MIT: 1957 vs 2007

Discussion in 'Education and Academia' started by DoctorD, Sep 10, 2007.

  1. DoctorD

    DoctorD Member+

    Sep 29, 2002
    MidAtlantic
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  2. TheLostUniversity

    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Feb 4, 2007
    Greater Boston
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Depressing, on a number of levels. The one caveat is that MIT is a private institution and so has no public responsibility to make its programs accessible to us ordinary unmoneyed folk [and, to its credit, MIT does have that excellent "Open Courseware" program]. This in comparison to a growing number of state universities, which DO have the mandate to serve the public [of that state at least] but have ignored that mandate and boosted tuition & fees massively Ad Gloriam Lucre. :rolleyes:
     
  3. Danks81

    Danks81 Member

    May 18, 2003
    Philadelphia
  4. striker

    striker Member+

    Aug 4, 1999
    IIRC, MIT is one of the universities that is financially blind in its admission policy. I don't think it takes into consideration whether an applicant can afford the cost of a MIT education. If the applicant is good enough, he/she will get admitted, and MIT will find a way to finance this applicant's education at MIT.
     
  5. TheLostUniversity

    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Feb 4, 2007
    Greater Boston
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's true. MIT is one of a dwindling number of institutions which consistently practice "need-blind" admissions. As I can personally attest, aid is offered up to the level needed to be able to attend. The problem is that much of this aid [in terms of dollars, if not necessarily in terms of percentage of need] is today, and increasingly so, in terms of loans rather than grants. So to attend a school like MIT may well mean incurring a fearsome debt, particularly if you aim to study in fields not so well remunerated [so Joe may stick with his astrophysics, and accept that $40,000 debt will be accumulated by the time he gets his bachelor's. But most of the Johns in that situation will end up saying "the hell with it" and gin up on materials science or chemical engineering in order to make that debt something reasonably easily paid off. Not a terrible hardship as far as life can offer, but it sure makes it hard on that Joe who stays with his love for the contemplation of the stars].
    At many other "need-blind" schools, the reliance on loans is even heavier than MIT. And, of course, most no longer pretend to being "need blind", even at what are objectively highly moneyed institutions . [Yes, your financial aid request IS a factor in admissions at places like Brown and Yale].
     
  6. striker

    striker Member+

    Aug 4, 1999
    IIRC, Princeton has recently changed its financial aid policy so that not only admission is need blind, needy students will be supported NOT by loans, but with grants and scholarships. Unfortunately, not many schools have the kind of endowment that can make this possible. (I suppose Harvard could have if it wanted to).
     
  7. usasoccerhooligan

    May 1, 2005
    i believe that Harvard has a program that makes everything nearly free (if not completely free) for needy students. at least, they did when i somewhat jokingly flirted with the idea of applying to Harvard to see if i could be accepted last year. not that i would have gone there even if i had because i wanted to go to a school more renowned for its engineering.
     
  8. striker

    striker Member+

    Aug 4, 1999
    A friend of mine came from an old Boston family who had been going to Harvard for generations. Just to piss off his family, he applied to Harvard three times, got accepted three times, and turned them down three times (undergrad, medical school and grad school).
     
  9. usasoccerhooligan

    May 1, 2005
    that is really funny. a brother and sister from my hometown are presently at Harvard. they seem to enjoy it. not too shabby for a podunk town of 4,000 in Indiana to have two at such a prestigious place. heck, there's only a handful that graduated with me who didn't go to three schools that are pretty low on the totem pole of academia.
     

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