Blogs: Why I Came

When is the best time to start graduate school?

Pros and cons of fresh-out-of-undergraduate and post-young professional paths

April 2021
by Jessica W.
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
I’ve technically had two “first days” of graduate school. The first one was in September 2012. Fresh out of undergraduate, I arrived that fall semester at MIT - completely burned out. After graduate school applications and a grueling final senior semester, I was running on fumes. I joined a lab...

Getting closer to my “luck”

The story of my journey to MIT

March 2021
by Zhutian Y.
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
This is a story about an imperfect person finding her way towards incredible mentors and places. One day, I wish to hear your version of this story. 4 years ago, I was a sophomore in Singapore, studying signal processing and software development. I wasn’t the person I aspired to be - I wanted to be...

A Journey through Time: Voyaging into Boston’s “Other” History

Personal Growth Outside of MIT

March 2021
by Pervez A.
Sloan School of Management
When you read the words “Boston” and “history,” what do you think of? For most folks, two events typically come to mind: 1) The Boston Tea Party, or 2) Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride (contrary to popular belief, he...

COVID-19 Elevates Incidence of Impostor Syndrome in 1st Year PhD Student

A virtual MIT student, by any other interface, still belongs here.

March 2021
by Brandon K.
Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology
“Please have your tracking number or a copy of this email and your MIT ID with you when you come to the Facilities Customer Service Center located in Building 7 Room 019. Keys may be picked up Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM excluding MIT holidays.” Great! Today was the day I would...

An Unconventional Path to MIT

From Industry, to MicroMaster’s, to Master’s

Jan 2021
by Maria R.
Supply Chain Management
For many of us, MIT has been our dream school since childhood. My personal journey leading to MIT took four years. It was a long time, but worth the wait. Let’s start at the beginning, in the summer of 2013. I had recently obtained my bachelor's degree, and had decided to take some time off before...

Mitconceptions

Unlearning what I thought I knew about PhDs and MIT

Jan 2021
by Viraat G.
Biological Engineering
“Wait up for me!” I shouted after my father as I scrambled to keep up with him. At 6 years old, I didn’t really fit in with the college students dotting the quad under the hot summer sun, but I also didn’t really care. My dad, a professor of economics, was letting me tag along as he went about his...

My advisor left MIT during my PhD

Making difficult decisions with incomplete information

Dec 2020
by Cherry G.
Biological Engineering
It was a chilly November morning in 2014, and two months into my second year at MIT. My PhD advisor called for an all-hands group meeting with required attendance. We crammed into a tiny conference room: all 15 of us, whose lives were about to be turned upside-down. On the screen, my advisor...

To the Mom applying to Grad School:

How Motherhood led me to MIT

Dec 2020
by Namuun P.
Supply Chain Management
"Can't believe you got it done with children! Good for you!"  an old friend told me. I received similar remarks from other people as they learned that I had applied, enrolled and now attend graduate school with two young toddlers; they applaud my ability to do so DESPITE motherhood. However, as I...

Vacation time!... What to do? What to do?

Opportunities for graduate students during pandemic and non-pandemic periods

Dec 2020
by Andrea D.
Integrated Design and Management
When packing my suitcases to do my Master’s in Engineering and Management at MIT, I was not just thinking about which classes I was going to take, but also about what I was going to do over the vacation period.      Three months of summer vacation is a lot of time to travel around the world. At...

Pass the class — get a tat

The process of making permanent decisions

July 2020
by Faye E.
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Of all the injustices committed by well-intentioned cartographers, the one dealt to Antarctica is one of the most common and, from the point of view of this glaciologist, the worst. Picture Antarctica: do you see a wide, skinny strip at the...