Massachusetts Institute of Technology Top Questions

Most people's social lives revolve around where they live. This may be a dorm, an ILG or a fraternity or sorority. MIT is the place where the parties in Boston happen, but there are also people who have never been to a frat party. The campus is divided between East Campus and West Campus, with two very different cultures that attract very different types of people. West Campus is considered a more 'normal' college experience, while East Campus is very MIT.

My life was dominated by theater. I went to an incredible amount of parties, and remember being proud that in 1988, MIT was one of Playboy's top part schools. Don't ask me why that mattered, but ever since I graduated, people can only imagine a super dork. Things like hacking (ie - finding new ways to break and enter into parts of campus and perform nerdy pranks) and the sodium drop were very important on the east side.

Where most student groups table, advertise, etc.

Student art displayed.

I'm not certain what groups are more popular than others - people are into absolutely everything. I know people into musical theater, part of our movie screening club, medical lecture groups, etc. And as for the stereotype that we can't do sports, our pistol team has beat the army consistently over the past years. We're not physically unskilled (you're even required to take PE's here - I've taken pistol, archery, fencing, and sailing). Dorms have a lot of tradition, each unique to the dorm's personality. Some dorms drop pianos or monitors off roofs every year, others drop thousands of bouncy balls. We have "Bad Taste" every year, too, which is a show that is everything... in bad taste. People party often enough for me - my dorm usually has a party on one hall or another every weekend, and we're not the only ones. Frats and sororities are important to many people on campus, but you're not going to feel left out if you're not part of one.

Contrary to what most people think, MIT has a thriving social and activities scene. We have about 40 varsity sports team, which gives athletes of abilities and levels to participate. We also have numerous theater groups, dance groups, just about a group for any activity you can think of. In addition, MIT has a strong Greek system, although it's very different from the typical Greek system at any other college. We have 27 fraternities and 5 sororities. Fraternities hold events every weekend, including dry events. About 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the female student body belongs to a sorority. I've found that there is never a shortage of things to do. People are always around in the dorms, always ready to go out and have some fun.

Greek life is popular on campus, with so many students belonging to sororities and fraternities. Sports aren't big on campus, except maybe for notorious rowing, or Crew. Guest speakers are pretty common, although I find little time to go to events I feel I would thoroughly enjoy. Awake at 2am on a Tuesday can only be a sign of me working to complete a Problem Set or studying for an exam.

Fraternities are very important; things to go on a Saturday night (without drinking) include hanging out with friends, going into Boston, watching a movie at a theater, going to Boston Commons, eating at a number of restaurants close to MIT. People are commonly awake in the early morning, either working or hanging out after working on homework.

Last weekend I played a show in the Senior House basement with four other bands, all from MIT! Concerts like this are reasonably well attended and awesome. One thing that will amaze you here is how much talent your friends have, and what they can manage to create, even when they're so busy all the time.

There's a lot of them every day all day (from midnight to midnight). Each dorm has it's own culture so what happens and when depends on the dorm your in, but there's always something going on. MIT students are very social and will usually have their doors open while their studying so friends can pop their heads in and chat. We have student run group (LSC - Lecture Series Committee) that brings recent movies (two per weekend usually) and sneak peeks of up coming movies to MIT plus a lot of guest lectures. I assume athletic events are somewhat popular since I think we have sports teams, but I'm not really into that scene so I wouldn't know. This weekend me and my best friend are tsking the bus up to New York to see Wicked on Broadway. So yeah. Lots to do here.

There are clubs for almost everything here. And if there is no group for something you want to do, you can just start one! There are seminars on every topic you could possibly think of, from CPR to traditional Indian dance. There's definitely a chance to try every activity here.

If you can dream of the group it is here.

Every person is different. They show movies on Friday, Sat, and Sunday nights but you can go out to frat parties if you like. Often, you can find a group of people going out for dinner or ice cream or getting really drunk somehwere. At 2AM, you find people drinking, studying, making out with people, anything. Most of the study sessions end up as something else - like people playing Rock Band. MIT has pre-orientation programs right before freshman year starts. That is where I met my close friends. I joined a sorority in the spring and that's where I met my closest friends. Now, I still look forward to meeting people.

GPI is a really strong group on campus (global poverty initiative). MIT has a really strong focus with international development and eliminating poverty. There are a lot of fellowships sponsored by the MIT Public Service Center which students take advantage of to travel and work in other countries for free. People tend to be really stressed out, all the time, from work. So many psets, tests, etc. It's really stressful. On top of that students tend to overschedule themselves with a million other jobs and research projects and clubs outside of classes. Towards the beginning of this semester I was pulling all nighters like every three nights on average, but I started managing my time better now and I'm doing like one a week. But that's because I'm pretty lazy.

The Thirsty Ear = a great place to hang out with friends on a Thursday night

Despite what people think, life at MIT consists of more than just school. Most students participate in research and at least some form of physical activity. Sports range from PE classes to Intramural sports, to Division I level varsity sports (crew team). We even have a football team. As far as the social life goes, a lot of it revolves around the Greek scene, with many frats offering great weekly parties. You can pretty much do whatever you want socially and be involved as much as you want. Plenty of students opt out of the drinking scene, and for them there are many groups devoted to offering alcohol-free activities. Similarly all of Boston is nearby and there is never a lack of things to do in the city.

It's difficult to arrange purely socializing times here, due to the insanely busy schedules of everyone.

We do work a lot, but I, along with my friends, have a great social life. We work hard to earn our weekends, but then play hard on the weekends. MIT's location is one of its biggest strengths as we have a great campus, but it is right on the Charles River so you can walk to Boston in minutes. There are hundreds of student groups on campus and they are extremely active at MIT and in the Greater Boston Area. There is truly something for everyone. MIT also has a very large and strong Greek Community that is unlike any other school as well. Here too, there is a place for everyone.

100 times better than anyone might expect. MIT throws the best parties in Boston (no joke). Work hard, party hard is the school motto. With 27 fraternities, its no wonder people from wellesley, simmons, bu, and harvard come to OUR parties.

What are the most popular groups/organizations/clubs/teams on campus? There isn't any one group that dominates. I have friends involved in all sorts of organizations. There are 43 varsity sports, many religious organizations, activist groups, sororities and fraternities, and science/engineering interest groups. Do students in dorms leave their doors open? This depends on the dorm. One of the most unique things about MIT is that each dorm has its own personality. Students pick their residence and usually stay there for all 4 years. Some dorms are known for being quiet, others social, others more offbeat. How popular are athletic events? Guest speakers? Theater? Athletic events vary. Women's volleyball is very big. Football is not. Friends support their athlete friends. But people don't usually go to games for fun. There seem to be guest speakers on campus every day, so they don't usually draw huge crowds. But people interested in that particular topic will show up. Theater and dance groups are pretty popular, and will draw a lot of students. Tell us about the dating scene. There isn't much of a casual dating scene. Students either are in fairly serious relationships where they are attached to their SO by the hip, or hook up at parties. How did you meet your closest friends? I met my closest friends through my dorm, my church, and my sorority. If you’re awake at 2am on a Tuesday, what are you doing? I usually get to bed by 1am, but if I'm up late it's to finish a paper or problem set. What traditions/events happen each year? How often do people party? This depends on the person. Some people never party. But for those who do, it's limited to the weekends. Most people go out one weekend night but not both. How important are fraternities/sororities? Frats and sororities are pretty big. 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of men and 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of women are affilitated. Frats hold parties and house all their members. While frats do usually have alcohol at their parties, sororities are dry (no alcohol allowed). Sororities are much bigger and don't house all their members. What did you do last weekend? On Friday night I stayed in (I live in a sorority) and watched TV with friends. Saturday during the day I did some homework and watched one of my friends do a martial arts test. Then in the evening my sorority was hosting a social event. After that, I went out dancing in a Boston club with some friends. Sunday I went to church, stopped by my lab, and had a sorority meeting. What can you do on a Saturday night that doesn’t involve drinking? People go out to see, watch movies, play board games, play video games, go to concerts, go to theatre shows (especially those put on by student groups)... What do you do off campus? I live off campus, shop, eat out, and exercise off campus.