'Tis the season for EA/ED disappointment

[Urbanredneck]

@CairoCarol

Well, not “just MIT.” He’s applying to a bunch of other schools, after all.

But MIT (which incidentally wasn’t his first choice anyway - though it was a high #2) has special significance to us. Without going into detail, let’s just say that both his mom and dad have close ties to the school, and CairoSon made his first visit there well before the college stuff started. He genuinely knew the school culture and loved it. Hell, the kid grew up hearing MIT hack stories which his parents witnessed first hand.

As an only child of people who were DINKs for years before he was born, CairoSon is not a candidate for most scholarships/financial aid. (And by the way, I fully support need-blind admissions: if he lost a place to some kid who needs a full scholarship, that’s terrific and I’m glad for the other kid.)

You are quite right about “where you went to school doesn’t matter” for the most part. Unfortunately my son is a single-minded lover of theoretical physics: that (and animal welfare) are practically the ONLY things he cares about. He aspires to being a physics professor somewhere where he can teach students who are passionate about physics the way he is, at the same time he has access to great research opportunities (of course, being at CERN or SURF would be even better, but he realizes that’s even less likely than getting into MIT). If that’s what you want out of life (and not money/job prestige in the business world) … then yeah, you probably have to position yourself as an undergraduate to end up doing great Ph.D work someday. Does that mean you should probably go to MIT rather than UH if you can? Yeah, maybe.

Well the academic world is like a foreign country to me. Heck I was glad to just get thru college. I can see wanting to work someday with the best facilities, minds, and people in his chosen field. I wonder if he will invent a warp speed engine?

The CERN place sounds very interesting.

[Chronos]

Cairo, if it’s any consolation, MIT isn’t a great choice for an undergraduate education. For grad school, yes, it’s amazing, but there’s not as much emphasis on teaching, and the go-getter grad students don’t leave as many opportunities open for lowly undergrads. On the other hand, if you go to a school where there aren’t any grad students, all of the research assistants will be undergrads, and you’ll have the opportunity for some very valuable experience.

[CairoCarol]

@Chronos

Cairo, if it’s any consolation, MIT isn’t a great choice for an undergraduate education. For grad school, yes, it’s amazing, but there’s not as much emphasis on teaching, and the go-getter grad students don’t leave as many opportunities open for lowly undergrads. On the other hand, if you go to a school where there aren’t any grad students, all of the research assistants will be undergrads, and you’ll have the opportunity for some very valuable experience.

Thanks Chronos, that is genuinely comforting under the circumstances, especially as it is relevant given the other places he’s applying to. He may indeed end up with better research opportunities at a different school.