Massachusetts Institute of Technology Visit Report by crazy mom

Visit Activities:

Information Session: Yes - This was not helpful. Admissions officer on her last day was boring. 40 junior high students took up a bunch of seats leaving middle aged parents of high school seniors sitting on the floor.

Campus Tour: Yes - Great tour guide and wonderful tour. Took us everywhere except inside dorms, which was disappointing.

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Campus:

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Tour guides were warm, enthusiatic, and helpful. Was raining so they gave us MIT ponchos. Another student volunteered directions when we were looking at a map.

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Admissions officer was friendly, just kind of boring.

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We really liked the crooked looking building and the mix of architecture. Recreational faciliries looked top notch. Only complaint, couldn't a school of geeks put some drains in the sidewalks?

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Building with infinite hallway had some construction, which is a good sign.

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Looked OK from outside.

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Actually saw a security officer. Only question is, where are they when all of the hacks are going down?

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We enjoyed the more light-hearted atmosphere and how they actually honor some of the student hacks in one of their buildings.

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Off-Campus:

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Cambridge is very charming, although they certainly could invest in street signs.

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Cannot say enough good things about Cambridge and Boston, friendly people and great transportation, wonderful shopping.

Campus Visit Notes for Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Visit Description:

We made the mistake of driving and parking at Harvard in the morning, then walking along the river to MIT in the afternoon. It is a very long walk that way. Take the subway, it is wonderful. Also, MIT tour was great and exhausting, Harvard showed us very little, so i wish we had gone to MIT in the morning when we weren't so tired.
While the information session was an employee just going through the motions, it felt even worse because there were about 40-parochial junior high kids sitting in the seats, while parents and grandparents of high school seniors were on the floor.
Our tour guide was fabulous. If he had only taken us inside the dorms. it would have been perfect. He was so helpful in answering questions. They also had more guides and put us in smaller groups than Harvard, so we could actually hear. Even though many of the parents had been at Harvard, they weren't pushing people to crowd to the front like they did at Harvard. The recreational facilities at MIT were very nice. I'm not sure if i like the meal plan, or lack thereof, where it seems you just eat anywhere a la carte. I'm guessing that is more expensive than a so many meals a week plan.

Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments:

We stayed at Best Western in Waltham cause it was less expensive. We discovered after a horrible drive to Harvard that driving and parking at Alewife subway was the way to go.

Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:

We were on a tight budget but our son wanted seafood. No Name restaurant was a wonderful value.

Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.):

Subway system was great. They unfortunately do not believe in street signs much in Cambridge. People of Boston were warm and wonderful.