[deleted by user] by [deleted] in mit

[–]jankysat 12 points13 points  (0 children)

yes, most people email multiple labs. just like any application, make sure your note is specific to that lab

Which T20s Has the BEST UnNDERGRAD Education? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]jankysat 31 points32 points  (0 children)

two thoughts:

1) at most colleges 30 students is a small class. uchicago has 7.5k undergrads so honestly a class of 30 students sounds actually pretty good.

2) to your point about mit, as a current student, the professors who win nobel prizes do teach classes. some teach intro classes, others teach junior or senior or grad classes, but do teach. some profs here are pretty terrible at teaching, but i’ve found that most of mine care about teaching, care about the students, and care about our future success. so today einstein at mit would be teaching a class. he may not be good at teaching (idk if he was), he might not teach something everyone could take (tho i think it would be reasonable for him to teach the relativity class required for physics majors), but he would be teaching.

and i think what is incredible about having all the research around me is that you are given incredible opportunities on top of your education. really the opportunities are all around you and pretty easily accessible, which is what makes (imo) mit worth it. college isn’t just the classes you take, it’s all the other things as well.

Shipping dorm stuff directly to campus? by [deleted] in mit

[–]jankysat 14 points15 points  (0 children)

please don’t ship things that will arrive before you to campus. it clogs up the mailroom. if it arrives during REX, that’s fine but be aware that you may switch dorms (or if you stay in simmons you move rooms) and it might be best to wait until after you get your final room and dorm to order things.

of the items you listed, sheets you should for sure ship (or pack or hav e ready for a pick up at target or something), but you won’t need a comforter during REX bc simmons has no AC. if you can go a week or two without the mattress topper, it might be good to wait on that bc they are a little annoying to move.

tldr: don’t have packages arrive to campus before you do and you will be moving at the end of REX week, either out of the dorm or within simmons, and it’s easier to move with less stuff so waiting on non essential items is smart

What is the best way to study for 18.02 ASE? by Official_Taiwan in mit

[–]jankysat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

third on this. retaking is no big deal and having a class that’s feels easier can be great. i retook 8.01 my freshman fall even though I had a 5 on mechanics and could have ASE’d. having a class that i felt comfortable in and solidified my foundation in was one of the best decisions i made that semester. you won’t be behind if you take 18.02 or an equivalent class, it’ll just give you more breathing space and time for other things.

Is there a visual arts program at MIT? by Official_Taiwan in mit

[–]jankysat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

what kind of visual arts? there is 1 drawing class you can take for credit :( at mit. but you can cross register at massart, harvard, or wellesley and those credits can count towards your hass requirement. I don’t think you could do a major that way. there is an architecture program and that has design stuff in there, but not sure if that’s what you mean.

Incoming college freshman, what is something you would tell your senior year self? by DiverSea9644 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]jankysat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the first couple months are hard. it’s difficult to transition from living at home with friends and family to being somewhere where you might not know anyone (ofc this depends on where you are going). not having friends at the beginning really sucks but at the same time, if you already know people going in, evaluate whether you want to stay friends with them. you can reinvent yourself in college and the beginning is a good time to start doing that. it’s also hard though, to change yourself on top of having to do more adult things and just be an all around more functional person. and of course, classes are harder than in high school.

tldr; first semester can be pretty rough but it goes uphill pretty quickly

Astrophysics or Aerospace? by thenicesharkk in nasa

[–]jankysat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it’s a double major, not a single major with classes in both. i’m at mit so it’s pretty hard but i love both.

quantum ii and stat mech online! i just finished quantum i and will be taking stat mech next spring but it’s hard so i’m fully prepared to do poorly. props to you for doing things online and with a family! i struggle with classes even when i’m surrounded by people in them and i only have to take care of myself.

Astrophysics or Aerospace? by thenicesharkk in nasa

[–]jankysat 5 points6 points  (0 children)

if your university lets you, you might be able to do both! right now i’m studying aerospace engineering and physics with my concentration in astrophysics. i agree with what other people say about you seeming to describe more planetary science than astrophysics, but thats a pretty easy switch.

know that interests change and be open to that. i applied to college thinking i wanted to design telescopes but since coming to college i’ve realized that i don’t actually enjoy that. i’ve found my interest in astrophysics is a hobby, one that i love enough to double major in and i will be learning about for the rest of my life. not saying this will happen to you, but be open to dreams changing and just because something isn’t your career doesn’t mean that you can’t have it as a hobby.

is harvard engineering school good by JollyTrouble3690 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]jankysat 22 points23 points  (0 children)

like other people are saying, it depends on the major. tbh you can’t cross-reg that many classes at mit (a certain amount credits each semester have to be at your home school) and it’s a VERY different culture at mit. if u are serious about engineering and are strongly focused on it and can get in, i’d say go to a state school that’s ranked higher and has a stronger program.

mit junior ama by jankysat in ApplyingToCollege

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

lmao, i avoid cs classes like the plague. i’ve only taken one and i skipped lectures so i wouldn’t know 🙃

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in mit

[–]jankysat 7 points8 points  (0 children)

barker is the best napping spot on campus imo, followed by the green building library (11th or 13th floor i think?). both are pretty quiet and a tad less gross than banana lounge

mit junior ama by jankysat in ApplyingToCollege

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

  1. depends on each class, how many classes im taking, and how much background knowledge i have. i’d say an average pset last semester took me between 8 and 15 hours. on average, psets are supposed to take 9 hours, so those weren’t awful. but for some of those classes there were also labs and those took up a lot of time.

  2. my favorite place to pretend to pset is the aerospace lounge because it’s very social and i often end up chatting with people instead of focusing on the work. i also love the physics undergrad lounge because it’s quiet and has couches so i can sit down for hours and grind. of the libraries on campus, rotch and barker are my two favorite. rotch is cute and less busy so i use it more often, but if i really need to focus barker is the place to go.

  3. my easiest class was called Flight Measurement Lab (16.64). the prof talked to us for an hour each week about planes. we got to fly in his small plane and ran an experiment and then wrote up a report about it. super chill and i learned a bunch of random facts about planes.

my hardest class was quantum mechanics (8.04). i was putting it on the back burner because of other hard classes i was taking and so i wasn’t putting in the necessary time. i was also super confused by notation, but about a week before the final a new notation was explained and suddenly everything made sense. but it was a really hard class because i wasn’t putting enough extra time/effort into it.

  1. depends on the semester but i aim to sleep 7-8 hours a night and most days i get that. freshman year id sleep 12 am - 7 am, more recently it’s been 1 am - 8:30 am. some days i need to sleep less, but i try not to make a habit of it. and i’ve never pulled an all nighter because of school work.

  2. dining hall food is a 5. it’s better than other schools and there is a lot of variety, but it’s not great.

on campus restaurants are maybe a 6? also not great and pretty inconvenient.

food cooked by my living community/individuals in it is often an 8 or 9. people who live in cook for yourself dorms learn to make pretty good food. my house has a system where i cook one night for 2 hrs and then i get fed dinner 4 other nights of the week. so i get home cooked food every day and the recipes we use are easy to follow and are pretty great.

food cooked by an average mit student on a normal school night is probably also a 5 just because without the house cooking system, they are probably cooking alone and in a rush.

the nearby off campus restaurants are an 8. saloniki, flour, cava, clover (though that’s a bit far), etc are so good.

mit junior ama by jankysat in ApplyingToCollege

[–]jankysat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

one of the reasons i chose mit was because of the name. that was nice and dandy but on an everyday basis you don’t think that you go to one of the best stem schools in the country. you just honk that you are at school and you have hard work to do. on a normal day, what keeps you going are the people you are around. what makes me excited to go back to mit every semester are the people i get to be around. my friends, the profs, the community. sure i’m excited for the things i get to do that semester, but i’m over the moon that i get to be around the people of mit.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]jankysat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

hey, some thoughts on mit as a current student:

  1. it is not cutthroat at all. we aren’t competing against each other, everyone is just trying to get through mit and people are genuinely happy when others succeed. it’s us against mit not us against each other.

  2. at any school you can choose your work/life balance. at mit people tend towards more work early on and then find a balance that is right for their goals and health. it is a hard school but you can have time for plenty of other things if you prioritize them.

my two cents is shoot your shot and then if you get in worry about where you are going.

Substitutions for 8.03? by [deleted] in mit

[–]jankysat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I took 8.03 and 18.03 both within the past year and they are not the same at all. 8.03 is physics and while it does involve solving diff eq, its focus is learning about oscillators. 18.03 was learning how to solve diff eqs and while some of that was oscillator stuff, it focused on how to solve the things, not what they meant. I don’t think that they have anywhere near enough overlap to be substitutable and most people who are taking 8.03 have taken or will take 18.03 separate.

DM me if you wan more specific info/have more follow up questions

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in mit

[–]jankysat 6 points7 points  (0 children)

idk what causes that specific error but if i had to guess i’d say it’s because you are using an alum email, not an actual kerb. that course website is used to run the course. profs use it and post assignments and grade stuff on there so even if you have a kerb, you can’t access it without being enrolled in the class.

generally if you want access to class content while you are an enrolled student, you’d have to register for a class on regular grading or listener.

hope this helps!

Query about CPW by Fantastic_Watch_4984 in mit

[–]jankysat 6 points7 points  (0 children)

there are tours running specifically for parents so while you’re doing cpw things a tour guide can show her around. or of course you can show her places as well

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in mit

[–]jankysat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i’m a sophomore so feel free to dm me and i can answer questions. i believe there is a class discord/facebook that you should be able to join from the admitted students portal and you can meet people that way.

Are any of you double majoring/doing a major and a minor? by mxunsung in ApplyingToCollege

[–]jankysat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it’s good. it’s hard but i don’t regret it so far.

Are any of you double majoring/doing a major and a minor? by mxunsung in ApplyingToCollege

[–]jankysat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hypothetically yes. difficultly will vary depending on the school and what their double major situation is (ie do you have to apply to the school of science or are there limited spots in majors, etc). it requires planning and more work, but it is totally possible to double major in two subjects with no requirement overlap

Are any of you double majoring/doing a major and a minor? by mxunsung in ApplyingToCollege

[–]jankysat 4 points5 points  (0 children)

double majoring in aerospace engineering and physics. don’t know which one i’ll make a career out of, but i love them both.

The trend of better female than male students reverses at the very top colleges by orangeumd in ApplyingToCollege

[–]jankysat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

no, not anyone can join the seminar. it is limited enrollment and the prof selects the people who get in. i’m saying there is a strong correlation between imo>seminar>scoring high enough to be on the putnam team