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Rodney · 11-17-2003, 04:08 PM

I wonder about this myself. I kicked around high tech for a number of years and met only one MIT grad; and _he_ was a political science guy -- heavy into statistical algorithms, though, it must be said. I'd be curious to know if MIT is kind of like an exclusive Ivy League school -- if you're not connected into academic circles in the Northeast, or know people who are, you can't get in.

I say that because I went with a woman who was the ultimate Ivy League school / MIT slacker. Her dad basically co-invented color TV for RCA back in the 40s and 50s, and apparently she could get in anywhere. She was a 40-year-old college student who'd gone from grad program to grad program down through the Ivy League, including MIT, never finishing her PhD but always getting into another one on Daddy's ticket (he kept her on an allowance). She knew Marvin Minsky to talk to, was part of the Martha's Vineyard crowd, slept with her professors (almost married one, which by a strange quirk of fate would have made her James Taylor's stepmother). She was smart, but not motivated to finish anything or go out into the world.

So I wonder: when you try to get into MIT, how many of those are you competing with?

11-17-2003, 04:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	I wonder about this myself. I kicked around high tech for a number of years and met only one MIT grad; and _he_ was a political science guy -- heavy into statistical algorithms, though, it must be said. I'd be curious to know if MIT is kind of like an exclusive Ivy League school -- if you're not connected into academic circles in the Northeast, or know people who are, you can't get in. I say that because I went with a woman who was the ultimate Ivy League school / MIT slacker. Her dad basically co-invented color TV for RCA back in the 40s and 50s, and apparently she could get in anywhere. She was a 40-year-old college student who'd gone from grad program to grad program down through the Ivy League, including MIT, never finishing her PhD but always getting into another one on Daddy's ticket (he kept her on an allowance). She knew Marvin Minsky to talk to, was part of the Martha's Vineyard crowd, slept with her professors (almost married one, which by a strange quirk of fate would have made her James Taylor's stepmother). She was smart, but not motivated to finish anything or go out into the world. So I wonder: when you try to get into MIT, how many of those are you competing with? Last edited by Rodney; 11-17-2003 at 04:15 PM..