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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • 1: Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • 10: Chemical Engineering
  • 11: Urban Studies and Planning
  • 12: Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
  • 13: Ocean Engineering
  • 14: Economics
  • 15: Management
  • 16: Aeronautics and Astronautics
  • 17: Political Science
  • 18: Mathematics
  • 2: Mechanical Engineering
  • 21: Humanities
  • 22: Nuclear Engineering
  • 24: Philosophy and Linguistics
  • 3: Materials Science and Engineering
  • 4: Architecture
  • 5: Chemistry
  • 6: The introductory Computer Science/Electrical Engineering course known for its intensity.
  • 6: Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
  • 7: Biology
  • 8: Physics
  • 9: Brain and Cognitive Sciences
  • Athena: The school computer system.
  • F*%# Truck: The bus that goes between MIT and Wellesley College.
  • FEE: Freshmen Essay Evaluation.
  • FPOP: Freshman Pre-Orientation Program.
  • FSILG: Fraternities Sororities and Independent Living Groups.
  • Hack: Harmless but clever—often large-scale—practical jokes that MIT students pull.
  • Hosed: Getting an education at MIT is like drinking from a firehose.
  • IFC: Interfraternity Council, the governing body for the fraternities.
  • IHTFP: I Hate This %&^@-ing Place, though there are many variations on this definition.
  • Lobby 10: The lobby that opens out to Killian Court. Students do various advertising and fundraising activities here.
  • Mass. Ave: Massachusetts Avenue.
  • Punt: Not doing your work.
  • Rush: Period where FSILGs recruit new members.
  • SafeRide: The nighttime shuttle that goes to dorms and FSILGs in Boston and Cambridge.
  • Sloan: MIT’s business school.
  • T: The subway system.
  • Tech Shuttle: A daytime shuttle that runs between Tang Hall and Kendall Square.
  • Tooling: Doing school work, (i.e. problem sets, papers, or studying for tests).
  • UROP: Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. This tends to be one of the most common jobs on campus.
  • Z-Center: Zesiger Center, MIT’s main athletic facility.
  • Zephyr: An Athena-based instant messaging program.
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School Consider learning the Greek alphabet. With so many fraternities and sororities, it’s bound to come in handy at some point. If you ever see a random group of letters written on a desk, there’s probably some member of a fraternity or living group responsible.
Tips to Succeed
  • Do a Pre-Orientation Program. The people who do these always end up knowing the campus better, and having a built-in group of friends before orientation even starts. You’re just a step ahead if you decide to do this. In fact, FLP (Freshman Leadership Program) is one of the largest, most popular programs at MIT.
  • Don’t believe everything you hear. Sometimes a rumor about a class, professor, or friend is nothing more than that, a rumor.
  • Meet as many people as possible during orientation. The campus is really vibrant and friendly up until the first round of tests during the third and fourth weeks.
  • Realize that you might not be the best/smartest anymore. You’re actually being compared to people who are just as smart—if not smarter—than you are. Don’t be disappointed, be content that you are truly in a group of your peers.
  • Sometimes, you can’t do all the work that you are assigned Learn to prioritize. Better yet, learn to deal.
  • Start your work as early as possible.There’s nothing worse than having to pull a last minute all-nighter before something is due. By doing your work in little increments, you’ll actually end up with more free time. And studying for tests will be easier because you’ve been working at it frequently.
  • Work in groups. Sure, you’ll get more glory if you do everything by yourself, but you also might end up in a padded room.
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MIT Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

tetris1

'13

Biology

4.2
A-

Sup MIT

MIT is different in many ways. For one thing, it's very nerdy. I would say the attitude is very work hard, play hard. People place their academics first and it's understood if you have to stay in on the weekend to study. All nighters are not uncommon... However, it's surprisingly social! There are plenty of awkward people but there's also a decent greek community. We also have a great undergraduate research program where students can work in labs and get experience in the field they're studying- it's pretty cool. Academically, things are pretty flexible. You're given a set of requirements but can choose to take classes whenever, so some classes will have students from all years.

Feb 03, 2012

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Inside Scoop at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Biostudent

'13

Biology

4.2
A-

Living Group Culture

This is by no means a rule, but dorm/living group culture is pretty strong here. Based on MIT's housing rules, one could live in the same dorm, within the same wing, all 4 years. And some people actually do so because they form a tight group of friends in their dorm. In addition, those in Greek life (about 40% of MIT), often move to their Greek houses. Each dorm or living group tends to have a "culture," and even wings within dorms have very distinct personalities. In many ways, the dorm you choose to live in shapes your identity and how your peers view you.

Jan 19, 2012

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Inside Scoop at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Workomatic

'13

Chemical Engineering

5.0
A+

IAP, UROP, Fsilgs...

MIT has a nickname for everything. These things are (mostly) all good!

IAP: aka "J-Term" aka Independent Activities Period. A month in which MIT drops their classes and you either get a) an extra month of vacation, b) an opportunity to do an additional internship during the year, c) time to focus on your research, d) time to go to Charm School and get your PhD in Charm!, e) a chance to take classes like the Chocolate Lab's truffle class, or DAPER's "Head of the Zieger"...

UROP: Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. MIT has a lot of grad students, and undergrads can capitalize on their research, mentorship, and general awesomeness by doing research with them. Many students have several publications before they graduate because of this....

Jan 19, 2012

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Page 1 of 3

Facts

Traditions
  • Bad Taste : Bad taste is an annual concert held by the Chorallaries, an MIT singing group. The concert occurs late at night to accommodate its reputation for being “in bad taste.”
  • CPW (Campus Preview Weekend): This is a weekend for prospective freshmen (prospies) to come visit MIT and see what they think.
  • Hacks : Look for these practical jokes around campus. Some of the most famous include an MIT balloon inflating in the middle of the field during Harvard/Yale football game, a cow on top of the dome, a house on top of the dome, and many others.
  • IAP (Independent Activities Period): This is the month between semesters where MIT students have the chance to do whatever they want!
  • Killian Kickoff : This is the traditional kickoff party for FSILG rush period. It used to be held right at the end of orientation, but the date has varied throughout the past few years.
  • Ring Premiere: Sophomores dress up to pick up their class rings, also known as the Brass Rat. Ring Premiere is one of the few times when the entire class comes together.
  • Spring Weekend : One of the last weekends in April featuring an international fair, a concert, and many other activities.
  • Steer Roast : This is a weekend-long event held at Senior House, including bands, mud wrestling, body painting and, of course, the roasting of a steer.
Urban Legends
  • A legend says that an MIT student would visit the Harvard football stadium every day dressed in a black-and-white striped shirt and black pants. He would go blow a whistle and spread birdseed on the field. He did this for many days, so that on opening day when Harvard took the field and the ref blew his whistle to signal the start of the game, the field was filled with birds looking for lunch.
  • During a prank at the annual Harvard-Yale game, some MIT students rigged the field with primer cord that would burn the letters MIT during the game (Harvard is MIT's hometown rival). The students were caught because they were wearing coats on a warm day. The coats were lined with batteries that would detonate the primer cord. Rumor has it an MIT dean tried to get the students off by opening his own coat, which was lined with batteries, and saying "All Tech men carry batteries."
  • Rumor says that even though Harvard Bridge is closer to MIT, it got its name because the state of Massachusetts said it would name it after the most deserving Cambridge university. Harvard argued that its contribution to education was the most well-known. MIT analyzed the bridge, allegedly finding it structurally unsound, and therefore agreed that Harvard was more deserving of the naming rights.

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College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at MIT

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Major: Mechanical Engineering

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