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Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

boston.com

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Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#21

Post by hugh3 »

robg wrote: post #9
hugh3 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It reminds me of a Point/Counterpoint from The Onion: "Why MIT Matters", by Bill Gates vs "MIT Sucks and Everyone Who Goes There Is A Huge Fag, lol" by A First-Year Engineering Undergrad at Caltech

Sad that we can't take time - even just a moment - to appreciate nice things. Is the default really to assume a conflict? It's like the internet really is a fifteen year old - highly opinionated and easily slighted. I've been affiliated with MIT for three years. I hope to never leave. I wish I appreciated education as a kid and I might have arrived much sooner.

Are you sure you're not overinterpreting things here?

I was only pointing out that it's a bit of a silly headline, "Why MIT Matters", since nobody is out there trying to argue that it doesn't.

Now, the same article with the headline "Bill Gates says nice things about MIT for its 150th anniversary" might be much better.

Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#22

Post by MitRules »

robg wrote: post #11
MitRules wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people would up-vote a bowel movement if "MIT" was in the title.

You created an account just to post that deep thought? Why troll?

Really wasn't meant to be a troll honestly, just an observation of the sometimes undue attention MIT gets. This happens on slashdot and every other forum. There are plenty of great schools doing great things, yet media has cast MIT as `the` place for all things tech. When there's a character in a movie who's a cool techie, they went to MIT. If you're a fictional character joining the CIA, you went to MIT. I can see how my comment unduly denigrates the judgement of the community in general, I'm sorry for that. Invariably however, maybe due to the name recognition at the aggregate, MIT stories always rise the top. It was a pretty stupid way of putting it originally, sorry.

Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#23

Post by ipince »

nvarsj wrote: post #16
pnathan wrote: post #12

I wish I had had the cojones to apply to MIT when I was looking at undergraduate schools. I was afraid I was too fail, and I was terrified of the debt I'd accrue. Today, I think I could have made a competitive attempt to get in. If you're a nerdy high schooler: Don't let that be you.

Not that state schools are much cheaper these days, but do you really think it's good advice to suggest accumulating 200K+ in debt to get an undergrad degree?

People need to understand that MIT and most other top tier schools have insanely amazing need-based financial aid programs. If you really can't afford it, don't worry, you won't have to. Yes, you'll accumulate some debt, but it's more like 16,000 instead of 200,000 (at least in my case). Plus, again in my case, it's interest-free for as long as you're in school and 9 months after you leave.

So yes, I strongly advice any high school student from any economic background to apply.

Edit: changed "keeled" to "need" in first sentence; damn phone auto-complete!

Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#24

Post by [deleted] »

nvarsj wrote: post #16
pnathan wrote: post #12

I wish I had had the cojones to apply to MIT when I was looking at undergraduate schools. I was afraid I was too fail, and I was terrified of the debt I'd accrue. Today, I think I could have made a competitive attempt to get in. If you're a nerdy high schooler: Don't let that be you.

Not that state schools are much cheaper these days, but do you really think it's good advice to suggest accumulating 200K+ in debt to get an undergrad degree?

[deleted]

Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#25

Post by Wilduck »

ipince wrote: post #23
nvarsj wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that state schools are much cheaper these days, but do you really think it's good advice to suggest accumulating 200K+ in debt to get an undergrad degree?

People need to understand that MIT and most other top tier schools have insanely amazing need-based financial aid programs. If you really can't afford it, don't worry, you won't have to. Yes, you'll accumulate some debt, but it's more like 16,000 instead of 200,000 (at least in my case). Plus, again in my case, it's interest-free for as long as you're in school and 9 months after you leave. So yes, I strongly advice…

This is also true for middle income students. I qualified for $1,000 of aid at my local state school, and enough aid at a high caliber liberal arts school to make the difference on the order of hundreds, not thousands of dollars.

I went with the liberal arts school, and haven't been disappointed. I'll have debt, but I've have a job lined up to pay it off.

Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#26

Post by [deleted] »

rgbrgb wrote: post #3

Was there some dispute I didn't hear about? I'm pretty sure everyone knows that MIT is pretty great. Did Gates just copy-paste info from the recruitment packet? I suspect that if this was not written by Bill Gates, it would have never made it to the front page of HN.

[deleted]

Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#27

Post by pnathan »

ipince wrote: post #23
nvarsj wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that state schools are much cheaper these days, but do you really think it's good advice to suggest accumulating 200K+ in debt to get an undergrad degree?

People need to understand that MIT and most other top tier schools have insanely amazing need-based financial aid programs. If you really can't afford it, don't worry, you won't have to. Yes, you'll accumulate some debt, but it's more like 16,000 instead of 200,000 (at least in my case). Plus, again in my case, it's interest-free for as long as you're in school and 9 months after you leave. So yes, I strongly advice…

This. So much this. After I had graduated, I had the chance to read some discussion from people who went to private schools, and ipince is 100% right.

Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#28

Post by nandemo »

rgbrgb wrote: post #3

Was there some dispute I didn't hear about? I'm pretty sure everyone knows that MIT is pretty great. Did Gates just copy-paste info from the recruitment packet? I suspect that if this was not written by Bill Gates, it would have never made it to the front page of HN.

Well, apparently many HNers believe that where you go to school "doesn't matter", or even that getting a degree doesn't matter anymore ("it's just a credential"). So I'm not sure that everyone knows that MIT is great.

Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#29

Post by ericd »

ipince wrote: post #23
nvarsj wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that state schools are much cheaper these days, but do you really think it's good advice to suggest accumulating 200K+ in debt to get an undergrad degree?

People need to understand that MIT and most other top tier schools have insanely amazing need-based financial aid programs. If you really can't afford it, don't worry, you won't have to. Yes, you'll accumulate some debt, but it's more like 16,000 instead of 200,000 (at least in my case). Plus, again in my case, it's interest-free for as long as you're in school and 9 months after you leave. So yes, I strongly advice…

Same here - I had about 20k of debt (low interest, deferred, and tax-deductible interest) when I graduated from MIT. You'll find that MIT, Harvard, etc. all tend to match or charge less than what FAFSA says you should be able to comfortably pay.

MIT makes it clear that they want you there regardless of whether you can pay. I definitely recommend that any high school student who's interested and passionate about technology apply, and not weigh the cost too heavily in considering where to go.

Re: Bill Gates: Why MIT matters

#30

Post by sp332 »

quanticle wrote: post #20
forensic wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The internet used to be cool. It was full of smart people saying smart things. Now it's mainly a communication tool for 13 year olds and desperate housewives.

The internet used to be cool. It was full of smart people saying smart things. Yeah, maybe in 1992. For all practical purposes, the quality of Internet discussions been at its current state for the past two decades. Complaining about it won't make it any better.

Yup, right up until September 1993. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Eternal_Septe... Complaining might not be productive, but reminding people that things used to be nicer is a good way to stave off despair that it can never be nice again. The Internet was nice, for years and years, and if we remember how to do it right, maybe we can make it nice again.
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