MIT Dorm Room: Everything You Need To Know

Where do most students live at MIT?

Where do most students live at MIT? MIT is a residential university for undergraduates. More than 3,400 undergraduate students live in MIT dorm room in residence halls. More than 1,000 students benefit from living in fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups that have been sanctioned by MIT (FSILGs). After the housing lottery for first-year students is over, transfer students could be eligible to live on a space-available basis.

The Institute’s residence halls all include all-gender living spaces, except for McCormick Hall, which is exclusively for women. Although placement in a certain residential hall or single-gender area is not guaranteed for first-year students, every attempt is made to place them in one of their top three choices.

Residence halls

There are 11 residence halls at MIT. They all differ in terms of customs, cultures, layouts, menus, and costs. Some are spotless and tidy, while others are covered in pets and murals.

Residential life at MIT places a high value on mentoring. A live-in house team that fosters community in each resident hall is present. Faculty Heads of House and Graduate Resident Advisors (GRAs) are part of these teams.

Undergraduate institute houses

• Baker House
• Burton Conner House
• East Campus
• MacGregor House
• Maseeh Hall
• McCormick Hall
• New House—including New House 2, New House 3, New House 4, New House 5, Chocolate City, French House, German House, i-House, and Spanish House
• New Vassar
• Next House
• Random Hall
• Simmons Hall

Fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups (FSILGs)

MIT recognizes 25 fraternities, seven sororities, and five independent living groups, generally known as the FSILGs, in addition to its residence halls. Nearly half of MIT’s undergraduate students belong to an FSILG, and some of them reside in FSILG housing, which, with very few exceptions, is independently owned and run by the chapters in establishments close to campus.

Many FSILGs have their own menu, others allow self-catering, while some hire chefs to prepare meals for the whole group. Members also collaborate closely with alumni and the FSILG Office on the general maintenance and upkeep of the chapter facility and share responsibilities for chapter house chores.

At FSILGs, room and board costs vary each term and are decided by each FSILG. Each FSILG has a live-in graduate residence adviser, who is an MIT-hired and trained graduate student who acts as a mentor and support system for the group members while they are living together. A huge percentage of college students prefer living in FSILGs to an MIT dorm room.

Summer housing

Graduating seniors and students who are working or studying close to MIT can apply for summer housing, which is typically more affordable and practical than finding a private sublease in the region.

The Off-Campus Housing Office, which keeps a list of available rentals in the Greater Boston area, is a resource for students who do not reside on campus. The staff provides students with resources for their quest and offers guidance and support if issues develop while they are tenants.

How do dorms work at MIT?

So, how do dorms work at MIT? The MIT Guide to Residences is distributed to all incoming first-year students. The Guide includes information about the residence halls (such as capacity, price, etc.), as well as images, stories, and films that the residents have put together about themselves and their hobbies. You will create ranked preferences for where you wish to live and submit them to MIT Housing based on these criteria.

You will take part in Residential Exploration (REX) during orientation, which involves further exploring the various residence halls. You can apply for First Year Residence Exchange (FYRE), which allows you to switch halls before the start of classes if you decide you would prefer to live somewhere other than where you were first given.

Four years of consecutive on-campus accommodation are provided to all enrolled undergraduates at MIT. After their freshman year, students who choose to live off campus, take a break from school, or pursue other interests may apply for residence on campus through the waitlist, subject to the availability of housing.

Housing application

The first-year housing application usually becomes accessible around May. HRS will send incoming first-year students an email with information on the housing application procedure and the deadline for submission.

No matter when you submit your housing application, if it’s received before the deadline, it will be considered equally with all other submissions. Building placements are determined by a lottery method, so do not feel pressured to finish the online form right away. Instead, take your time looking over your housing possibilities and be honest about your preferences.

Before the deadline, you can adjust the preferences you have submitted; just make sure the housing site is updated after each modification.

The application records the housing choices of the users, including the preferred living arrangement. Students can establish groups of up to four other people through the application if they are all interested in the same building placement. Although HRS will try to place students in one of their top three preferred resident halls, there is a chance that a student could get a placement in any of the other residences based on space availability.

The MIT dorm room assignments given to the students are carefully considered to help create a satisfying living experience. Student Room Assignment Chairs or “RACs” work with members of their House Team to manage individual room allocations in each building, which is a distinctive aspect of MIT’s residential system.

Student Room Assignment Chairs (RACs) get information from HRS about living preferences, which it then communicates with them in order to arrange individual room allocations for each resident hall in collaboration with the House Team.

According to the specified date, confirmed MIT dorm room allocations will be communicated to incoming students.

House team

Residential life at MIT places a high value on mentoring. A live-in House Team that fosters camaraderie among the residents can be found in every residence hall.

Heads of House are live-in professors who oversee each house and provide residents with both academic and personal support. The House Team is led by the Head of House and Associate Heads of House, who frequently reside with their spouses, partners, and families. The House Team is made up of the following:

• Area Directors (ADs) are full-time, qualified employees who specialize in student outreach and support. They help with the adjustment to college and general MIT navigation as live-in staff.
• Graduate Resident Assistants (GRAs) are live-in personnel who offer academic help to students on several residential floors and wings.
• Residential Peer Mentors (PMs) are prepared undergraduate students who act as leaders, resources, and community builders. They provide immediate assistance to a limited group of first-year students.
• House Operations Managers (HOMs) are full-time staff members in charge of a residence’s operations and amenities are appointed to each residence.

Additionally, via effective house governments and a range of student-led activities and programs, students contribute significantly to the development of the community in the residences.

What do MIT dorms come with?

You might have thought of residential life at MIT and wondered “What do MIT dorms come with?” Every MIT dorm room is provided with the following items, apart from those in the graduate residential halls Westgate Apartments and Edgerton House:

• Bed and mattress (twin extra-long, 38″W x 80″L)
• A wardrobe or a dresser
• A desk, a chair, and bookcases (lamps are not provided)

The room’s furniture is the responsibility of the residents. It is against the rules for students to take furniture out of their dormitories or move it from one dorm room to another. Residents are liable for any loss or damage to the furnished furniture in the room.

Common areas

Students are not permitted to take furniture out of a shared space in a dorm or apartment. Any furniture damage or loss in common spaces, including any furniture, vending machines, or other equipment put in the residence hall for resident use, shall be the responsibility of the residents.

How much is the room and board at MIT?

How much is the room and board at MIT? The annual budget for housing and meals is the estimated amount it will cost a student in an academic year.

Housing – $11,980

Although living on campus is a requirement for all first-year students, the cost of resident halls and living arrangements varies. MIT will charge you $5,990 for half of the costliest double MIT dorm room on campus in July, and adjustments will be made in September depending on your actual housing costs.

There are three price tiers for undergraduate residence halls:

Tier 1: Simmons Hall, Maseeh Hall, McCormick Hall, Baker House, Burton-Conner House, and New House.

Tier 2: MacGregor House and Next House

Tier 3: Random Hall on the East Campus

Undergraduate housing rates per semester for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 are as follows:

Meals – $6,810

There is a variety of meal plans available, including self-catering, however, for the purpose of determining your eligibility for financial aid, $6,810 are allocated annually for meals. Visit MIT Dining to learn more.

Approximately 90% of students obtain financial aid in the form of jobs or scholarships at MIT. For the school year 2021–2022, a student who received financial help paid an average annual cost of $19,59901. To ensure that an MIT education is affordable, the institution works with each candidate for financial aid.

What is special about MIT’s residential life?

What is special about MIT’s residential life? The residential system offers a setting that is supportive of both academic and personal growth. Both objectives must be accomplished through individual initiative and accountability as well as efficient shared governance within the houses.

The Division of Student Life’s professional staff and students collaborate to promote and foster environments that foster learning and individual growth.

Some “local” residence hall rules are established and enforced by student government organizations, and they uphold acceptable community norms of conduct. For residents in residence halls, residential student governments also plan social, athletic, and educational events.

A tax set by the residents is collected by MIT in each Institute residential hall and given to the government of the residence hall to help fund such activities. Similar fees are assessed by individual fraternities, sororities, and independent living group chapters to support their extracurricular activities.

The Institute thinks that living on campus, or in a residence hall, is extremely beneficial for all new students. Associations with upper-level students and involvement in residential programs benefit first-year undergraduates. Therefore, for the duration of their first year, all first-year students must live on campus in one of the undergraduate residence halls. Groups such as fraternities, sororities, or independent living are excluded. The Office of Undergraduate Education, the Office of the Vice President for Student Life, and Housing & Residential Services all must approve any exceptions to this rule, which are uncommonly granted.

A hallmark of MIT student life is the variety of housing and food options. The residence halls are an integral element of the MIT experience, serving as a support system as well as an entertainment hub. Disabled students are supported through a variety of accommodations, and each residence hall has faculty members who can provide further advice to students as they adjust to college life. At MIT, dining is about flexibility and choice, which is why the university offers five dining halls, roughly 20 retail cafes, and meal plans that students can take advantage of and enjoy.

Of course, students are excited to live in MIT dorm room and start living independently. But you must take note that MIT is extremely selective. According to recent data, MIT received 33,240 first-year applications but only 1,365 were accepted.  The acceptance rate is estimated to be at 4.1% only. If you aim to enroll in one of the top STEM schools in the country, you must submit a strong application.

At AdmissionSight, we have over 10 years of experience guiding students through the competitive admissions process to get accepted to the top universities in the world. On average, 75% of our students are admitted to an Ivy League university, Stanford, MIT, UChicago, and Caltech, one of the highest track records in the industry. Feel free to set up an appointment with AdmissionSight today to book your initial consultation.