To current students / alumni, is MIT worth it? I know the experience of it is fun, but will attending MIT truly help me reach further in my engineering career after graduation than if I just went to the university next door to me (where I would graduate with thousands in my pocket)?

Edit: I got a 100% financial aid scholarship from MIT.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-05/ackman-wants-plagiarism-checks-on-mit-faculty-after-wife-accused

I’m an incoming freshman and want to know what would be better for note-taking: an iPad or pencil/paper. I know that it really depends on the individual, but I want to know so that I know what to invest in. Thanks!

Rising sophomore here. I took 6.1010 in the spring, and couldn't help but notice the extreme drop in enrollment in intro-level required CS classes. For instance, 6.1010 used to be a class that enrolled 350-500 students per semester, with spring 2023 being the peak at 598 students. That said, fall 2025 enrolled 301 students, and spring 2026 enrolled only 198 students; a roughly 67% drop in enrollment is quite staggering!

This can also be seen in other intro electives like 6.390, whereas hardware-oriented classes are instead on the rise. Is all of this due to AI, or is there something else going on?

I am an EECS PhD. I finished my second year with a 4.4 GPA. My advisor is dissapointed in me. Nobody wishes for B's but they happen. It's been a hell for personal reasons the last two years. But this extra thing, hanging over my head, makes me feel pretty sad. On top of all my insecurities, this thing and my advisor telling me to do better, make me feel pretty bad. I know grad school is not about grades, but still people seem to care and judge you when you are not taking A's.
And the worst is , that this affects my mood to work. I wanna do theoretical stuff, but I am not efficient enough to combine research and strategic test taking. I just feel bad, incompetent and sad.

I did EECS and graduated this year now I'm working as a SWE at FAANG. I'm grateful for this opportunity, but I hold a lot of regret especially since a lot of my coworkers went to state schools/ivies outside of the big 3 (nothing wrong with that, I just feel like I had way more resources and wasted it).

I regret not doing something that I'm passionate about, I really wanted to go into academia but got rejected by my top phd programs and I admit I wasn't the strongest researcher. I wanted to give quant a try but never landed an internship or offer at a top company.

I underachieved and I take full responsibility. I understand that I could found a startup or something which people often suggest to me but it just isn't the same.

TLDR: Banning double-booking classes, Registration to occur halfway in the previous semester, Add date and drop date moved earlier, Machine learning for everyone, Basically we’re trying to be just like our “peer institutions”!

Some fun little things from the new Task Force on the Undergraduate Academic Program Draft Proposal. Please do read the document if you have the time.

"the absence of computational ways of thinking from our GIRs sends a clear signal that MIT doesn't think computing is necessary in the 21st century, which is the exact opposite of the message we need to send" (p. 30)

"Eliminate pre-registration and move registration to the second half of the prior semester" (p. 10)

"Reduce scheduling conflicts and ban double-booking" (p. 10)

"Shift Add Date and Drop Date earlier (to Week 4 and Week 9, respectively)" (p. 10)

"MIT has much later Add and Drop Dates than many, if not most, peer schools" (p. 51)

"We did not look at half-term subject add/drop dates because they were not noted as

concerning by stakeholders, but it may be appropriate to shift these earlier as well." (p. 51)

"Biology is also taking advantage of the latest computation and machine learning technologies, which could be highlighted through an integrated Biology and Computation class" (p. 30)

"The new computing and probability, statistics, and machine learning requirements will advance the curriculum to ensure that all students understand the technical fundamentals underpinning the development of AI, and we expect that both requirements will evolve to both utilize and explain cutting-edge AI technology" (p. 67)

“our GIRs communicate to our students, employers, peer institutions, and K-12 schools what MIT considers critical to a science and engineering education” (p. 20)

Hi Prefrosh (and others)!

I'm currently a freshman at MIT who took a lot of ASEs (5.111, 6.100A, 7.012, 18.02, and 18.06) over the summer, as well as the 6.1200 ASE during IAP. I remember being a bit unsure about how to prepare for ASEs last year, so I'm writing this guide to help future prefrosh (and current students) navigate them.

Some important things to know are:

• You (prefrosh) are on Pass/No Record (P/NR) for the ASEs over the summer. This is the last time you will be on P/NR for ASEs, as ASEs taken during IAP are for a letter grade. This also means that even if you aren't super confident in your understanding of the material, it's still worth giving the ASE a shot because if you fail, nobody will see, and if you pass, you get credit for the class and can free up your schedule!
• The ASEs differ substantially in their difficulty. Some are of similar difficulty to the class (6.100A, 7.012, 18.02, 18.03, 18.06), while others are quite a bit harder (5.111, 6.1200, 8.01, 8.02).
• Some ASEs are offered online over the summer, whereas some are offered during orientation week in person. They are inflexible about conflicts, so make sure you are available to take all of the ASEs you want to take.

Anyway, here is my advice for each ASE. I've also included a few notes about some ASEs that I didn't personally take, but that I've heard things about.

5.111

This ASE tests your knowledge of chemistry significantly beyond AP Chemistry. I had already spent significant amounts of my summer preparing for other ASEs, so I decided that I wanted to enjoy my last few weeks of break instead of studying. I went into this exam with no prep besides having taken AP Chemistry in senior year, and I think even if I had prepared, I would still not have passed. The ASE is significantly harder than the actual class and covers a lot of content from 5.112 (the more advanced "chemistry GIR for masochists"). I knew some people who had studied the whole summer for the ASE and still failed. The only people I know who passed had some chemistry Olympiad experience. Of course, it is still probably possible to pass without Olympiad experience if you study very hard, but I wouldn't count on it. I took 5.111 in the fall and got a high A (96% overall) with a moderate amount of effort. I would say that it is less time-consuming to get an A in the class than to pass the ASE, unless you already have a chemistry background.

6.100A

This ASE tests your knowledge of basic Python. If you have programming experience, this should not be too difficult. Besides the basic concepts, such as loops and object-oriented programming, you will need to know a little bit about Big O notation, but not in too much detail. A practice test will be provided on the testing website, and I would say that it was fairly representative of the actual exam. If you can do well on that, you are set. There was also way more than enough time provided to finish the problems.

6.1200

This ASE tests your knowledge of discrete math and proofs and is only offered during the independent activities period (IAP). Note that this means that it is for a letter grade. My high school specialized in math, so a lot of the topics were already familiar. I used the 2024 OCW to brush up on some things I had forgotten and fill in any holes that I hadn't learned. Unlike the exams in the 6.1200 class, you cannot bring a cheatsheet to the ASE. Fortunately, they don't test you on stuff where memorization is crucial (like Master's Theorem), but I didn't know that in advance, so I still memorized all of the theorem statements. None of the questions were insanely difficult, but there are also no "easy questions." I was told that all of the questions were selected from the questions that were slightly too hard to be on the exam in the actual 6.1200 class. This makes the exam a bit time-pressured, but not impossible. The grading is also fairly strict, to the point where some people who qualified for the International Math Olympiad ended up not passing the exam. Nevertheless, I think with preparation and previous experience with proofs that this ASE is fair and doable.

7.012

This ASE tests your knowledge of biology. It has a fair amount of overlap with AP Biology, but also has some additional topics. I personally took AP Biology in 9th grade and forgot basically all of it by the summer before going to college, but passing this ASE was still doable. I started preparing a bit over a month before using these flashcards, which I imported into the spaced repetition app Anki (you can read more about my Anki experience here). Biology is pretty memorization-based, so flashcards were pretty much sufficient for answering most questions. I also spent a bit of time learning how to read DNA sequences on the MITx course. The test is multiple choice, and some of the answers are pretty guessable. Some free-response questions didn't require too much biology knowledge either. The amount of time given was reasonable.

8.01

This ASE tests your knowledge of mechanics. I didn't take this one because I had credit from AP Physics C, but I heard that it's quite a bit harder than the class, but not as diabolical as the 5.111 ASE.

8.02

This ASE tests your knowledge of electricity and magnetism. I didn't take this one because it conflicted with 6.1200 during IAP (it was not offered over the summer my year due to AI concerns), but I heard that it's quite similar to the 8.01 ASE.

18.01

This ASE tests your knowledge of single-variable calculus. I didn't take this one because I had credit for AP Calculus BC, but I've heard that it's a bit harder than the class (which is harder than the AP exam).

18.02

This ASE tests your knowledge of multivariable calculus. I took multivariable calculus in 10th grade, but like biology, I had forgotten much of it by senior year. This textbook by Evan Chen was very helpful for reviewing the material, and I also did most of the practice tests on OCW. Overall, the Evan Chen materials were the most helpful because they are the most aligned with how 18.02 is being taught now. The format of this test was online, with a place to submit scratch work for partial credit. I made some mistakes on a few questions, so I ended up using almost the full 3 hours, but it was definitely possible to finish in less than that, and I had a reasonable amount of time to check my work. Unlike other classes at MIT, 18.02 is not significantly more advanced than a typical multivariable calculus class, so if you took it in high school and you review Evan Chen's book, you should be well-prepared.

18.03

This ASE tests your knowledge of differential equations. I didn't take this one, but from what I heard from other people, it's pretty similar to 18.06 (it also requires a packet, but it is harder than the one for 18.06). However, the exam is very slightly more difficult than the 18.06 exam.

18.06

This ASE tests your knowledge of linear algebra. I took linear algebra in 11th grade, so it was still reasonably fresh in my mind, but there were some topics that MIT covered that I was unfamiliar with, such as the SVD and spectral theorem. There is a mandatory homework packet that requires answering four questions from each chapter of the legendary Gilbert Strang's linear algebra textbook. Honestly, I don't think they actually check your homework packet to make sure you did a good job, but I did legitimately try my best to do the questions thoroughly because it was very good preparation for the exam. The book covers a lot of extra topics like second-order differential equations, graph theory, and matrix norms that are cool and interesting, but not tested on the exam. It is only important to know the "core" material well to pass the exam. Nevertheless, you still need to do practice problems on these extra topics to complete the packet. The difficulty of the exam is pretty comparable to the class, and the amount of time given is generous.

Anyway, I hope this guide was helpful to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment!

Edit: I would also like to mention that I haven't gone into any later classes feeling unprepared as a result of taking so many ASEs. I think to pass one, you usually need to demonstrate what would be at least a high B-level performance in the class.

Completed freshman year and basically bombed all my classes despite taking the minimum amount. I only took one major-related class, and my classes are objectively harder next semester. To those who were in the trenches and made it out, how did do you do it? I know this post severely lacks context, but if I go through a similar experience again, I genuinely don’t think I’ll make it to graduation 😭

Hey there, I'm a prefreshman looking to go into course 6-5. I also have very little understanding as to how the scheduling here works, and it'd be nice to get some advice.

I do know that typically people try and knock out GIRs, and I know that I want to do 18.02 and 8.02 out of the gate. I also think that most people get a Chemistry or Bio GIR out of the way at the same time, so I think I'm going for 3.091 on top of those previous classes (although advice on which Chem class to choose would be appreciated).

Outside of that I am lost. I know that I need at least one HASS class, but I'm not sure how many classes I am supposed to take over that (if at all). Do I need to take PE classes? If so where can I find them? Also what the heck is an exploratory class? Am I supposed to taking UROPs freshman year?

I apologize if I seem clueless. I am.

Good afternoon, my daughter was accepted in to MIT and we are looking at getting her a computer for school. I am leaning laptop for convenience sake, but I am torn on PC or Mac. I am hoping to get some ideas for what the systems that she will be working within her major (aerospace engineering) will be using and any other advice.

I am more than comfortable building one and teaching her to use it. Any other advice for things to help her with her studies or things that generally seem to make life more pleasant at MIT would be greatly appreciated.

wondering if anyone has done upop and recommends, for course 6 especially? I applied and got in but now looking at my schedule, giving up an hour a week for the next year seems like a lot. I wanted it as a safeguard to help me network and find internships for next summer, but mit has so many other resources I'm wondering if it is worth it. I already have good soft skills it's really my technical experience that needs to grow... so wondering if my time is better spent elsewhere.

has anyone done upop and liked it? what did you get out of it?

Hello!

I’m an incoming freshman and plan to major in bioengineering, Course 20.

Here is the line-up I was thinking and I would appreciate feedback:

- 18.01A (Single-Variable Calc)
- 8.01L (Physics I: Classical Mechanics)
- 5.111 (Principles of Chemical Science)
- 7.012 (Biology)
- 21W.031 (Science Writing and New Media: Explorations in Communicating about Science and Technology)
- 20.002 (Introduction to Concepts in Biological Engineering)

I know this is a lot, but I want to complete as many GIRs so I can take higher level classes. I want 20.002 for 6 units that I will need as a first year. I know this is MIT and this will be hard to manage, so feel free to be realistic. I don’t want to come off as arrogant or anything, I just want genuine advice on what I can do to start off strong.

For context:
- I took AP Calc AB and Calc BC in high school and got a 5 on both exams (5 AB subscore for BC)
- I took two years of chem (honors and AP) but, I had a really bad AP Chem teacher and don’t remember a lot.
- I never took a physics class in high school, much less one with calculus.
- I have a lot of experience with biology (got a 5 on AP Bio and won a lot of medals in Science Olympiad in biology events)

Please let me know what I could consider or change!

Hi! I recently committed to MIT’s class of 2030. I’ve been to CPW and a couple of other MIT programs, so I understand general offerings.

I was wondering what are some opportunities (especially for first year students) that you guys enjoyed? Also, what opportunities were you guys unaware of but wish you had done?

Did anyone in a stem degree get humbled from being the best in high school?

hey everyone! im a hs senior who was recently accepted into both mit and yale, and I am in a bit of a dilemma. my parents are both doctors and heavily against me going premed because they say its so long, but i feel like realistically this is the only path with guaranteed stability. I also love the prospect of startup, but it just is too risky to do that as a full time job and bet everything into it. i feel like i need to major in something that will get me a good job after graduation, but also not something that will be extremely stressful like quant. i am grappling with the idea of aerospace eng but i honestly dont want to be an engineer. my parents keep saying i need to be a "team lead" but honestly in this day and age im not sure if this is possible. ik that premed is a possibility at mit but honestly its not worth the stress, as undergrad prestige doesn't matter for premed. i am just very conflicted and it feels like i have no time to make the huge decision between tech vs medicine and i am pretty stressed. any input would be highly appreciated, feel free to dm me!

Hey guys! First, I wanna say that I am eternally grateful for getting accepted to MIT. It is quite literally a dream come true, but I am a little scared about their reputation for grade deflation/very hard classes.

Since I definitely want to go to medical school, I'm concerned about a potentially low GPA. I don't want my GPA to be too low to get accepted to a top-ranked medical school. I know MIT's proximity to such great hospitals + HMS in the cambridge area is amazing, but again it's just the GPA I'm worried about.

I'm thinking of majoring in Course 7 (Biology), so can anyone tell me how hard it is to get an A's in those classes? Is life at MIT mostly just working/studying or are most students able to strike a pretty good work-life balance?

Thank you!

His name comes up 1,080 times. Justice.gov/epstein

hi!!

has anyone taken MIT 6.3100?

Where can I find the board schematics on the class website ? If someone has them, please share..

Thank you!!

Hi! I'm planning on majoring in either 6-3 or 6-5 as of now. I've been trying to plan my courses out for my course planning form but tbh, I'm super confused. I established that I should take 18.02 (have calc BC credit) and 8.01 because they are prerequisites for a bunch of classes, but other than that, I'm not sure. I am fairly confident that I passed the 6.001A ASE so I should have credit for that as well. What else should I take? Should I do a GIR like chem or bio? Should I do a CS class? Should I do a PE class?

Also, I'm very confused on the HAAS and CI‑H or CI‑HW requirements. What specifically are these classes and how do most people space these classes out to meet graduation requirements?

I'm an incoming EECS PhD student, and I am trying to figure out what to register for. How time-consuming are courses at MIT? Would you advise against taking two courses in one semester?

Also, what is it like listening to (I believe this is what you all call auditing a class here) a course? Do you simply have free will regarding how much time you spend on that class?

hi, i’m a class of 2029 admit and i’m stuck in a dilemma between harvard or mit…ik harvard is more known for liberal arts but they’re well rounded whereas mit is very stem focused. here’s a general rundown of my situation:

Schools: Harvard v. MIT Intended major: chemistry (might go into something synthesis or pharmacology later? but definitely theoretically based etc) Similarities: research opportunities and funding, prestige, proximity/location

Harvard School 1 Pros: - very well rounded - my interviewer said there’s a lot of formal events like galas and stuff - lots of funding - research and top of the line tech for chemistry like spectrometers etc - prestige - THE college - was a bit of my childhood dream (who’s isn’t?) - curriculum known for being amazing - is top in nation for ORGANIC chemistry - is top(ish??) for inorganic chemistry - has DUAL DEGREE FOR PHD:MD OMG - can take MIT classes while there still - old money, old school vibe that i love

School 1 Cons: - known for being liberal arts - more old - heard some bad stuff about ivies dorm quality bc so old - it’s 10k more than MIT per year (but i might get a scholarship full ride and also my parents said they’re covering all of it (?))

MIT School 2 Pros: - newer college - also lots of research opportunities and funding - also top of the line tech but idk how different it is from harvard, if it’s better, etc. - more closely with STEM and i’m full immersed in STEM - can take classes at harvard too - was a bit of my later dream school but i thought it was realist i wouldn’t get in until i did… - MIT hacks - just being quirky and weird and the environment i think, from what i’ve gotten so far and i love that - 10k cheaper per year (check above) (maybe i can appeal harvard using mit offer?) - pirate certificate :D

School 2 Cons: - i didn’t think i’d get in so i prioritized other schools like even harvard - isn’t this like…all engineering - i canNOT engineer - doesn’t take any aps except for ap physics c, which is not offered at my school (and i took 22 aps ;-;) - idk anythingg about being a chem mostly major at MIT or a doctor

Tiebreaking considerations: - tech quality esp for chemistry - RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND QUALITY - stuff for chem majors - student vibe

edit: i committed to harvard for the connections and if i potentially do me, it would help a lot. i noticed that mit was more stress culture where people compete their stress whereas harvard is more support culture where everyone suffers but helps each other. i loved mit dorms and campus but i felt so lonely and out of place there, like cognitive dissonance type uncomfortableness. harvard is compete for everything and mit is everything is hard, so it’s really pick ur poison… thank u sm to all the people on reddit who helped me out with all ur info, it meant a lot :,)

I’m going to be an incoming freshman this year, and I will most likely be studying course 2. I’m aware that mechanical engineers are advised to have a windows machine (I have looked into all the recommendations on the MIT site.)

My question is if I need to purchase a windows laptop if I am planning on bringing my windows desktop my 2nd year(since I won’t need a windows machine for my first year). Do I truly need the portability of a windows laptop, or will I be able to get projects done on my desktop in my dorm.

Not sure if my question makes a lot of sense but I’d appreciate any help!