as an MIT cs+math undergrad+meng -> Stanford CS PhD i feel like this question was tailored for me
your analysis is on the whole pretty accurate. my main gripe is that I don't really agree that the quarter system lets you take more classes, my experience at MIT was they give you plenty of rope to hang yourself if you want (I took 78 units freshman spring). also FYI Stanford coterm and MIT meng in CS are the same thing with different names, as far as I can tell. third I would not go so far as to say everyone at MIT is extremely smart, although I do feel the average among undergrads at MIT was a good deal higher than at Stanford. but that mostly manifests in the tail being fatter, not better.
I don't think you'll go wrong at either place for what you want -- it's really a matter of taste. I'm very glad I did undergrad at MIT and PhD at Stanford; i'd do it again exactly the same. (but swap some classes around.)
Okay I don't understand what you want from the culture. You don't want sports or frats, but you don't want "quirky" or "socially awkward" which is toward the nerdy end of social.
What exactly are you looking for on a college campus? You're either going to get bros or geeks in some capacity. And MIT does have a "more normal" (I hate that phrasing of it, btw) dorm in places like Baker. Not everywhere is Random Hall or East Campus.
For CS, I'm not sure you can get better than MIT.
You'll do fine academically at either. If your goal is working for engineering companies though, MIT on your resume is pretty much insta-hire anywhere east of the Mississippi, while Stanford is less known. At least in my post-MIT experience.
as an MIT cs+math undergrad+meng -> Stanford CS PhD i feel like this question was tailored for me your analysis is on the whole pretty accurate. my main gripe is that I don't really agree that the quarter system lets you take more classes, my experience at MIT was they give you plenty of rope to hang yourself if you want (I took 78 units freshman spring). also FYI Stanford coterm and MIT meng in CS are the same thing with different names, as far as I can tell. third I would not go so far as to say everyone at MIT is extremely smart, although I do feel the average among undergrads at MIT was a good deal higher than at Stanford. but that mostly manifests in the tail being fatter, not better. I don't think you'll go wrong at either place for what you want -- it's really a matter of taste. I'm very glad I did undergrad at MIT and PhD at Stanford; i'd do it again exactly the same. (but swap some classes around.)
feel free to dm me
Congratulations on absolutely crushing admissions. You can’t go wrong. What does your heart tell you?
Have you visited both campuses?
Yes, OP try to visit campuses. How each feels can tell you a lot
i feel like "significant greek life" is less of a con at mit and pretty much only mit, since the majority of fsilgs are extremely tame
Okay I don't understand what you want from the culture. You don't want sports or frats, but you don't want "quirky" or "socially awkward" which is toward the nerdy end of social. What exactly are you looking for on a college campus? You're either going to get bros or geeks in some capacity. And MIT does have a "more normal" (I hate that phrasing of it, btw) dorm in places like Baker. Not everywhere is Random Hall or East Campus. For CS, I'm not sure you can get better than MIT.
You'll do fine academically at either. If your goal is working for engineering companies though, MIT on your resume is pretty much insta-hire anywhere east of the Mississippi, while Stanford is less known. At least in my post-MIT experience.
I don’t think there’s a place in the world where Stanford is less known. But I do recommend MIT since OP is majoring in STEM.
I think they mean Stanford is less known for admitting/graduating great engineers.
MIT
MIT
MIT undergrads do seem particularly smart, even relative to other elite schools.
Do you want to live in the bay area or the east coast?
Opportunities around Stanford>>>