Written by Sun Kim
Although MIT is obviously not one of the most athletically competitive schools in the nation—or the Boston area for the matter—many students here are very interested in sports. In fact, according to the NCAA, MIT offers one of the the broadest intercollegiate athletic programs in the country, along with having one of the athletic programs with the most Academic All-Americans. There are several sports that gain acclaim, such as fencing, sailing, swimming, and, most recently, the men’s basketball team. Even if MIT isn’t necessarily winning championships, there are definitely more than enough sports for people to get involved in. Some varsity sports will take you even if you have never played before; just be prepared to put in the work—joining a varsity team means that you have to practice at least two hours a day, which is two hours' less study time. As a result of the time they put into practices, though, athletes tend to be fairly good with their time-management skills.
MIT also offers a wide variety of club and IM sports, which are actually a favorite pastime of many MIT students. There are more than 1,000 IM teams with a 75 percent undergraduate participation rate. Most teams are organized through living groups, and IMs exist for everything from football to foosball. Again, if you’re good, you can join one of the better leagues, but if you’ve never played before, there’s usually a league for people like you, too. The great thing about IMs is that games are fairly infrequent, and they’re a lot of fun.