Profile

Founded in 1861 and now one of the world’s most prestigious technological institutions, students at MIT are members of an intellectual community that includes 85 Nobel laureates, 58 National Medal of Science winners, 45 MacArthur Fellows and 29 National Medal of Technology and Innovation winners. Inventor culture pervades all parts of campus life; the school is associated with ideas and innovations such as email and the Web, the theory of cosmic inflation, the link between cancer and genetics as well as condensed soup and disposable razors. Also, MIT is the No. 1 recipient of industry financing for research and development among institutions without medical schools. It’s located in Cambridge, just minutes from Harvard and Wellesley, and MIT students can cross-register at both. The university is need-blind for undergraduates and meets the full financial need of undergrads for all four years. The university also has noteworthy humanities and fiction programs. Often referenced in popular media, such as in the film “Good Will Hunting” and the TV show “The Big Bang Theory,” real life alumni include the billionaire Koch brothers, billionaire Dropbox founder Drew Houston and Khan Academy founder Salman Khan.