In my previous posts I have consistently maintained that MIT is a time-tested educational tool which is among the top in the world – in the top 5 in most rankings in engineering. With the rise of China, it might fall a few places but will remain the top destination for most.
There are more than a dozen institutes the USA that are comparable to MIT in most aspects. Studying at say Cornell is good enough. I studied at Southern Illinois University and rejected University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, contrary to most think is logical. It was I believed in Individual talent and not institutional prestige. It was true to much extent but getting a job etc depends on what others think of your institure.
For most MIT rings a bell. The name MIT guarantees a good salary and weather you will be taken seriously in this digital age. IIT is prestigious in India, but pale in comparison to MIT abroad.
But a very important caution. Indians, as usual are looking for loopholes. Even the name MIT has been misused. I have met graduate from MIT, graduate in electrical engineering and computer science, who I guess was a dimwit. My expect his IQ to be less than 80, lower than most in IIT. I think he got in MIT through connections and reservation.And he lied without shame.
I will write about him later. Meanwhile sleep happily, knowing the MIT name is not infallible. Yes, it is possible to get in MIT even when one is stupid.
One junior to me, son of famous film director, Zakir Hussain, or something, Of Yadoo ki Baraat fame, was in IIT Bombay campus for a year or so, came through JEE, didn’t study at all, got a zero or something GPA, and then transferred to MIT, I heard. Then he got a 10 GPA there. But he was smart. At IIT, if he studied, he would have gotten a good GPA.
I am noy talking about a person like him. I will talk about somebody good for making chola-bhatura, and then got in MIT through personal connections, was dumb, but fooled Americans, some very high like billionaire founder of Cisco. Am solving that mysterious person’s game.