Didn't expect that my DS would like MIT>Harvard

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<p>Actually, MIT requires sixteen subjects (MIT-speak for courses), eight in math and science and eight in humanities, arts, and social studies: [MIT</a> Course Catalog: Undergraduate General Institute Requirements](<a href=“Welcome! < MIT”>Welcome! < MIT) . Note that four subjects must be communication intensive, two in humanities, arts, and social studies, and two in one’s major.</p>

<p>Harvard’s general education requirements include eight half-courses (Harvard-speak for semester long courses): [Program</a> in General Education](<a href=“http://static.fas.harvard.edu/registrar/ugrad_handbook/2009_2010/chapter2/gened.html]Program”>http://static.fas.harvard.edu/registrar/ugrad_handbook/2009_2010/chapter2/gened.html)
. However, there is also one additional semester of writing: [Writing</a> Requirement](<a href=“http://static.fas.harvard.edu/registrar/ugrad_handbook/2009_2010/chapter2/writing_requirement.html]Writing”>http://static.fas.harvard.edu/registrar/ugrad_handbook/2009_2010/chapter2/writing_requirement.html) , as well as possibly up to two semesters of foreign language: [Language</a> Requirement](<a href=“http://static.fas.harvard.edu/registrar/ugrad_handbook/2009_2010/chapter2/language_requirement.html]Language”>http://static.fas.harvard.edu/registrar/ugrad_handbook/2009_2010/chapter2/language_requirement.html) . This makes a total of nine to eleven half-courses other than the concentration (major) and the number of courses to graduate.</p>

<p>clandark - Every Yale parent I talk with says Yale is much better than Harvard. And when asked where your kid goes to college, they never say New Heaven or Connect and Cut.</p>

<p>This is the kind of pretentious, bragging-disguised-as-first-world-“problems” thread that the Urban Dictionary mocks.</p>

<p>I always had an image of MIT as a place full of geeks with no social skills who were math/science geniuses. My D is at a school with cross-registration and has taken a class at MIT and has tons of friends at MIT. Her friends at MIT are math/science geniuses, but are also creative and amazing and fun.</p>

<p>When her younger brother was visiting Boston at spring break his junior year to look at Boston area schools, he stayed with her BF at MIT. S is NOT a math/science genius, but he LOVED MIT.</p>

<p>Do schools like MIT accept high school AP credits in sciences?</p>

<p>See here:</p>

<p>[MIT</a> Prospective Students: Advanced Placement, IB, and GCE A-Level Credit](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/prospective/ap/]MIT”>http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/prospective/ap/)</p>

<p><a href=“http://mit.edu/firstyear/2016/subjects/ap.html[/url]”>http://mit.edu/firstyear/2016/subjects/ap.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Interesting thread. Don’t have much to add except that my son loves MIT (he’s a freshman) and loves his friends there. He’s a math major (possible double major with management) and a super extroverted, non-geeky leader type. His friends look to him for social life and he looks to them (especially the IMO winners, ha-ha) for help with his upper division math classes. :-)</p>

<p>It’s definitely an intense place. I think the competition comes from within; you know, wanting to keep up with the other students. I think they call it “hosing”. (I’m taking XXX classes and doing XXX. Oh yeah, well I’m doing blah, blah, blah)</p>

<p>MIT is always trying to address this. And there are kids like my son who just buck that trend. His social life has been on overdrive and he’s trying to find that balance with academics. :-)</p>

<p>One of my favorite things about MIT is that they don’t give grades first semester freshman year, and students can’t fail any classes freshman year.</p>

<p>I don’t know anything about Harvard since my son was not interested in it, so I can’t help you there except that they’re more generous with their need-based aid than MIT is! :-)</p>

<p>Mathmom,</p>

<p>Loved your comments and so glad your son ended up at CMU. It seems like an amazing school!</p>

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<p>That is very interesting to know!</p>

<p>I’ve heard of a few tough engineering programs having 1st semester pass/fail (MIT, Harvey Mudd, Olin). There may be others. It seems like it would promote collaboration and reduce stress during the college transition. </p>

<p>My engineering college was rigorous, but most competition was internal (not vs peers). I liked that. It made for a good learning environment.</p>

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<p>Yes. I don’t think it’s too early for him to think about the possibilities and to learn his preferences. It was also an opportunity to visit family, and simply enjoy a father-son trip together. I don’t think it’s ridiculous to look at these schools and think about the differences. Someone gets in. Not everyone wins a Nobel Prize. The distinction between an institute and a university might inform other choices he will make. </p>

<p>I should add that he’s not a tinkerer, and wants to major in math (although he did build a computer so he can play resource intensive video games). 60 percent of MIT is engineering majors. He will be working with blackboards. I wonder how he will feel about that difference, and whether it would stretch him. </p>

<p>I’m not saying he will get into HYPMS, but, given his record, it’s not delusional for him to apply. </p>

<p>MIT required registration. Harvard, you just show up. Schools vary. Check their admission websites. Should I make anything out of the fact that Harvard doesn’t keep a record of attendees?</p>

<p>As for amount of required courses, it wasn’t the number of courses, but the restricted choice. At Harvard, you have to take one course from 8 areas, plus writing, and foreign languages. At MIT, any eight humanities classes plus two restricted STEM electives. No foreign language but I notice he could continue Latin. He joked that, in the spirit of MIT, he could build a time machine and study abroad in Ancient Rome. </p>

<p>Through his mother, he’s a Williams legacy, and she would love it if he went there. (I know, another easy one to get into.) Williams has laughably low course requirements, a great math department, and he’d be a good fit–might make the lax team as a walk-on plus play trombone in the scramble band. I went to grad school at Chicago, and he’s attracted there too, but Chicago has laughably high core requirements–so he would have to come to terms with that. </p>

<p>Meanwhile, he will be taking courses at Yale, starting this fall. (A tuition free perk of going to a New Haven public high school.) So, more grist for the mill. I’ve promised if he gets in and goes there, when I pass him on the street, I’ll pretend I don’t know him–and would still let him sneak his laundry home.</p>

<p>I agree with OP and many of you here. It’s not too early for a sophomore to start thinking about colleges and set a goal for himself. I wish we started visiting. but we haven’t done any real visiting. This thread is nice and educational to me.</p>

<p>@coolweather, thanks for the link. so AP chem doesn’t count anything at MIT. :(</p>

<p>AP chem and AP physics don’t count. You have to ASE out of them. AP Calc counts. As well, if you’re fortunate like my son was, you can transfer in credits. I had heard it was impossible but for whatever reason, it worked out fine for my son’s CC math credits and Arabic credits to transfer in.</p>

<p>OP,</p>

<p>Have fun on the college hunt! And feel free to PM me anytime in regards to being a math major at MIT.</p>

<p>AP Physics counts for 8.01.</p>

<p>it has to be AP physics C. Physics B doesn’t count. Physics B is algebra based, C is calc based. Also from the link given, AP calc AB doesn’t count in MIT. (sbjdorlo, is that true? did your son take AP Calc BC in HS?) Can someone explain to me the difference between AP Calc AB and BC?</p>

<p>AP Calc AB is approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of a traditional first year college calc course. BC is equivalent to the whole course. </p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon gives one semester credit for AB with a score of 5 and two for BC also with a score of 5. They also give no credit for Physics B and one semester each for the two parts of Physics C with scores of 5. I think that’s pretty typical for selective universities.</p>

<p>AP calc BC is only equivalent to the first semester of calculus at MIT. The second semester is multi-variable calculus.</p>

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MIT used to have 2 semesters of pass/fail.</p>

<p>To add to your list, Caltech also does pass/fail for the first 2 out of 3 quarters of the first year.</p>

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<p>I don’t like mandatory pass-fail, since it throws away information. An “A” is not the same as a “C”. I hope professors at schools with mandatory pass-fail for one or more semesters at least give unofficial letter grades or class ranks so that students know where they stand.</p>

<p>Rumor has it that MIT has the best frat parties in Boston.</p>

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<p>They do give unofficial letter grades.</p>