Class of 2017, Physician-MBA Students Enroll

Students entering MIT this week range from the 1,116 first-year students enrolling in the Class of 2017 to a cadre of physicians and health-care workers beginning MBA programs to learn management skills for the changing health-services field.

President L. Rafael Reif welcomed first-year students and their families to the campus community at an Aug. 29 convocation ceremony and evoked his own first days at MIT as he assured them they would soon find their own sense of home on campus.

“When I first arrived here, I knew almost nobody,” the president said. “My home was a long way away, in Venezuela. I felt excited to join this amazing place—but I had plenty of worries: Would my work be good enough? Would my English be good enough? Would I fit in? … But very soon, I came to feel that MIT was my home—and that this community was like an extended family.”

Learn about the Class of 2017, with a record low admission rate of 8.2 percent, through student profiles and this demographic snapshot:

• Male 55%, female 45%

• US citizens and permanent residents 92%; states represented: 48

• International citizens 8%; countries represented: 52

• Ethnicity: African American 7%; Asian American 29%; Caucasian 39%; Hispanic/Latino 15%; Native American 1%; and Other/No Response 1%

• Public school graduates: 67%; 865 different high schools represented

• Greatest distance traveled: ~10,500 mi from Melbourne, Australia

The looming changes spurred by Affordable Health Care Act are inspiring health professionals to expand their management skills to work effectively within the changing health care system, according to Sloan press release:

“I strongly believe that the healthcare field is the next economic ‘boom,’ similar to the dot.com boom in the ‘90s and mobile communication over this past decade,” says Alan Christophe, a Roslyn, NY, native who spent about three years working in the pharmaceutical and health care industries before enrolling in MIT Sloan’s MBA program. “Healthcare is the most fragmented industry in the U.S. and I believe it is fragmented because of management deficiencies in the private and public sector.”

And what advice does MIT Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill '86 offer to all new students?

"First, do something that you have never done before as this is the time to get into the habit of trying new things. Second, you must find some activity that you can do regularly that recharges you. It might be playing a musical instrument or playing your sport, going for a run or cooking a meal, participating in a club or just hanging out with friends, but regularly doing something that relaxes and balances you is critical in the intense MIT environment. Otherwise, stay connected with your friends and advisors, and have fun!"