MIT has several things that are special to MIT. Some make sense, others just are.
- Grades are done on a five-point scale. 1 to 5, so its the same as 0 to 4, just increased by 1. I can’t complain, a 4.5 does sound better. :)
- Instead of “I’m a Chemical Engineering major” its “I’m in Course 10”. This is confusing for new people because it takes a little while to pick up on what all the numbers are. Sloanies seem to be the exception by *not* referring to themselves as Course 15. I have also heard that when you are taking a class its a lower case “course” to distinguish from your Course.
- These numbers are used for classes too. Instead of CHE547, I’m taking 10.547. They like numbers. Also, when a class is taken by people in many departments, it is cross listed with multiple course names, instead of just taking a course from another department. 10.547 is actually six course numbers… “7.547J, 10.547J, 15.136J, ESD.691J, HST.920J, BCMP230 - Principles and Practice of Drug Development”. (The J is used to indicate it is cross listed.)
- Buildings are mostly numbers too. The ChemE building is 66. Have I mentioned the building is triangular? I like having class in a triangular building. (Secretly, its one of the reasons I wanted to take 10.25 this semester.) My quick wikipedia search tells me its a 30-60-90 triangle. And this isn’t the most interesting building on campus.
- MIT Time. Things end five minutes early and start five minutes late to allow for classes. I have found this to be used as an excuse for any non-class meeting to also start five minutes late.
There are more, this is just a few things from the top of my mind.
