At the undergraduate level, MIT is essentially a residential university. Of the total undergraduate student body of 4,100, about 3,000 single men and women live in the 11 Institute residence halls on campus, and about 1,000 single men and women are in other residence groups, including 37 MIT-approved fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups. Transfer students may be able to obtain housing on a space-available basis after the Freshman Housing Lottery.
The residential system provides an environment conducive to personal development and academic achievement. The achievement of both goals relies greatly on individual initiative and responsibility, as well as on effective student governance in the residences.
Faculty families chosen for their understanding of and interest in students live in each of the Institute residence halls. They are not charged with formal academic or operational responsibilities; instead, they welcome informal associations with their fellow residents. In all of the Institute residence halls, graduate residents support the faculty residents in providing personal and academic assistance to undergraduates.
With the exception of the all-female McCormick Hall, Institute residence halls have coeducational living facilities. Most of the coed residence halls also have single-gender living areas. Although first-year students are not guaranteed an assignment to a particular residence hall or single-gender area, every effort is made to assign students to one of their top choices.
Student governing groups establish and administer many residence hall regulations and maintain acceptable standards of community behavior. Residential student governments also organize social, athletic, and intellectual programs for residence hall members. In each Institute residence hall, a tax determined by the residents is collected by MIT and made available to the residence hall government to help support such activities. Individual fraternity, sorority, and independent living group chapters have similar charges to support their extracurricular programs.
The Institute believes that it is to the great advantage of all new students who do not live at home to reside on campus—that is, to live in a residence hall. First-year undergraduates particularly gain from associations with upperclass students and participation in residence programs. Therefore, all unmarried first-year undergraduates who cannot commute daily from their own homes or those of close relatives in the greater Boston area are required to live on campus. Exceptions to this requirement are made with the approval of the assistant director for undergraduate housing.
Institute Houses (Undergraduate)
Everett Moore Baker House
Bexley Hall
Burton-Conner House
East Campus Houses—Munroe, Hayden, Wood, Goodale, Bemis, and Walcott
Frank S. MacGregor House
Stanley McCormick Hall
New West Campus Houses—Ballard, Lawrence, Coolidge, Desmond,
Fisk, and Thorn, which include Chocolate City, French House, German
House, International House, and Spanish House
500 Memorial Drive (Next House)
Random Hall
Senior House
Simmons Hall
Rooms in the Institute houses are engaged for the full academic year. For 2007-2008 the rents for the houses will range from $2,315 to $3,319 per term.
A student who cancels a room assignment after the deadline of June 15 will be charged a cancellation fee. A student withdrawing from MIT during a regular term will receive a refund based on proration of the term rental over 15 weeks of occupancy.
Undergraduates affiliated with a fraternity, sorority, or independent living group have the option of residing in the chapter house after their freshman year. Each FSILG has its own meal plan, many with chefs that cook for the entire chapter. In addition, members share responsibility for chapter house jobs and work closely with alumni and the FSILG office on the general maintainance and upkeep of the chapter facility. Room and board at FSILGs vary, ranging between $1,700 and $6,000 a term.
The MIT Student House is a coeducational, cooperative living group for financially needy students. It is owned by a corporation of Student House alumni and alumnae and is located off campus in Boston. The 30 undergraduate members maintain the residence and do all the work except for major repairs. Students cooperate in the management of the house and the academic, recreational, and social aspects of student life, thereby creating a savings per member averaging $1,000 per semester. Student House is also a member of the Living Group Council. Information on Student House may be obtained by writing to studs-request@mit.edu, or MIT Student House, 111 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215-1798.
Additional information on undergraduate housing and application procedures is contained in The Guide to Residences. Each first-year student is sent a copy of this brochure about four months before registration day of the term for which he or she has been admitted to MIT. Others may request copies from the Undergraduate Housing Office, Room E19-429, MIT, 617-253-2811. Information about fraternities or sororities also may be obtained by writing to the Panhellenic Association (sororities@mit.edu) and the Interfraternity Council (ifc-exec@mit.edu), Room W20-549, MIT, 617-253-7546.