One line in Spider-Man: No Way Home and adds to the sadness that Peter Parker endured. Peter Parker has certainly taken a beating in the MCU. From losing his parents and Uncle Ben before his MCU story even began, to the death of his mentor, Tony Stark, and then Aunt May dying in No Way Home, Peter has lost more people than any young adult ever should.
Throughout the MCU Spider-Man trilogy, Peter Parker has continued to be optimistic, always trying to help the little guy out, building a relationship with MJ, and counting on a bright future, like when he applies for college. Despite this optimism, No Way Home concludes in a heartbreaking way, and even in the context of only that movie, things seem to be in a rough spot for Peter Parker. However, an easy-to-miss moment in Peter's first stand-alone MCU flick compounds the sadness even more.
Homecoming Means Tony Stark Likely Influenced Peter Parker's College Choice
In Homecoming, Spider-Man needs to be rescued by Tony Stark (or, rather, one of his suits) when he is attempting to catch the Vulture. Iron Man, the first person to uncover Spider-Man's secret identity, quickly became a mentor to him in the MCU. When Tony attempts to talk to him via the suit while he recovers on a park jungle gym, Peter believes he's ready to take on any villain that comes his way. As Tony attempts to hang up, he says, "You know, it's never too early to start thinking about college. I've got some pull at MIT." This makes Peter's ultimate rejection from MIT even more tragic.
As seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home, MIT was Peter Parker's dream school. He desperately wanted to go to MIT, and the devastating effects of him and his friends not getting in are what set off the chain of events in No Way Home. While attending school with his friends and having a fresh start was obviously important to Peter, it was never made clear why he was hooked on MIT specifically. As Tony went to MIT himself, Peter likely wanted to follow in his footsteps and took his words about getting in to heart. After Tony died, it became even more important to him to carry on his legacy.
Not Attending MIT Could Actually Be Good For Spider-Man
In Homecoming, Peter remarks that he just wants to be like Tony, to which Tony replies, in a very father figure-type way, "And I wanted you to be better." Peter wanted to do everything just like his mentor, down to which college he applied to years later. But not attending MIT and stepping out of Tony's shadow will likely allow Peter to grow into himself as a superhero himself, even though it's bittersweet.
After Spider-Man: Far From Home by attempting to leave his suit at home to try and have a regular vacation. The ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home shows that Peter learned valuable lessons from Tony that he is carrying with him, as he continues to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man even during the darkest time of his life.
