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Posted July 1, 2013

What Makes MIT the Best University in the World?

There are plenty of great universities across the world, but when it comes to naming the best of the best, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology certainly takes the cake, but what gives it such high prestige, and why is it considered to be as good as Cambridge, Oxford, Princeton or Harvard?

Apart from the fact that no fewer than 77 Nobel Prize winners have graduated from the famous university, MIT is considered to be a world leader in the science and technology fields, having produced industry leaders and world changers year on year. The research produced by students enrolled at MIT is almost unparalleled across the globe, with the university’s Technology Licensing Office showing that in 2011 alone, there were almost 700 new inventions recorded at the university, with 199 US patents issued, and 139 trademark licenses. Over its 150 year history, the university has been involved with some of the most cutting edge scientific projects including, nuclear fission, human genome project, email, and digital ink to name just a few.
 

Admission and Ethical Policies

Although the university clearly excels in its academic endeavours, this isn't the only reason it has gained a great reputation. MIT is an institute that prides itself on having the best academic intake anywhere in the world, not the richest or the most privileged, and this means that they enrol the best of the best, no matter what financial situation students are in . MIT operates their admissions under a need blind policy, meaning that if students win a place based on merit, but cannot afford the fees, the university will make up the difference.
 

The university is also not bound by a need to operate this blind admission policy only for American students, as almost a third of the student body is made up of international students, who are also entitled to the same fees assistance. This differs vastly from the model rolled out by many other universities, who see international students as a means of increasing revenues, and not solely of creating a greater depth of cultural experience within the university.
 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology now tops the world university tables, and it is not hard to see why. It is a model institute in many ways, and its policies reward anyone who is looking to achieve the best no matter where they come from, or what their financial or social background, and this is something which should be commended.
 

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