The heart of Cambridge, Massachusetts is home to a thriving community of intellectual college students who study at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

One of the most competitive colleges for engineering with a 9.7 percent acceptance rate, MIT strives to educate students in science, technology and other areas of study for 39,212 dollars per school year, that will best serve the nation in the years to come.

Saratoga High alumna Keerti Shukla, who is currently a freshman at MIT and is interested in engineering, is enjoying her college life and loves her new school.

“Its nice to finally be on your own and have the freedom to do whatever you want to,” Shukla said. “Also, it is really nice to live with your friends. Here, your school and home is one and your friends are part of both.”

The rigor of the academics are at first difficult to get used to at MIT, according to Shukla, but it is definitely rewarding.

“MIT is very challenging and hard, but even though its not very fun to have to be in tough classes all the time, it truly teaches you to understand things and teaches you a very important way of thinking,” Shukla said.

In order to cope with the challenging classes, MIT has developed into an extremely collaborative community in which there is little competition among the students themselves.

“The homework is almost always impossible to do by yourself,” Shukla said. “You have to work with others.”

The collaborative environment at MIT reaches beyond just doing homework with friends. According to Shukla, it is also important to meet a lot of new people and be open minded.