| I'm an MIT alum. I see nearly everyone advising you to go. I'm not sure. Even apart from the potential debt, it's not for everyone. I can't tell from your summary above whether it's a good fit for you. There is no question that the MIT brand carries enormous prestige, and very likely if you don't go, there will be a part of your brain that forever feels regret from having turned down an opportunity to be "in a club." That regret can be a powerful emotional force. But it is orthogonal to the actual decisions and behaviors that matter to your life- like debt. You have control over and can work through emotional burdens of your past decisions on your own time and in your own way. Debt IS YOUR BOSS. It MUST be repaid on the lender's schedule. I was a relatively high performer at MIT, had a few classes where I tested above the second std dev on a final. But my experience after MIT, and from having worked with and at a lot of organizations- there are smart people everywhere. What matters more in the broad sense are relationships and capacities to understand and communicate and work with a variety of people. From "a club" perspective- the world is actually smaller now than it ever has been before, and there are many more post-college clubs- like YCombinator- that allow for relationship-building and creative problem solving with a like-minded cohort. What is most important is to be in a place and in a mind that allows YOU to succeed, to be YOUR authentic and most capable self. THAT person will be able to get into the clubs that are of interest. Maybe MIT is slightly better of a place like that than Z for you. But $180k of principal to return is an extreme constraint on the dimensions of that authenticity. I would second some specific points of advice: * reach out to MIT again about financial aid * try to have conversations with your candidate cohort in both places * try to have conversations with people who rather than advocate, offer contrary advice, and look for what rings true to you. People who have experienced both MIT and Z can be especially helpful here * work out an academic plan at both places * work out a financial plan to understand the impact of having to return that quantity of principal * work really hard at visualizing both pathways Best wishes! |