Three years ago, if someone were to have asked me where I thought I would be in three years, chances are I would not have said, “in graduate school at MIT.” At that point, my primary concerns were adjusting to post-college life and figuring out longer-term life goals. Truthfully, as an undergraduate I don’t think “the future” ever crossed my mind in any serious way. Like many undecided college students, I took the required classes for medical school admission in the off chance that I would want to apply someday. The rest of my time I spent fulfilling requirements for a political science degree.

After completing four years of college, I still had no idea of what I wanted to do with my life, so I moved out to Madison, WI and applied for a wide range of jobs with the hope that someone would want/need me for something. Long story short, I ended up in a research lab, loved it, and decided to apply to graduate schools to further my education.

Now for those of you who are looking at this website wondering whether or not graduate school at MIT (or any school for that matter) is right for you, my only advice is to send in the application and give it a try. Despite the prevailing stereotype that MIT is a competitive, dog-eat-dog institution, my experiences here have been nothing of the sort. My classmates, professors, and advisors have all been exceptionally supportive and have made me feel welcome in a place where I thought I would be at a disadvantage due to my weak classroom experience. The curriculum here at MIT is arranged in such a way that everyone has a chance to both learn (or re-learn in many cases) the fundamentals and explore individual areas of interest before setting foot in a lab, an ideal set-up for those who, like me, love science and research but are still undecided as to exactly what to study.

As I am sure you all are beginning to realize, choosing the right graduate program is not an easy task. MIT is just one of many programs with incredible faculty, resources and opportunities. When it comes down to it, you just have to go with what feels right and what works for you. That said, I couldn’t be happier with my decision to study here and I encourage anyone who’s even remotely interested in MIT to come to Cambridge and check it out for yourself.