mit: a summary
It’s been a long time since I’ve done a solid post here. And for that I blame the extreme lack of time. It’s really karmic because just under 2 months ago, I was in Kuching complaining about how I wasn’t using my brain at all and how I had absolutely nothing to do. And now, I’m in Cambridge, trying desperately to drink from the MIT fire hose without choking to death (they actually have a water fountain hooked up to a fire hose in the Stata Center, just for kicks). So you may be wondering why I am posting this now, after claiming that I have no time at all. Well, everyone needs a break and I’ve been mindraped by Thermo, Transport & Matlab enough to warrant this short break, I think.
Many people have asked me how MIT is. Well, there is no easy way to describe it. Being arguably the top engineering school in the world, MIT is, needless to say, intense to the point of being ridiculous. Case in point: MIT designates one day a month as a “Student Holiday”, this being a random day with no significance whatsoever. The upper echelons in MIT call it a “Student Holiday”, but everyone knows it’s really a “Suicide Prevention Day”. Because MIT - and this may be an urban legend - has one of the highest suicide rates across universities. With that said however, MIT is an awesome place to be in. It is intense, yes; but it is such a dynamic place - there is so much going on and so much to do. They have a Sailing Club. And a Chocolate Lab. And the coolest thing: a FLYING CLUB. Flying as in aeroplanes. And even more cool (or less, depending how geeky you are) is that they have an Origami Club (aptly called OrigaMIT). They made a full-size origami T-Rex last year and put it up on display. Yes, it is insane. AND THEN there’s hacking which is… Well, I’m already suffering from verbal diarrhea so here’s a link. And if you ever get tired of Cambridge, there’s always Boston just across the Charles River. Going to a university pretty much smack bang in the city has its perks. But yea. I’ve only been into Boston like 4 times since I got here.
The people at MIT are also colorful. You get the feeling that everyone is there because they want to be there, largely because THAT IS THE CASE. People don’t go to MIT just because it’s the next logical step in their education. They go there because they want to, and MIT’s tight admission rate makes sure that only those who really want to come end up coming. And this makes for a totally different experience from what I had at UWA. And the MIT community is a paradox. You would think that being in such a pressurized environment, competition would be fierce. Well, I don’t really think that’s the case. The people are friendly, helpful and there’s a real collegial and cooperative vibe all around. Probably because attempting to survive MIT solo would drive anyone to suicide.
In short, MIT is an inspiring place. And despite the crazy workload, there truly is nowhere else I’d rather be. Going to MIT is not a given. It’s a privilege.
And an awesome one at that.
