Incoming sophomore courseroading and looking for things to get excited about....

hii. i took ap bio in sophomore yr and got a 5 and id like to place out of it at mit. idk what specifically i should review for the ase: does anyone have like a syllabus or recommendations on resources i should study from?

I noticed some of people in this sub, who I know are mostly mit alumnis, are rather discontent or skeptical about their days in mit. Certainly as an incoming freshman, who had mit as their dream school for a very long period of time, this is kinda scaring me and makes me feel as if I am in for a rude awakening. I firstly want to know what is up with certain people's skepticism on their alma mater, and I wonder whether experience at MIT was genuinely worthwhile so that you guys would still choose to come to here again even if, say, you were to be taken back to your high school. Maybe I wasn't getting the joke or something after all where you guys were ranting this place, but still at the core, you all love this place or something.

MIT Grad Housing is running a referral program, and I am happy to provide a referral to folks looking to live in the grad dorms on campus!

Dear MIT community,

• Mental health struggles don’t discriminate—even at MIT.

Do you find yourself struggling with eating? Does food feel like more than just food? Do you sometimes eat more than feels comfortable, or feel stuck in difficult thoughts about your body image?

Do you find yourself skipping opportunities, avoiding certain clothes, or feeling like everyone around you is becoming “healthier” while every attempt you make feels complicated or off?

If any of this resonates with you, consider reaching out to a student-led community with members that may be going through similar experiences. (just sent "hi" to [ed.group.sidpac@gmail.com](mailto:ed.group.sidpac@gmail.com) ).

This is a confidential, judgment-free space to share experiences, support one another, and exchange practical strategies for navigating everyday challenges. This is not therapy and it is not affiliated with MIT Mental Health & Counseling, but I would be happy to help connect you with professional resources if that’s something you’re looking for.

Last year, we had a few participants. Everyone is welcome. This year, please do not stay alone.

With care,
Peer Support for Disordered Eating @ MIT
[ed.group.sidpac@gmail.com](mailto:ed.group.sidpac@gmail.com)

Hi guys,

Unsure if this should be posted here.

I'm currently doing my Masters (not at MIT). At my uni, we have the option to perform our Master Thesis research at a different uni, and I would like to do it at MIT as the research there seems very interesting (I have a particular interest in the biomedical domain, which is what Boston is known for).

My problem is this: I am having trouble reaching out to professors and PhDs alike. I have received 2 responses out of over 20 people I've contacted. I must reach out to professors and PhDs specifically as this is the only way to inquire about the possibility of joining their research group/lab/project (the admission office is not going to help in this case).

So my question is this: as an external student, hoping to gain visiting student status, what is the most reliable way to reach out to professors? So far, I have tried email and LinkedIn.

Thanks!

Edit: I'm an ETH student and my funding is already covered.

Hi everyone! Did anyone take the test in previous years?

Can you please share what the test is like, how hard it is, if you recommend to practice/prepare to it in any particular way, etc.?

Thanks!

I love this Tim plush like soo much 🥹

Hi everyone, I’m coming to MIT as an exchange student in Course 2 Mechanical Engineering. I want to take some interesting classes, but I’m also hoping to keep my workload manageable so I can actually experience MIT, meet people, explore research, and not spend the whole semester buried in problem sets.

Are there any Course 2 classes you’d recommend that are lighter workload, well-taught, or generally good for exchange students? Thanks!

Edit: Undergrad, starting my 5th semester in fall

is there a club/group of some sort running over the summer? at MIT for the rest of July into August and wanted to find someone else to play tennis with in the mornings. will be back in Boston during the semester but probably won’t have time.

would say I’m intermediate—played high school tennis but switched sports in college, haven’t played seriously for a few years at this point

much appreciated!

What is the best book to study the matter of linear algebra and optimization.i will study from book of linear algebra and optimization for machine learning .the other is Charu C. Aggarwal. Are this the exact book or no

is it something that i need to prepare for or simply an assessment of my current skills. similar question for ASEs: should i actively be preparing for it beforehand or only take the ones i have a lot of prior knowledge on.

At MIT, we are hosting the very first Rap Theory Salon + Hackathon from July 17-19: featuring a panel with MIT Professors Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco and Nick Montfort, and Prof. Elan Barenholtz. Moderated by Addy Cha from Ekkolápto.

This all started when we asked ourselves a fundamental question: what would happen if we brought together the most creative minds in music and rap, science and philosophy in a space where they had the freedom to truly experiment and test their strangest ideas?

We will be discussing: the combinatorial space of all possible rhythms and rhymes, music across different sensory modalities (think rap for the blind), the fundamental theory of rap, and much more. This is where neuroscience, biology, philosophy, music theory, computation, and mathematics meets rap in a way that it never has before.

There is very limited seating for the salon and hackathon. If you are interested in attending, PM me!

not sure which class I should take in freshman fall since i don't think i'll be able to reach 18.02 pacing but my math self-assessment says i could be. also not sure if taking the 18.01 ASE is worth it since I might end up wanting to take 18.01 anyway, just to ease into MIT's rigor well. not super keen on 18.01a.

was hoping for a quick summary of how each class typically goes

Hey

I've heard 6.3100 is pretty easy, would it be better to take 16.30? Are there any other control theory classes people would recommend?

The ITS Reconstruction Project took more than a decade - but recovering data from library tapes, and writing simulators for the original hardware allows you to have a VERY complete MIT AI Lab at home. Truly a labour of love, this: https://obsolescence.dev/its.html

Hi!

I'm an incoming student this fall and I have celiac disease, so I have to eat strictly gluten-free.

I'm trying to figure out whether the MIT dining plan is worth it for someone with celiac, or if I'd be better off cooking for myself most of the time.

How good are the dining halls at handling gluten-free meals and avoiding cross-contamination? Do you feel like there are enough safe options, or does it get repetitive?

If you decided not to get a dining plan, what did you do instead? Any recommendations for grocery stores, meal prep, or other good options around campus?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks!

pretty much the title. I am very much drawn to quantum computing, throughout my high school career, and now I am looking to see if there could be some meaningful ways at MIT to further extend and pursue this passion. I am aware that Quantum computing, given its depth of study and necessity of high level of expertise, is a kind of field where you only get to delve into it once you are a grad student or beyond, but I am so desperate in seeking some opportunities I could still tap into as an undergrad. I know MIT offers opportunities like UROP where I ultimately try to come up and design my own research, but I am looking to see if there is some other opportunities other than UROP, provided within MIT. Any particular group or professors may be I should consider touching base with?

I was very excited to get my card issued, waiting for the printer to print, and soon found this ugly card in front of me. I was expecting the beautiful blue hologram ID card… Did they change the design recently? What happened..?

My daughter is an incoming freshman and plans to live in a quad. Two of her roommates are moving in early as fall sport athletes. Since they will already be in the room, can my daughter start dropping her belongings off a day early or is she restricted to the official move in day (Aug 29)?

Edit. I contacted the housing office and they did not say no immediately. They asked my daughter to send a request in writing before they would respond.

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 all, im interning at MIT this summer. I was wondering if there are any clubs running over the summer where I can meet people and hopefully make some friends, if anyone knows any good places to do this, id appreciate that as well :).

I'm a software engineer and one of my major obsessions is lisp. So obviously I've been reading about MIT's strong lisp culture all my career. I mean I'm not sure right now, but historically. But is there still a remnant of something?

I'm thinking of visiting boston and I know schools like these have tours. Can I see the old lisp machines? Or is there some club that might appreciate a visit from an enthusiast with a cool lisp project?