Interesting, @Mom24boys! A friend’s son also took a semester off at MIT. But I think that was mainly due to mental health issues. D doesn’t really favor the formal co-op (Northeastern, Drexel, etc).
@DadOfJerseyGirl : Thanks for the tag; I’ve been away from CC for a while.
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OP:
you already heard from Yale?
My son is a junior at MIT majoring in Course 18C: (nickname 18Cash)
Math + Computer Science
My son is 100% STEM, but also an athlete/outdoorsman, and a musician, and easily picks up languages. So he may not be the typical nerd (term of endearment).
Yes, the core STEM are there, but just about anyone who’s taken 5-10 AP classes can easily fulfill them (because you’ve taken the classes before, and/or you can take ASE and pass out of them).
The core HASS classes are electives that son enjoys, because there are SO many to choose from. And if you don’t like what MIT offers, there’s Harvard (?and Wellesley) where you can cross-register.
MIT/his classes/his classmates have all been very collaborative:
- there was this C/S class final that son leaned heavily on his C/S friends, while he pulled the weight for all the math aspects.
Fun:
-
so many clubs to choose from
– your daughter should consider joining the wrestling club (son’s a member): the 2 main young ladies are AMAZING top champions -
or join a frat/sorority (son went from ‘No, not interested in a frat’ freshman year, to joining one sophomore year, to becoming his frat President junior year)
-
Cambridge/Boston is awesome and fun, access to everything/other colleges
I don’t know anything about Yale.
There is a thought that sometimes, things just shouldn’t be that hard.
High School was a breeze for son, so he really is being challenged at MIT. There’s been thoughts that maybe he could have had easier classes at say a state school and still do well, and can have a bit better life balance instead of always grinding for hours on psets, etc.
Some kids have to spend a lot of time grinding one pset, one quiz, one test after another. It can feel never ending and that can get tiring/draining.
If I didn’t answer it here and you have other questions, feel free to ping me.
Good luck!
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Well, it’s not going to be very insightful now. Both schools have a 4% admissions rate. Better to see what schools you get accepted into 
It sounded to me like both acceptances were already in hand (perhaps Yale REA and MIT RD?).
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Yes, OP said:
Which implies that they have both acceptances.
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The OP, graciously, also offered encouragement to those who have yet to hear back from their colleges of interest:
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I think it’s super cool too.
But then again..on super-pi day, (3/14/15) I took my family to a local pie shop (right near CalTech of all places) and we made sure to order such that we could take our first bites at 9:26 am).
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My D was the only STEMy player on a nationally ranked HS softball team, so her “thing” was to draw 2 pi signs under her eyes for eye black.
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Hi all! Thanks for your input. 
Yes, @happy1 and @DadOfJerseyGirl are correct - D25 was accepted to Yale through EA and MIT through RD. She says her heart leans Yale and her head leans MIT…
Since my last post we have identified that Yale is approx. 7k more/year than MIT (this is not huge, but also not nothing for us…)
@huango, thanks for your insight on 18C. I suspect that is what D would be interested in, at least until she changes her mind - lol. She has expressed concern about the greater number of core classes and what she calls the academic fire hose at MIT. Thank you - I may ping you later!
I would go back to Yale FA and show them the MIT FA package. MIT is considered a “peer” school. They will do their best so the decision does not turn on finances.
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Hi @BKSquared, thanks for this suggestion. D25 filled out an appeal form last week, and the return email read a bit generic and did not sound promising… that was very disappointing. However, D will try to call and speak with someone this week. Fingers crossed!
Also! We have determined that Yale will only allow outside scholarships to reduce the Student Share of the net cost of attendance… it appears that any outside scholarships that exceed this amount can not be used to reduce the Parent Share 
(There is a small amount of scholarship money that can be used to purchase a computer). I am not sure what MIT allows for outside scholarships. Does anyone have any experience with this? @huango ? Thank you!
This is pretty typical. It was true at Brown, as well.
As for the financial aid appeal, it is considered completely fine for the parent, rather than the student, to take the lead on those (unlike with admissions where the parent should not be involved).
You should be able to schedule an appointment with a Yale financial aid counselor to meet by phone or Zoom. Yuh can tell them about MIT’s offer and ask Yale to take a second look to see if they may have overlooked something that MIT noticed.
Yale should also have appeal forms but I would wait until after a one-on-one meeting with the FA counselor before filling those out.
Paging @kelsmom for her input.
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Often an outside scholarship can be used to reduce work study, summertime earnings requirements, or student loans.
Also, do either MIT or Yale exclude or include loans as part of their package? That can make a difference when evaluating the two. But also know—even if they package without federal student loans, you can still request the loans and they will grant them, if that makes a difference. I have no idea if that can be combined with an outside scholarship though.
Also, a quick google search indicates that Yale considers home equity and MIT does not, so that might be part of the difference.
I will be sending you a DM shortly. Let me know if you don’t get it.
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I had two boys lucky enough to do a SCEA Princeton vs RD MIT comparison. One chose each of the two, but really, you can’t go wrong with your choices. I think MIT does have the edge in STEM fields and honestly I prefer Cambridge to New Haven when it comes down to it.
I will also say that the son who chose P, is now at MIT doing a PhD and feels “home…but it was also good to be somewhere less like this for a while”.
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When I was appealing an award at Colgate, I somewhat by accident was connected to the VP in charge of Financial Aid. I asked who should be making the appeal. She replied, “Who will be signing the check?” Haha.
For what it’s worth.
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I’ll post a quotation, then contradict it:
— John Galt, in Atlas Shrugged
Consider that Yale, as of now, might be sufficiently appealing to both your daughter’s heart and mind so as to make for a reasonably confident choice. If she develops fresh perspectives in the coming weeks, those can be considered at that time, of course.
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no loans for either package, @MMRose…
I love this, @merc81, thanks. As others have suggested, I hope attending both CPW and Bulldog Days will help her determine which environment is the best fit!
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Yale may match your student’s fin aid offer from MIT, these are both private, peer institutions. Meet with financial aid office representatives at both institutions to explore all available options - they are so knowledgeable! D23 got Yale to match slightly more generous financial aid package from Princeton. Congratulations!
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