Yale vs MIT for math and CS… I would love to hear your thoughts about how student culture, accessibility to clubs and extracurriculars, and general student experiences (both inside and outside the classroom) may differ at the two…D25 will visit accepted students days at both, but I appreciate any constructive insight from this community, especially on aspects not easily obtained from a web search. D25 looking for a collaborative and fun environment. Thank you! Good luck to everyone still waiting on results and decision making.
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Tagging @huango for recent insights about MIT.
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General education requirements differ significantly between them.
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Can’t talk about these areas but I’m one who thinks there are only a handful of schools that are difference makers in life - and this is one of those instances.
If you go by the Brown open source rankings for CS, MIT is #2 including #1 for placement. Yale 37th.
In CS (not math), Yale shows a median $129k salary.
Hard to get MIT data but you can ask. Surprising they don’t post but I put a link below.
First off, congrats! MIT’s Campus Preview Weekend is April 17–20, and Yale’s Bulldog Days are April 21–23. Your daughter should do everything in her power to go to both of those, and I think those visits will clarify for her which is the better fit.
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Two fine choices.
If for whatever reason, the Math/CS plan doesn’t come into play, Yale obviously has a much broader set of other disciplines to choose from.
MIT’s core is extensive- know what you are getting into. And it has two components- the core math and science courses that everyone takes, and the HASS (Humanities, Arts, Social Science) requirements where there are choices- but the courses are required, not optional.
I think visiting both- if possible- will clear up any lingering questions. Definitely a different feel on campus.
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In your other thread, you mentioned that your daughter is interested in continuing her study of foreign language. FWIW, Yale offers study in 70 different foreign languages & cultures; MIT offers study in 9.
Please see the other thread for my comments on the residential college system at Yale vs MIT’s Cambridge/Boston location and comments on a comparison of athletic & recreational facilities at these two colleges.
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MIT, I believe, works best for students who are quite sure of its appeal.
If your daughter remains essentially undecided, I’d recommend Yale.
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Congrats!! Two wonderful options. Two different environments. I expect one will stand out as the right choice after accepted student day visits.
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MIT class rings used to have the letters “IHTFP” on them. MIT students who loved their time there interpret it as “I have truly found paradise”. The ones who didn’t instead interpret it as “I hate this f****** place”.
The point being that MIT is very much a “fit” school. Is she someone who lives and breathes STEM, or does she also want to be exposed to students with vastly different interests and majors? Or even more simply, does she think it’s cool that MIT announces its decisions on Pi Day at Tau time, or does she consider that a bit dorky? The answers to those questions to those questions may suggest one college is a better fit than the other.
In terms of Math/CS career opportunities, while both are good, MIT provides easier access to more. But taking advantage of these small differences depends mostly upon the student’s abilities rather than the college.
My son cross-registered for a few classes at MIT. He found most MIT students to be friendly and collaborative, rather than competitive.
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Yes, but if lack of foreign language classes is the only thing stopping her from MIT, she can cross-register at Harvard.
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So helpful @merc81!
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Congratulations to your daughter! She will have her answer after visiting admitted students’ days at both schools! It will be much easier for her to decide after making these two trips on her own. Talk to current CS and Math students and faculty members at both, and encourage her to ask questions about things important to her. Any chance she will double major, have a minor added or will go for a certificate in other areas? Culture and environment are very different at these two schools, one will feel like home! Good luck!
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That’s interesting, @hebegebe. D is definitely thinking a career in Math/CS at this point. She is not concerned about the difference in ranking mentioned up thread, but access to career opportunities during and after college is important to her.
Just have to say that I think that the release time for MIT is super cool, but I know it never would have been the right place for me. So, perhaps not a factor to use with respect to whether MIT is the right school?
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Your D will not lack for career opportunities at either school. The question is where she will be the most comfortable and thrive for 4 years. Meeting other potential classmates and existing students at accepted students day will give her a good feel for at least with who she will be likely spending the next 4 years.
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Lol @AustenNut, my daughter celebrates Pi Day every year and also thinks it’s super fun that MIT releases decisions on Pi Day! With that said, she doesn’t necessarily “live and breathe” STEM, and she seems excited to be surrounded by a student body having many diverse interests and curiosities. I sense D25 might have a harder time declining her acceptance to Yale, and that there is a small piece of her concerned that MIT’s student culture might be a bit more intense… (This of course is purely an unsubstantiated concern, not necessarily reality.)
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My son has 10ish friends at MIT majoring in CS or CS/Math - all of them have taken off at least one semester - most of them to work for start-ups, a few to do research. I don’t know if this is an MIT specific thing or specific to his group of friends, but that might be something to ask about at both accepted students days. Congratulations on two great options.
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That seems similar to what some other schools formalize as a co-op job.
Congratulations to your daughter!
It’s definitely the case that more “hard engineering” startups come out of MIT than Yale (or any of the Ivies), and there will be a very small number of small companies and financial organizations (e.g. some quant funds) that will recruit from MIT and maybe a couple other places that won’t include Yale. There are also some organizations - fewer, most likely - that don’t believe MIT grads will find them as attractive as Yale grads might, and so won’t focus recruiting there.
However, the vast, vast majority of companies hiring college graduates will be equally happy with an MIT or Yale grad, and a CS/Math major from either school who wants to go into industry will find themselves maxing out the opportunities available based on the macroeconomic environment of the moment. To put it in sort-of-scientific terms, in this particular case, human variance >> university variance. 
(Source: 20+ years of hiring, consulting on hiring, etc., etc., in this space.)
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