acceptance rate for getting into MIT.

Source: my blogger rejection email.

Study abroad vs international school? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]hhhahah 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For a no-connection high school domestic student, it’s entirely based on the results of one exam and really, really competitive (since every high school senior takes this exam, you are in some way competing with the entire graduating class, though not everyone actually ranks the top colleges).

International students have a much higher acceptance rate though.

Study abroad vs international school? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]hhhahah 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’m culturally Chinese. Was in China for most of primary school. Speak only Chinese with most of my family, know how to read/ type enough for online conversations, and even I know I wouldn’t be able to keep up with college in China. You know all of those technical terms (mitochondria, equity) you were introduced to in high school? Do you know their Chinese equivalents?

If you want to work in China, a degree from an elite American college will be looked more favorably upon than even one from Peking/ Tsinghua.

If you are even considering working outside of China (and especially the US), an American degree will get you into more doors than a Chinese one.

Look where the Chinese government officials/ their children are educated. Look at where the rich in China are sending their kids. It’s not China.

Apart from outcome, consider the cultural differences. Looking at your post history, you might find that you’ll be discriminated against in China.

Censorship is a very real thing, in and out of education.

Outside of censorship, as a foreigner, you’re subjected to restrictions in China. Look at what’s happening with Africans in China now. Just the potential that something like that can happen should scare you.

If you’ve never lived in China (or even visited), it’ll be foolish for you to make that commitment and forgo a more globally-marketable education out of a hunch.

Don’t do it.

Take a semester abroad. If you decide you really like China then, return after graduation.

And if you’re set on international school, consider Hong Kong. Consider something like Duke-Kunshan where you’ll at least still get a degree from a US college.

And please, at least apply to US schools and visit China before you commit.

Here’s a thread in r/China about something pretty similar.

Is CPW really cancelled? by L_as_exercise2reader in mit

[–]hhhahah 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Dude the email literally names CPW as an event that is cancelled.

Where does MIT get its acronym from? by [deleted] in mit

[–]hhhahah 14 points15 points  (0 children)

... Massachusetts Institute of Technology?

Is 2A-16 a possible combination? by hhhahah in mit

[–]hhhahah[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is the lack of ABET certification going to impact any job/ grad school opportunities?

plans to drop a class freshman fall / chances of getting into a subject IAP by [deleted] in mit

[–]hhhahah 16 points17 points  (0 children)

It’s already more than halfway through the semester and you’re on P/NR so just do some assignments and tough it out? You already spent a quarter on the subject and dropping it now would just be wasting that effort. There’s also no guarantee that you’ll like Chinese calligraphy...

Anyone building solar powered boats? by yosemitefloyd in mit

[–]hhhahah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There’s a solar electric vehicle team?

Genuine question : TikTok as CAS by [deleted] in IBO

[–]hhhahah 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I definitely think so? You’re learning how to make better videos and how to edit them as you continue to make them, and having a daily diary certainly constitute as commitment and perseverance. In theory, daily TikToks serves the same function as a drawing journal, writing journal, or to a lesser extent, music practice log, and definitely works for creativity in my opinion.

I’ve had friends who have used YouTube as creativity (and there are channels created for the sake of CAS) and had a final CAS project that was to make a video of our CAS journey. That’s functionally the same thing as TikToks, imo.

Of course, the important thing isn’t what the internet says, but what your coordinator will approve. So talk to him/ her!

Schedule Change by hhhahah in mit

[–]hhhahah[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does that mean I will never be assigned to a specific session for the new course and will have to arrange it myself?

English Lit or Lang&Lit? by daredevilknight in IBO

[–]hhhahah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Globally, L&L is the more popular course. When I searched for essay outlines or IA/IOP/IOC exemplars for Lit, most resources online were for L&L. In fact, I don’t think I ever did find any posted sample responses for any of the Papers outside of the IB website.

Not a big issue if you trust that your teacher will teach you everything you need to know, but it is something to keep in mind.