Massachusetts Institute of Technology Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Rebecca

Everyone at MIT is smart, there is no doubt about that. Some are geniuses, but most just work hard. There are quirks that many MIT students share, but most people are not socially awkward; they can function in greater society and even befriend people! Also, not all of us know how computers work. Some do, and the rest of us turn to them.

Harper

I would say that for 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus, most of the stereotypes are true. More true than you could imagine. But there are very diverse subcultures that bash those stereotypes to the ground. Where you live on campus has everything to do with what kind of experience you have.

Piper

Well, we are MIT, so yes, there are plenty of nerds. There are people who play Magic every Sunday, Starcraft past midnight, participate in LARPs, etc. That said, you won't be completely lost if you don't like these things (or if you've never heard of these, you'll have fun learning). As for the social skills part, some do and some don't. I know many social butterflies here, but just like anywhere else, we have our shy people.

Gina

Although there are people here who fit that stereotype, the majority of students are very much the opposite. We love going out and having fun. These are some of the most interesting people I have ever met in my life.

Nico

While it is true that many students do spends a greater part of their MIT lives locked in their rooms or claiming sanctuary in some underground Athena cluster, I find most MIT students are more than toned-down supercomputers. The people I daily come across and the friends I regularly spend time with are generally people I am glad to know. Incidentally, I've only seen 1 student -- compute that to 3 significant figures, if you wish -- with a pocket protector here at MIT. As for TI-89s, people talk about them like they're auditioning for a Texas Instruments commercial: "Oh... my... God... I love my 89." Personally, I find no time to click on a link about the China-Tibet conflict, or even one about the star athletes anticipated for the Olympics, or on another link that claims those topics are connected -- what? I am disconnected from much of the world, and it seems to take very conscious effort and calculated steps -- because we like calculating here at MIT -- to inform ourself about our immediate and more distant surroundings. MIT is work, work, and more work, but I do know many students who somehow find time to play water polo offense, organize a student group meeting, and work at MIT Admissions. Here, P-sets are only a part of the equation that equals work.

Chris

No. MIT is actually the center of Boston college party life, and a lot of the people are very chill.

Carrie

Most of them aren't. The people you will meet at MIT probably are some of the smartest people you'll ever meet, but they're also amazingly creative, and many of them are talented artists - something many people are surprised to discover. There are plenty of parties on campus, and plenty of laid back people who attend them.

KC

All but the not having fun!

Lisa

It's true to an extent, because we all did choose MIT after all, but there's a lot more to the culture here than how many kills we had last night in Halo or angsting over the missing points from an exam.

Jessica

Yes, but many things are left out, there is a lot of diversity.

Ash

Most of us are very intelligent, but we all have different specialties. Aside from small minority, we have a lot more social skills than we are given credit for. It really depends on your definition of geek for first one. We all get really into our studies at times and occasionally lapse into the jargon associated with our field, but that's usually as geekish as we get.

Casey

These stereotypes are accurate for the people who want to do that and not for the others.

Andy

sometimes

Michael

For some people but not all.

Ashley

All these sterotypes are based on the fact that we're smart. Only that is true. Everyone here is "normal," they just chose to be challenged at an extremely difficult school.

ari

in part

Gene

MIT students are incredibly hard-working, intelligent, and motivated, yes. They aren't all in the engineering / science fields, though; many are in other courses.

Jenn

No. Alot of these stereotypes are perpetuated by ignorance and how we're portrayed in cartoons/movies/tv jokes. A lot of people here are extremely social. It's true that everyone here is at least fairly smart (and good at math). People here like to party, many are tremendous athletes, and despite what people think there is a fair population of attractive people.

Wally

Definitely.

Emmerson

for the most part, yes

Lee

Out of 1000 people in my class, I don't really socialize with half of them. They may seem like the stereotypical MIT students. However, the other 500 are incredibly cool people that are amazingly talented and extremely fun to be around.

KJ

no. there are those type of people here, but they are the exception, not the norm.

ameliabr

In some ways yes, and in some ways not. Basically everyone at MIT *is* smart and talented and deserves to be there. This does NOT mean that everyone is socially inpet, nerdy, or ugly. There is a huge variety of people at MIT, and some people do fall into these categories. But not nearly close to all of them do.

Anna

Not necessarily. We have our share of kids who play video games all day, but that's not the majority. Overall, MIT is special for the way everyone is passionate about something and has fun in their own way. For some people, that's dungeons and dragons, but for me, it's extracurriculars, hanging out with friends, exploring the city, and exercise.

Lisa

To some extent, yes, very much. East Campus is known for building things, and we do, in fact, spend most of our rush budget on literally tons of wood to build roller coasters, log flumes, spinning see-saws, and the like. Of course, people are in a continuum of craziness. There are plenty of west campus residents who like to go hacking. On the other hand, the east side is not always doing crazy things; we also have to spend time doing out homework! Also, the overarching "geek" stereotype is accurate but oversimplified. Lots of people like to write their own computer games or spend their Friday nights building crazy electronic creations, but you'll see most of these same people drinking and dancing at parties. Many of us know how to have a good time. And the stereotype (perpetuated in the Engineers' Drinking Song) that MIT students never have sex is downright false; I know this because I sometimes hear people at it as I'm trying to fall asleep at night. I'm not sure why our walls are impermeable to cell phone reception but not sex noises, but whatever.

Terry

Most of us do work all the time, but it's because we need to get our work done. We call care about academics for the most part, so we're willing to put in the extra hours to get the work done. That doesn't mean that we sit around creating more work for ourselves or doing extra math problems for fun. Sure, some people do, but it's not everyone. Some people ARE really socially awkward, but it's part of the culture. Most people can engage you in conversation and are interesting. Some people aren't fantastic at picking up on social cues, but that doesn't mean they're not interesting and fun people. There ARE people who are so intensely awkward that you can't talk to them or just want to get away the minute you start talking to them, but let's face it, those people are everywhere. We are not all course 6, thankfully. We are not all amazing geniuses. Everyone at MIT is smart, but most of us also have to work incredibly hard to stay on top of things. Very few people coast by here and even fewer people fit the "genius" classification. If you're at MIT, you were probably the smartest person at your high school, and you will very likely spend the next 4 years feeling like a complete idiot. It's ok, though, because you get used to it, and ultimately it can be pretty motivating to finally be around people who are smarter than you.

Nora

Well, there are a lot of Asian students, and we do work a LOT. However, there are all kinds of people at MIT. Really social people, athletes, drama geeks, eccentric people, video gamers, and lots and lots of nerds. :)

Charlie

Although it is true that there are some people that have troubles finding formulas for social interaction, there are plenty of people who are socially normal, but are just good that the math and science. We do have some uber-geniuses- academic Olympians, Putnum winners, people that have done significant research/ buisness during high school, but it is not as if we instantly know everything on sight.

Anna

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.

Alex

Not always.

Kaitlin

For the most part, I think this is accurate. There are no jocks or good looking people. The student body is really diverse though and I have met some amazing individuals.

Hunter

Although MIT might have a rather high ratio of ugly to people, not EVERYONE is ugly. Its exactly the same in every other college. We do spend a lot of time on homework. This is because we get assigned so much work. Most people spend half the time complaining about it and wishing they were doing something else.

Elise

The stereotypes are accurate; most MIT students are pretty nerdy and have a unique sense of humor. I was a bit turned off by the stereotype; I didn't want to go to college with a bunch of nerds, but really after visiting I realized they're not completely stereotypically nerdy, they are just special.

Hannah

Fortunately for all of us, none of them are. I've only seen one person actually wearing a pocket protector and no one with those horrid glasses. More importantly, we do actually have social skills and great friends! Yes we work hard, and yes we are smart, but we are REAL PEOPLE! There are all sorts of people too, people addicted to anything from Rubic's cubes and Starcraft to Project Runway and Gray's Anatomy. And believe it or not, there are people here who don't like math . Though you better be careful , we may end up saving the world while you're not looking...

Alex

A small subset of MIT students, less than ten percent, meet the "crazy nerd" or "quiet nerd" stereotype. The rest of us have that intellectual intensity, but maintain more of a balance in our lives. We know how to have friends, dress up, converse with non-MIT students, and even have strong intimate, professional and social relationships.

Elli

in some people yes definitely, but for 85{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the mit community - NOT AT ALL. MIT students are generally pretty out going and very helpful with everything. Most people are really smart, yes, but most are not going to rub it in anyone's face. Yes there are a lot of Asians on campus, but being a white female i have friends of all races. I came from a very normal high school where I fit in just fine, so I feel that I have fine communication skills and know many people who are just as personable as anyone else in other colleges. Yes we study and work a lot but it's MIT, you wouldn't do well if you didn't work a lot, but there are PLENTY of parties and even if that's not your thing, people hang out and chill all the time. If someone didn't shower, someone else would make them shower

Amanda

Studying is the most important stereotype to address, and it is completely untrue that MIT students only stay in their rooms and study. There are amazing clubs and independent living groups (including greek life) on campus that hold activities for the entire campus. Going out ranges anywhere from just hanging out in your dorm with friends to fraternity parties. These parties, contrary to what would be popular belief, are renowned throughout the immediate area for bringing lots of fun. This pertains to the stereotype of drinking at MIT as well. MIT students definitely know how to have a good time, and the old addage work hard party hard is also true. Some people do drink a lot, and some people don?t drink at all. It is possible to find all kinds of people on campus; people who drink heavily, people who never drink, people who do drugs, and people who barely leave their lab/classroom/lab. People here also have relationships. Some people are single, some people go for random hook-ups, and some people have stable on-camps/long distance relationships. I have a boyfriend, but he lives down the hall from me, which makes things easier. I know some people who maintain long distance relationships, and it is hard but they do it. Being an MIT student doesn?t keep you from relationships, it might make it a little harder though. Lastly, I would like to think MIT students are ugly. I know some very pretty MIT students. I would say we have the same proportion of pretty/plain/ugly people as most campuses in the country.

Alex

The stereotypes range from spot-on to outrageous. It is true that MIT students are nerdy and smart, and it is true that the school is very hard. On the other hand, there are a lot of girls, and a lot of people who no nothing about computers.

Kent

There are a few students who fit this category i.e., I've seen the pocket protector before. These stereotypes, however, are resoundingly inaccurate. Although work, in the form of Psets (problem sets/homework), can suck a great deal of time and effort from you, it's normally not all we think about. There are countless groups to join and more sports than most other schools. Social interactions, especially in the Greek system and in West campus, thrive at MIT.

Jesse

Mostly yes

America

98{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the time, no.

Sasha

Some are: MIT is an intense place as far as workload, work ethic, and grading is concerned. Most students are in the sciences and engineering, but nearly all are involved with sports (IM, club, and intercollegiate), dance (performance, partner, etc.), drama, etc. MIT also has the best economics department, and top 10 business and political science programs. Its a very well-rounded school. The students are very supportive of each other and is a very friendly and social place. I always went out to dinner/party/movie/hanging out every weekend, and ate dinner in the dorm dining hall with my group of friends every week-night. There is a subgroup that drinks heavily, but that's really a very small part of the fraternity life and seems no worse than nearby colleges like Harvard and BU.

Cathy

-well, all MIT students are nerds, in the respect that we enjoy learning and do like to do well. but being a nerd isn't always a bad thing. -some may have, erm, decreased social ability, but for the most part, you would never guess people are MIT studen

Torry

You will find a fair amount of the socially awkward at MIT. You will find a LOT of people with glasses. You will even find a few mathematical geniuses and perhaps one or two megalomaniacs. The vast majority of us, however, don't fit into the standard "nerd" stereotypes.

Rachel

Not completely. The undergraduate population has a gender split of about 50-50. While there are some people that fill the stereotype perfectly, the majority of students definitely do not.

Clinton

There is some competition, but I'd say for the most part MIT is a very collaborative place. There are nerds. Sleep does come at a premium at times. There are many smart people here, but it's about putting that potential into action. There are many creative, inventive students and MIT is high-tech (at least compared to what I grew up with).

Devin

The stereotypes about MIT itself are very true. However, the students come from a vast range of backgrounds and while we all love to learn, most of us also love to live.

Rachael

Some of the stereotypes are accurate like everyone is smart. Others like everyone is a geek, likes computers and Asian is not true at all.

Ryan

Sometimes

Carolina

We're nerds in the sense that everyone here is extremely academically gifted and for the most part people take pride in their work. However, we're definitely not antisocial and there's a huge hybrid of different kinds of people here. You can definitely find your place, and make it so that you have a fun time and thoroughly enjoy "the college experience." For being so fast paced, there is a very relaxed and cool atmosphere here. We also throw pretty good parties and at the end of the day, we're still college kids and you'll find others who are "normal" like you, the definition of "normal" being your own. You'll find them though, guaranteed!