The MIT Experience

 Being an undergraduate at MIT was an incredibly unique experience. This place will amaze you from day one, and you will feel every possible feeling towards it. You will love it. You will hate it. You will be happy. You will be sad. You will feel connected. You will feel lonely. But you will most certainly feel glad to have lived through it, and you will take great experiences and friendships from MIT.

First Impressions: Prospective Student/Freshman Year

Everything is beautiful. The campus is nice, the dome is awesome. The columns are really cool. If you visit during summer or spring time the grass is green, the flowers grow and the people are happy (The winter, on the other hand is COLD!)

There is a crazy building by Frank Gehry (The Stata Center)

People seem to have a lot of fun. There are a variety of "hacks", one of the recent ones (and among my personal favorites) was the Tetris Building:

(Yes, this is actually a building on campus, and yes, this was playable Tetris! The lights were programmed to respond to a controller!)

From my first visits, I was impressed and very excited. I could definitely see myself here, and I knew that it would be a worthwhile experience.

The Setting: Boston & Cambridge

The greater Boston area is a great place for students. There are multiple universities and colleges around the area as the map shows. MIT and Harvard are nearly neighbors in Cambridge (we are just two subway, a.k.a. T, stops away), but there are also Boston University, Boston College, Tufts, Berklee School of Music etc... (see map for more)

This means there are a lot of young people around, and a good amount of bars and parties.

Transportation is very good around MIT; the #1 bus goes up and down Massachusetts Ave, and there is a T stop on the east side of campus. There are also shuttles that cross the bridge from Cambridge to Boston, to connect MIT to some of the fraternities on the other side of the river. 

The Settling in: Freshman
Once you get into MIT, you have to pick what dorms you are going to live in. Each dorm has a unique culture, and you can check them out here: Undergraduate Residence Halls. Most undergraduate dorms are located close to campus, and you can definitely walk from any of these dorms to classes, but some people choose to get bikes. For reference, I lived in Baker House, my room had a beautiful view of the Boston Skyline, and most of my classes were within a 5-10 minute walk.

Deciding where you live is very important though, and I advise you to check out each dorm, meet the people there and choose the place that matches your culture as well as possible. I do advise incoming students to make this choice based on their tastes rather than their parents'. Sometimes parents will not like a place and try to get you to the dorm they find the nicest. But this decision should definitely be up to you, as a new student, because you are the one that will be living there for possibly the next four years.

Moving was straighforward, and like most big cities, you can get all your things at any of these Bed-Bath megastores. They usually make lists for college students, to help you get everything, so I did not have any issues there.

Fees and Tuition
Most students get some kind of financial aid from MIT. All financial aid is need-based, so every year we have to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) which calculates how much aid you should receive. MIT is not cheap at all (tuition and fees come out to $42,050, plus costs of living and dining), but MIT does try to help out. 

Drinking water from a firehose, Part I:
You are a freshman, have just picked your intro classes (usually first-years take Calculus, Chemistry or Biology, Physics and a Humanities course) and everything is ready to start. And in orientation you get the great news that your first semester is actually Pass/No Record.

What does that mean?

No grades! (insert celebration dance here!)

MIT, in order to help you transition from high school to, well, one of the most intense universities in the world, gives you a "freebie" semester. No grades, if you get above a "C-minus", you get the credit. 

This may seem great, and a reason to party all semester, but it is not that simple. MIT is tough. It is intense, it is challenging, and it will destroy you if you are careless. So people that take this semester lightly and not use the opportunity to get used to MIT's style, often have a tougher time adapting in the following semester.

Once the semester starts, you begin to understand classes at MIT. Freshman lectures are usually in large lecture halls, with sometimes 300 students in a class. But you do get the opportunity to learn from great people in their fields. Many freshman have had the opportunity to take Introductory Chemistry (5.112) with Nobel Laureate Richard R. Schrock, or Introductory Biology (7.012) with Eric Lander, who worked on the Human Genome Project.

These are great opportunities, to learn from people who play a very significant role in their fields. As a freshman, learning about ongoing research of Nobel Laureates is an incredible experience. 

However, the academic part is not easy at all. Once you get your first problem set (Pset) for homework, you notice that MIT is not at all like high school. The questions really challenge you. They are not simple repetition of what you had done in class, but rather, they require you to read additional sources, collaborate with others and ask your TAs and Professors for help. Very few people work on their psets individually, there is a lot of collaboration at MIT.

And then exams came. You study, do your best, and you get your results back with the lowest grade you have ever seen, and the average score among all students was a 50 (out of 100) or lower. It is a humbling experience. From being among the top students of your high school, used to getting straight-As, getting a 40- or 30-something on an exam makes you realize that MIT is going to be tough. Here, you are no longer the best student, and you need to come to terms to getting bad grades and getting over them by studying harder and preparing better for the next exams.

In the end of the semester, you have your finals. A final at MIT is, jokingly, compared to the following scenario:

You take a class on how to build a house. You learn about walls, and windows and doors and pipes and electric systems. And then your final exam comes and asks you one thing: "How do you build a boat"

MIT finals usually cover a great amount of material, and they challenge you. They ask for applications of what was learned in class, rather than simple repetition of facts. So the exams here actually make you think rather than spit out memorized answers.

This is why MIT is compared to drinking water from a firehose. There is so much happening around you, so much academic material, and you try to grasp as much as you can, but you find out that it is impossible to get it all. 

Drinking from the firehouse: Part II
The rest of my years at MIT required great dedication, but I was able to take all the required classes, get a double major (in Math and Physics) and a minor (in Management Science), I worked as a grader and Lab Assistant (great opportunity to make some money) and I also had the opportunity to do research with great professors (including a brief time at the Higgs group at MIT!) I was also able to get a decent amount of sleep, probably more than the average MIT student, was able to play soccer in Intramural season, and have fun in general.

The main lesson that you take from here is that you have to be balanced. You cannot possibly do it all, and you must accept that. Don't put more on your plate than you can eat. This is just how MIT is, you always have to give something up. Do your work, study, but also go out to eat, go see the Boston Symphony Orchestra, walk around Boston, visit Harvard, go to parties, and you will have a great time.

MIT is a great place. It is very challenging, but you will make great friends, and learn more than you have ever learned. I would not change this opportunity for anything.

I hope this helps to paint a picture of MIT for people that haven't had a chance to come here!

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PS1: One of MIT's informal mottos is IHTFP, an acronym that can stand for many things, but usually meaning "I Hate This F***ing Place", but also used as "I Have Truly Found Paradise". You will use it with both meanings as a student here.

PS2: I love MIT so much that I am doing my PhD here. So this will probably be some 5 more years of MIT and Boston life!

PS3: If anyone has any other specific questions, please let me know and I'll try to edit this answer

IISC

If there is intellectual heaven on earth then it is here.

Time spent at IISc bangalore was exceptional and I can easily say that those were the best days of my life.

IISc makes you a complete person. Let me tell you why

1. If you come from a normal college then 1st semester in going to take a toll on you. But you will have great peers and professors to take help from and work with, this is the reason that everyone sails through this study pressure.
2. Once you have studied at IISc, you are capable of handling any kind of pressure in life.
3. The enjoyment you do inside the campus is also incomparable. It teaches you to work hard and party harder.
4. Your intellectual level increases to the level that whatever comes your way in future, be it job or anything, you will be able to handle it easily.
5. Working in an environment which is totally different than the life outside of campus, gives you a feeling that you are responsible for the future of the country. You are being given the privilege to study at the heaven on earth.
6. It teaches you to live life peacefully without any hustle bustle.
7. Studying there gives you access of great sports facilities.
8. Since it's mainly a PG college. Students are treated with respect, and they are given full freedom. For example there in no restriction of hostel timings. Girls entry is also allowed in hostels.
9. Like other colleges, students don't compete with each other, rather they compete with the world outside.
10. For girls, it's a heaven. In this patriarchal society of India, IISc is a place where girls can reach their utmost potential. The campus is totally safe, they can come back to their hostel from department anytime they want. There is no restriction of hostel timings, unlike other colleges.

Both fun life and study life are at the extreme level.

1. All night playing games in labs and all night solving assignments in labs.
2. All classmates used to attend everyone's birthday at a night canteen.
3. Highly talented people become your friends and learning is at the highest level.
4. Cycling culture is super awesome. 99% of people use bicycles inside the campus.
5. Lot of clubs are there. You can join as per your interest. Being part of these clubs and attending different festival and function celebrations is very interesting.

Being an IISian is a proud in itself, you start witnessing change in your personality. People start knowing you from your college. Your parents also feel proud.

Work hard and be a part of this community.

Peace !

-Nikhil Panwar

Experience at IISc in one sentence

The best you will have in your lifetime.

Expectation Vs Reality:

1. People studying there will be geeks: But the reality is just the other way around. People there are no doubt good in studies but they are equally good in having fun in different activities.
2. The study life will be very difficult: But the reality is that you will have good support of peers, and it will not feel very difficult (but still it will be difficult).
3. Competition among peers: At IISc you don’t compete with each other, rather you grow together.
4. Exams will be serious: Not at all, Your prof will ask the class when do you want to give exams. And even if you get ill, you can take permission of your prof to give exam later in his cabin.
5. Will not find Hardcore Gamers: You will find hard core gamers in your labs. Research in day time and DOTA during night. This was the routine.
6. No time for Cultural Festivals: People from all around India make sure that all the festivals are celebrated with the same vigor and enthusiasm.
7. Hostels will be bad: But they are nice, and food is also respectable as compared to other institutes.
8. After classes you will go to hostel: But after classes you go to your lab and remain there till midnight or late. Even sometimes sleep in lab.
9. Hostel will be fun: But in reality, labs are fun. Maximum time of students goes in labs. Hostels are only to sleep.
10. Life will be boring: But the life is way to exciting and beautiful inside the campus.

To summarize, IISc is a different world. A world of dreams.

Picture Credits: CSA 2011–2013, IISc

-Nikhil Panwar

IISC or IITB?

I will have a totally different perspective in answering this question.

First of all both the institutes are the top notch institutes of India. And if you talk about quality of education, placements, package etc., then both of them are more or less equal.

The real difference which is there is the culture. One of my professors used to tell us that you are not here just to gather the knowledge, it can be gained from the books, online lectures etc. Rather you are here to learn other important life skills, and learn from your peers. Academics is just a path towards your social development at this institute.

Taking forward from the statement of my professor, I will tell my own analysis about both the institutes.

If you are talking about the Bachelors course, then IIT Bombay is a better choice because IISc is still developing its UG course which is considered to be a new feather in its hat (9 years to be precise) as per IISc standards.

But if you are talking about M. Tech or PhD course. IISc will always win hands down. I am not making this statement out of thin air or just because I am from IISc. Let me explain this to you.

The importance of the degree within the institute is the first parameter on which the institute has to be judged for a particular degree.

There is no doubt that UG students of IIT Bombay have cracked a tougher exam than the PG students. It normally gives them a sense of superiority. Even the professors know this reality and they also act accordingly.

Now, it will not be wrong to mention that in IIT Bombay the most valued course is B.Tech. M.Tech people there have to fight for their existence. Also, UG students outnumber PG students by a huge margin. In IIT Bombay, M.Tech people are nick named as “Matka”. It clearly shows the sense of superiority among the UG students.

Now lets get straight to the point that how IISc wins hands down over IIT Bombay:

Each department at IISc has limited number of PG and PhD students. No UG students at all. IISc admits only one batch of UG (60 nos) students every year and they have completely separate department and building for them. That means UG and PG don’t share any resources.

PG and PhD students are more in number than the UG students at IISc. Hence, unlike IITB, PG people are the king of the institute.

Talking about the student-professor ratio. In IISc it is around 7–8 students per professor. which is around 25–30 in IIT Bombay. Hence, in the most important resource for any institute i.e. Professors, IISc is a clear winner.

Talking about the lifestyle. IISc doesn’t restrict its students in any way. Dining halls are common for both men and women. Women entry is allowed inside the boys hostels. There is no late night entry restrictions in women hostels. The freedom you get at this institute is incomparable. Whereas in IITB, PG students will also be treated like kids coming out of school.

Every department has a huge building infrastructure. M. Tech students get a desk for themselves with a desktop PC, just like you get in a corporate MNC. Even all the PG students spend most of their time in their department labs. We used to go to our hostel rooms, only to sleep. This kind of luxury life, you may not get in IIT Bombay.

I have a lot of other things to say as well, but cutting short to conclusion, if you want to spend your 2 years in PG living like a king then you should definitely join IISc. And it is confirmed that you will be second to UG in IIT Bombay. But you will be second to none at IISc Bangalore.

Last but not the least, the best thing you get at IISc is the peace of life. If you are a peace and nature lover, then definitely IISc is a better place to be at.

PS: Since you are making a life decision. I really advice you to visit both the places before taking any decision. And I hope you will yourself get your answer.

--Nikhil Panwar