MIT Other Major

Scary smart, but complete geeks. People who know nothing about MIT seem to think that we are all complete tools, coding twenty-four seven, people who have no interest in cultural or social aspects of life, probably suck at sports. Everyone wears glasses, the girls are hideous. Only talk about crazy math.
I've heard that in some places we are known for being arrogant assholes, but that is not a stereotype that existed where I grew up. In Lexington, the general impression was just that MIT students were brilliant and masochistic, and often killed themselves.

Not particularly... people here are very intelligent and are generally passionate about their field of study, but there is a much wider range of people than one might imagine. Of course, there are the crazy-math, spaced-out head-cases, and personally I enjoy that aspect of the MIT culture, but there are also very normal people. Students typically participate in a wide-range of extracurriculars and are just as active in these pursuits as they are in their coursework. People play sports, people start bands, people dance, people network, people write poetry and go star-gazing. MIT students are not 2D engineers. The classmates are for the most part very down to earth; even those who come arrogant are quickly humbled. There is a bit of a masochistic streak in the culture, but mostly people just like to joke about it or are hardcore because it's fun. Sometimes people kill themselves, but it doesn't happen any more frequently than at other colleges. And just for the record, not all of us girls are hideous.

MIT is a wild place with intense subcultures. The housing system is somewhat unique and results in strong dorm cultures. Through a prolonged lottery system, new students are given the opportunity to choose one of MIT's many dorms, live there temporarily during resident exploration period, and then opt to either stay or try to lottery into a preferred dorm. Although some students find the process stressful (while others think it's a blast), the opportunity that it gives each student to find a place for him or herself is priceless. On a larger scale, students usually live all four years in their chosen home, resulting in a close-knit community of students who are at least somewhat akin. MIT is generally very hands-off, tends to let students do their own thing. This is an example where it seems to be a good thing. Naturally, there is a flip side. MIT will not take care of you. Where I live, East Campus, we are allowed to do practically whatever we want: paint the walls, do all sorts of crazy electronic projects, etc. However, when it comes to, say, feeding ourselves, we are on our own. There is no communal cafeteria at MIT. Some of the dorms have their own and the meals are subsidized for their residents, but for a resident of my dorm it would not only be inconvenient to eat at Baker Dining, but also financially unsustainable for most. As a result, we are left to scavenge or cook for ourselves. To be fair, it is a point of pride in my dorm to be independent in this way, a love of tough love.

Professors often shock me knowing my name... it is nearly impossible in a lecture of over a hundred, but some professors really make an effort. In particular, I remember Professor Winston, an AI professor who studied a list of names and ID pictures and seemed to know every student's name. Some of the computer science classes are classic, the websites are perfectly set up, the online tutorials are easy to use and helpful, the lecturer is brilliant and funny, the problem sets are interesting, the tests are fair and challenging. 6.001 and 6.004 in particular. My true passion is linguistics and foreign languages, however, so I get most excited in syntax class or during Chinese or Japanese class.
Good students probably study a little every day, taking an occasional day off. In HASS classes and in recitations, class participation is common. MIT students banter about all kinds of things on their down time. Most students are not competitive; in fact, it is quite striking when I find someone who is and it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The majority of us are just trying to learn the material and are not concerned with whether we are better than anyone else. In fact, it is normal to help our friends and classmates whenever we can.
I think some of MIT's academic requirements are inappropriate or at least inappropriately complicated; everyone meets with frustration sooner or later.

This question is not particularly applicable. MIT's student body comes from all over the world and includes people of all shapes, colors, sizes, styles, religions, socio-economic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, political views, interests, attitudes, and directions. To be fair, MIT has a disproportionate number of intelligent students, and I don't think this is an issue that admissions is even looking to correct.

Argentine Tango Club is awesome... I dance for three hours at the free practica every week, attend workshops organized and subsidized by the club, take classes. It's been a great pleasure over the three years I've been at MIT.
Salsa club and swing club are also very active and open. It's wonderful to dance and meet people while enjoying music.
People in my dorm always leave their doors open; it is a very tight floor and people trust each other.
Plays and musicals occur frequently and I have taken part in three of them myself. It is very exciting to act or sing, but it is also a lot of fun to just watch a production, not to mention less time consuming.
"the goods are odd but the odds are good" as some people like to say. Students are on average geekier, but as I said before, MIT has all sorts of people and you can find what you like. Some people hook up at parties, some people prefer casual dating. As for myself, I prefer committed relationships and have been involved in a few (about one a year) since arriving. You just need to know what you want and choose from the people who want the same thing.
I met some of my closest friends just by living on the same hall, I met another because he often visited my living group, another by taking a discrete math class together.
My dorm has strong traditions but I probably shouldn't talk about them.
We also have parties every week or two, hosted by one of the ten halls. The dancing is usually a lot of fun and people talk drink and generally unwind.
A lot of people join frats or sororities, but most people who live on the east side of campus do not, and as a result greek life plays little role.
Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went to my friend Mark's MIT Symphony Orchestra concert. There was a cello concerto with an amazing soloist and the Berlios Symphonie Fantastique. Both of us really enjoyed the music and it reminded me of the ten years of violin I left behind. On Saturday, I ate in Chinatown with a friend and we bought some groceries at C-mart. Persimmons are so good! Then, I went to Delihaus, an eastside dorm tradition complete with surly and scantily clad waitresses, smoke, clamor, absurdly long waits, and greasy and unsatisfying food. My friends and I decided to cook some of our own food when we got back to the dorm. On Sunday, I figured I had better buckle down and make a good start on the problem sets and labs due in the coming week. To that end, I woke at around ten, met a friend at the gym, did a half hour on the elliptical and then some strength training, before returning to my dorm, cooking lunch, and then settling down to study algorithms with one of my good friends.