Professor Accessibility, TA's, and Relationships

neuron39
Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:48:41 +0000

I agree with CalAlum that the"extracurricular" opportunities at MIT are one-of-a-kind. My son, a sophomore, worked last summer (after his freshman year) studying black holes at the Chandra X-Ray Observatory; he was asked to write up his research and was appointed the lead author (19 years old). He got paid for this. He met the inventor of a new cellular tower technology being rolled out internationally (and has coffee with him every few months). He had two Nobel Prize winners as professors his first year, and met with them periodically as well. He knows others that have been offered opportunities with Google, Microsoft, the CIA, congressmen and Senators; the examples go on and on. All the while, he’s learning in a unique way, in that MIT teaches students how to think and solve problems, not just how to regurgitate facts. My only regret in his being at MIT is that I couldn’t attend as well!