collegealum314

"Then, he went to an admission session and heard the Dean talk about MIT wanting people who loved to do things with their hands, manes as well as mens."

I don't know why she said that. A lot of engineering fields don't really require you to work with your hands anyway, at least not any more than in science.

I think what she meant to say was that they look for some people who like to do things with their hands.

marite

She may have meant it. But that was not what she said. We're not diviners.

lalaloo6

You bring up an interesting point about the engineering culture being a huge difference. I think she meant literally doing things with one's hands and figuratively doing the grunt work of accomplishing something tangible in the world. At an admitted students lunch at MIT, an MIT grad who I believe had also spent time at Harvard said that at MIT, the focus is more on "doing something", whereas at Harvard, the focus is more on "being someone." Somebody at Harvard said something similar, though it was more on the lines of MIT giving one the chance to "play around" in different fields and Harvard making one into a very "well-rounded" scholar. What would you guys say on this line? It sounds a little bit stereotypical to me; how accurate would you say this image of Harvard's focus vs. MIT's focus actually is? (Specifically on the Harvard side since I know a lot about MIT already)

marite

This difference may have to do with the predominant academic culture. At Harvard, economics and government are two of the most popular departments . I suspect that many, though by no means all, of the students in these departments have ambitions to "be someone." The type of activities they are involved in probably has less to do with "building something" than at MIT. But many are involved in the performing arts, community service (huge at Harvard), sports, etc... This is what makes Harvard different from MIT.
As for playing around in different fields, I believe that MIT is currently trying to be more multidisciplinary, linking engineering and science to various other disciplines and in particular entrepreneurship. At Harvard it is easy to change majors but there is much less focus on entrepreneurship and practical applications. I don't know, however, how these differences affect the culture of the math departments at H and MIT.

tokenadult

What's a primary source for this information?

collegealum314

re post #19

MIT culture has always emphasized entrepeneurship.

marite

lalaloo6:

I see from another thread that you are interested in math and music. I suggest you google Prof. Noam Elkies and "Sarah Eggleston Harvard" Sarah was featured in the Gazette when she graduated in 07. She was very involved in the Harvard Early Music Ensemble.

The Visionary

I don't think Bill Gates skipped all his undergrad classes to go to grad classes! That's a big lie! Where are your sources for saying so?