SCHOOL DESCRIPTION: MIT was founded in 1861 to increase industrialization. Since then, it has formed intense research and training collaborations with other institutes, industries and government.  Each year, MIT discloses numerous inventions and patent applications.  Researchers from various departments have won world-class prizes including the Nobel Prize.

MIT has substantial laboratory facilities including one of the largest university-based nuclear reactors in the United States.  MIT is also well-known for its unique architecture on campus.  MIT’s School of Architecture was the first architecture school established in the U.S., and has a history of progressive design including many buildings that are representatives of modern architecture. Those visiting MIT and prospective students can take a tour of MIT to learn more about the school.

HOTELS: Click here for hotels closest to MIT.

CAMPUS SETTING: With its urban setting, the MIT campus also has a strong entrepreneurial culture. The Cambridge neighborhoods surrounding MIT are a mixture of high-tech and bio-tech companies. In addition, there are many hotels and restaurants near MIT.

TUITION AND FEES: $55,270

AREAS OF STUDY: As a research institute, MIT takes an influential role in solving the world’s greatest challenges.  Best known for its math, science, and engineering education, MIT is a private university that also offers world-class programs in the following fields:

  • architecture
  • humanities
  • management
  • social science

It offers students an intensive academic education as well as opportunities to support ongoing scientific research.

STUDENT BODY: Fierce competition for acceptance exists with an admission rate of 9.7%. In the school year of 2010–2011, MIT students came from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, three U.S. territories, and 115 foreign countries. There are currently about 4200 undergraduates.

CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES: MIT has over 450 student groups and 33 varsity sports, the largest DIII athletic program in the nation.

INTERESTING FACTS:

  • MIT’s athletic teams call themselves the Engineers
  • MIT is home to the nation’s first architecture degree

There are many books about MIT but here are our two favorites: The Idea Factory – Learning to Think at MIT was written by alumni Pepper White, who received his masters in mechanical engineering. The book is “a personal story of the educational process” at MIT and recounts the best of and worst of this world renowned educational institution.

Our other favorite is Becoming MIT: Moments of Decision. This is basically a book about how MIT became MIT and the 2011 150th anniversary of MIT’s founding. From the Amazon.com review: “MIT has produced leading scholars in fields ranging from aeronautics to economics, invented entire academic disciplines, and transformed ideas into market-ready devices. This book examines a series of turning points, crucial decisions that helped define MIT.
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