Professor Accessibility, TA's, and Relationships

jessiehl
Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:49:47 +0000

You didn’t ask about advising, but I will note that my freshman advisor was a Nobel laureate. Even with the guy’s prestige and schedule, he was taking the time to help 18 year-olds navigate their first year of MIT academics. He was a really good advisor, too, and very sweet.

I agree with Mollie; I’ve never bought into the idea that having grad students and a major research enterprise means that the undergrads are neglected. Also, the TAs (who, again, are there to assist the profs, not replace them) are sometimes phenomenal teachers. The presence of both a prof and TAs in a class means that you have more than one resource to go to.

It is true that, while undergrads are treated very well and have incredible opportunities, they are not the center of the universe to the degree that they might be at an LAC. Honestly, I saw that one as a plus. I wanted to be a part of something greater, with the respect and opportunities that come with being a sort of very junior colleague, not have my time as an undergrad be an extension of high school.

It was powerful to be able to walk through the halls at night listening to the machinery running in the labs, thinking about the work going on in there, and thinking “I am part of this; this world is mine.”