Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

 The essence of MIT is our appetite for problems–especially those big, intractable, complicated problems whose solutions make a permanent difference. While MIT is a research university committed to world-class inquiry in math, science, and engineering, MIT has equally distinguished programs in architecture, the humanities, management, and the social sciences. A diverse, supportive campus environment–with an incredible range of student groups and athletic and fitness opportunities–ensures that it's not all about the work. And in MIT's intensely creative atmosphere, the arts flourish in all their forms.

MIT admits some of the most talented students in the world on a need-blind basis. The Institute is committed to meeting the financial need of each admitted undergraduate student through MIT scholarships; the average student scholarship was 34,551 per year in 2014. As a result, the MIT community is incredibly diverse, and organically collaborative, with students coming from many different backgrounds, across the country and around the world.

Students are frequently encouraged to unite MIT’s engineering excellence with public service. For example, the required senior capstone design course for mechanical engineering majors centers on making the world a better place through engineering. Recent years have focused on projects using alternative forms of energy, and machines that could be used for sustainable agriculture. Beyond academic coursework, MIT’s D-Lab, Poverty Action Lab, and Public Service Center all support students and professors in the research and implementation of culturally sensitive and environmentally responsible technologies and programs that alleviate poverty and improve quality of life in low-income areas locally, nationally, and worldwide.

The MIT community brings its energy and creativity outside the classroom as well with 450+ student-run groups, 33 varsity sports, 18 intramural sports, 33 club sports, and more than 60 music, theater, visual arts, writing, and dance groups. It’s just a short walk across the Charles River to Boston where students can enjoy the city’s fabulous restaurants or take in Boston culture. Many programs around MIT allow students to get reduced-price tickets to various events, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the American Repertory Theater, and Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox games. Students get free admission daily to the Museum of Science, the Museum of Fine Arts, and all Harvard University and MIT museums.