Hi! I’m a current MIT student. Here’s how it works at MIT. Feel free to reply back for more information:
MIT is great in terms of classes. Getting out of prereqs is pretty easy. You just talk to the professor and get permission to take their class. I’ve done this in two classes so far (this is just my first semester here!) and they approved me without a problem. I also took many concurrent enrollment classes in high school at a local university and the process was much the same. My experience has been that professors are very willing to let ambitious students take their classes, even if they’re uncertain about those students’ abilities to succeed (though they may caution against it). You’ll probably see the same at whatever university you choose to attend.
On the other hand, fulfilling general institute requirements (the general education classes at MIT) is a pain here at MIT. MIT offers advanced standing exams (ASEs) to get out of some of these, but they’re only the most introductory classes. There is only one computer science ASE, for example, and it’s basically a test of “Have you seen Python before?” If you’re goal isn’t to graduate, this isn’t really much of a problem. If you do hope to graduate, on the other hand, it’s a hard to get out of classes for which you know the material.
In terms of Alignment clubs here at MIT: I haven’t been, but I’ve heard there is an MIT/Harvard Alignment club. There’s also a branch of EA out here, and I’ve attended one meeting. I do think it’s much bigger on the west coast though.
Overall, MIT is a great place, especially for people wanting to go into math/CS. I think you’d enjoy MIT a lot, and I definitely recommend at least applying. MIT’s application is really easy—I did it all in one day (the due date for Early Action)--and rather different from other colleges’. For example, MIT doesn’t have any essays (there’s just lots of short answers), and many of their prompts are optional. I think you would be a great fit for MIT, and I’d be excited to see you come!
Hi! I’m a current MIT student. Here’s how it works at MIT. Feel free to reply back for more information:
MIT is great in terms of classes. Getting out of prereqs is pretty easy. You just talk to the professor and get permission to take their class. I’ve done this in two classes so far (this is just my first semester here!) and they approved me without a problem. I also took many concurrent enrollment classes in high school at a local university and the process was much the same. My experience has been that professors are very willing to let ambitious students take their classes, even if they’re uncertain about those students’ abilities to succeed (though they may caution against it). You’ll probably see the same at whatever university you choose to attend.
On the other hand, fulfilling general institute requirements (the general education classes at MIT) is a pain here at MIT. MIT offers advanced standing exams (ASEs) to get out of some of these, but they’re only the most introductory classes. There is only one computer science ASE, for example, and it’s basically a test of “Have you seen Python before?” If you’re goal isn’t to graduate, this isn’t really much of a problem. If you do hope to graduate, on the other hand, it’s a hard to get out of classes for which you know the material.
In terms of Alignment clubs here at MIT: I haven’t been, but I’ve heard there is an MIT/Harvard Alignment club. There’s also a branch of EA out here, and I’ve attended one meeting. I do think it’s much bigger on the west coast though.
Overall, MIT is a great place, especially for people wanting to go into math/CS. I think you’d enjoy MIT a lot, and I definitely recommend at least applying. MIT’s application is really easy—I did it all in one day (the due date for Early Action)--and rather different from other colleges’. For example, MIT doesn’t have any essays (there’s just lots of short answers), and many of their prompts are optional. I think you would be a great fit for MIT, and I’d be excited to see you come!