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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is renowned for its engineering, science, and Mathematics departments. Academic programs at MIT feature 65 unique research centers, and faculty and students currently collaborate with around 700 companies on projects ranging from computational science to gender studies. 鈥淭he administration鈥檚 attitude toward students is one of respect. As soon as you come on campus, you are bombarded with choices,鈥� including 鈥渞esearch opportunities for undergrads with some of the nation鈥檚 leading professors.鈥� MIT鈥檚 鈥渁mazing collection of creative minds鈥� encourages students to problem-solve and think critically. A chemical engineering major elaborates: 鈥淢IT is different from many schools in that its goal is not to teach you specific facts in each subject. MIT teaches you how to think, not about opinions but about problem-solving. Facts and memorization are useless unless you know how to approach a tough problem.鈥� As expected, MIT has 鈥渆xcellent teachers who make lectures fun and exciting.鈥� One student says that professors 鈥渕ake a serious effort to make the material they teach interesting by throwing in jokes and cool demonstrations.鈥� While the academic challenges students face 鈥渄efinitely push [you] beyond your comfort level,鈥� students laud MIT as 鈥渢he ultimate place for information overload, endless possibilities, and expanding your horizons.鈥�

鈥淐ontrary to MIT鈥檚 stereotype, most MIT students are not geeks who study all the time and have no social skills,鈥� explains one student. 鈥淭he majority of the students here are actually quite 鈥榥ormal.鈥欌�� Many fellow students agree: 鈥淢ost students do have some form of 鈥榥erdiness鈥欌�� (like telling nerdy jokes, being an avid fan of Star Wars, etc.),鈥� but the 鈥渟tereotypical student [who] looks techy...only represents about 25 percent of the school.鈥� Others concur, saying that 鈥渢here actually isn鈥檛 one typical student at MIT.鈥� As one student elaborates, MIT has all types: 鈥渕ultiple-sport standouts, political activists, fraternity and sorority members, hippies, clean-cut business types, LARPers, hackers, musicians, and artisans.鈥� Adding that 鈥渘ot everyone relates to everyone else, but most people get along, and it鈥檚 almost a guarantee that you鈥檒l fit in somewhere.鈥� As one undergrad sums up, 鈥淭he one thing students all have in common is that they are insanely smart and love to learn. Pretty much anyone can find the perfect group of friends to hang out with at MIT.鈥�

MIT students have 鈥渁ccess to an amazing number of resources, both academic and recreational.鈥� Students also report that 鈥渢here鈥檚 always time for extracurricular activities or just relaxing. And students occasionally find time to 鈥減ull a hack,鈥� or an elaborate practical joke鈥攑resumably to counteract academic stress. One such hack featured 鈥渢he life-size Wright brothers鈥� plane that appeared on top of the Great Dome for the one-hundredth anniversary of flight.鈥� Undergrads say that 鈥淢IT has great parties鈥攁 lot of Wellesley, Harvard, and BU students come to them鈥� but also that 鈥渢here are tons of things to do other than party鈥� here. That includes 鈥渆njoying the largest collection of science fiction novels in the United States at the MIT Science Fiction Library鈥� as well as 鈥渕ovies, shopping, museums, and plays...[and] great restaurants only [blocks] away from campus, too.鈥� On campus and off, the MIT experience builds a strong sense of unity. Ask any 鈥淢IT alumni where they went to college, most will immediately stick out their hand and show you their 鈥榖rass rat鈥� (the MIT ring).鈥�

MIT鈥檚 Career Advising and Professional Development (CAPD) office seeks to empower students and alumni on their career paths. A few offerings (among many) include career counseling and mock interviews, study abroad informational sessions, and the ability to request an in-person or virtual workshop specific to a student group or academic department. The CAPD has a dedicated Employer Relations Team to help facilitate connections with alumni and potential employers. Students definitely benefit from the rock-solid alumni network, and the surrounding areas of Cambridge and Boston are filled with tech and research companies, offering students abundant opportunities for networking and internships. MIT also hosts frequent career fairs to connect undergrads with potential employers. Alumni who visited PayScale.com reported median starting salaries of $103,000, and 58 percent felt that they do meaningful work.