Incoming First Year Students

undergraduate

Welcome to MIT, Class of 2017!

The Housing Selection Process
First Year Residency Requirement
More Information

We are happy to welcome you to MIT this coming fall. There is a lot to do before you get to campus and we are here to help. We will be posting more detailed information on your housing selection process, as it becomes available.

Important Dates

June 1 - June 15: All freshmen will enter the Freshman Housing Lottery
July 19: Freshmen assignments will be released; freshmen will sign up for a meal plan, if applicable
July 26: Freshmen must confirm their housing assignment and submit arrival information
August 20: Freshmen participating in an FPOP will move into the building they were assigned to on July 25
August 25: All remaining freshmen will arrive at MIT and move into their assigned residences.
August 25: Residence Exploration (REX) and Freshman and Parent Orientation begin.
August 25-August 28: First Year Residence Exchange (FYRE) applications available.
August 28: (6PM): FYRE results emailed.
August 29: Students move to their final assignments.

Guide to Residences

The Guide to Residences and accompanying i3 videos will be all online this year. All incoming first year students should be recieving an email to your @mit.edu account today, May 16th, with links to the Guide and i3 videos. You can also find them below. If you did not get the email or are having problems, please email residence@mit.edu.

Guide to Residences: Click here to view the Guide!
Coming Soon: The Guide will be available for download through iBooks in the iTunes store.

i3 Videos: Click here to view the i3 videos!
Coming Soon: The i3s will be available for direct download through this site.

The Housing Selection Process

First year room selection, like a lot of other things at MIT, is very unique. Between now and the opening of the freshman housing lottery (June 1), we want you to familiarize yourself with our residences. Each building, and sometimes, each floor/wing, has their own, very distinct, personality. MIT students feel at home here and we want you to find your perfect fit as well. In late May, you will receive directions on how to view our Guide to Residences, along with our i3 (Interactive Introduction to the Institute) videos, which will provide you with information, from students to students, about our residence halls. You can also find information on each residence hall on our website.

Once the freshman housing lottery opens (June 1), you will be asked to go online and enter your preferences. We ask that you rank all 17 of our living communities (including cultural houses) in order of preference. More information will be forthcoming on the lottery, but entering your preferences will help us assign you to a residence hall that best fits your personality. The results from the freshman housing lottery come out on July 19.

First Year Residency Requirement

MIT policy requires all freshmen students to live on campus for the duration of their first year at MIT. With the stress that often comes with transition to college life, especially at MIT, students access to on campus facilities and resources, as well as proximity to campus are essential, especially during the first year here.

We do make rare exceptions to this policy, in cases where freshmen are married or are going to live full time with parents/guardians who reside in the Cambridge/Boston area. We would require a letter of petition to the Housing Office directly from the student requesting to live off campus during his/her first year at MIT. In addition to the petition letter, we also require documentation of the off-campus residence where he/she would be living. Often, this is a copy of a lease, and/or proof of address, or other such documentation indicating residence in the area and validating that family/guardian will be residing with the student.

This petition will be reviewed by the Undergraduate Housing Office in conjunction with the Senior Associate Dean for Student Life and the Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education for final recommendation. Most petitions granted demonstrate an extraordinary need to live off campus. Simply living with a family member does not tend to gain approval, as MIT feels that it is of utmost importance for students to have the full access to resources that residential living provides.

Please feel free to contact residence@mit.edu with any questions.

More Information

While you are waiting for the Guide to Residences (GTR) to arrive at the end of May, you might want to take a look at these sites for more information on your first year at MIT:

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