jj_heylookatme

So... who's going? I'll be there! I'm really excited!! Any comments from current MITers on their CPW experience?

akybaky

i'll def be there. can't wait!!

easonh89

I don't think I can make it =(.

But I already did an overnight at MIT and enjoyed it. Everyone I met at MIT said CPW is a lot of fun, and they go all out for it. Frats start to recruit people, and it is just a lot of fun. The girls I met said that it is the one time when the guys spend more time talking to other guys then girls, since the Greek life is so big.

Vivi

I won't be able to make it - my State scifair is on April 10th-12th. Even though I'm already an ISEF Finalist, I'm hoping to go to my State SEF to get more experience and perhaps a scholarship or two to help pay for that expensive MIT tuition! ;D

I'll probably stay overnight later in April, though =)
Hope to see you all next year!

moonraker928

I am totally going - cant wait, see you there!!

MITMathAlum2006

CPW was honestly one of the best times in my life. You should all go!

jessiehl

I greatly enjoyed my CPW as a prefrosh (though really, I enjoyed the ones as a student even more). I enjoyed it even though my year the weather was *terrible*, and I was being housed in Boston, and just getting to campus required becoming completely soaked.

A quick note: They will try to house you in a living group that suits your personality. They *usually* find a decent match (sometimes so good that the prefrosh ends up living in that living group once they matriculate). They don't *always* find a decent match, both because they have very limited info about you and because they can only house prefrosh with people who have volunteered to be hosts, and whatever places would best suit you may not have a lot of people who volunteered.

I, for instance, was housed in Alpha Phi sorority. Now, the women of APhi were tremendously kind hosts, but the living group personality is not my sort of thing. Not at all. When I tell people where I was hosted as a prefrosh, they do a double take and say "You? Where?" When I told Matt McGann, years later, where I was hosted as a prefrosh, I think it caused water to spurt out of his nose. He couldn't imagine how Admissions had missed the boat so completely on that one.

So get out and explore the other living groups. For one thing, while you should absolutely be doing this during dorm rush and FSILG rush in the fall, you will have limited time, and you might as well get some idea of what you are looking for now. But for another, the range of living group personalities at MIT is so diverse that just about anybody can find one that's a great fit. So if the one hosting you seems...less than ideal...that doesn't mean that you don't fit with MIT culture, it just means that you need to go out and find the ones that are a better fit!

I did this. I wandered to campus in the rain, because I was too impatient to wait for the shuttle and I was going to have to get wet in any case, and looked at some of the dorms, including the one that I ended up living in for four years.

hopelesslylost

jessiehl - Which one did you end up living in?

I stayed in Burton-Conner, specifically in Burton 3, when visited earlier this month. It was nice - I liked the suite idea with the kitchen and I liked the spiral staircase.

But I also liked Bexley in some ways, and not in others. It's not a place I would bring my parent's into, and I don't know if I would be able to concentrate their either.

Are there stereotypes for the different dorms - and if anyone knows them, could you post them?

jessiehl

I could, but then you would be influenced by stereotypes.

I'm a proud Child of Florey - lived all four years in 5th East, East Campus. You can read about us here: Welcome to Fifth East. Check your soul at the door.

My parents both lived on Burton 3! I like them very much, and have had many friends there, though I never had any interest in living there myself.

I would caution anyone, though, on deciding on a dorm based on appearance factors that aren't indicative of local culture (murals indicate resident culture, staircases do not). Kitchens are an edge case, because they do *influence* local culture, even if they aren't a product of it. But the most important factor in your living group experience is, for most people, going to be that living group's personality and how well you connect to it.

KnightMair

One thing I'd like to chip in is that culture is something very hard to pick up and appreciate unless you've lived there for a certain amount of time. Observed interaction during CPW isn't always indicative of how things are during the school year -- is there a certain lounge where everyone flocks to the night before a huge pset is due? Are there certain traditions, such as caking a birthday celebrant's roommate? Is there a dominating major or ethnic group? Also keep in mind that culture one year may not always be the same as culture the next -- if there are a bunch of affiliated students moving out to their fraternities and sororities, or if there are a lot of graduating seniors, the new freshmen play a much larger part in determining the culture.

ducktape

Hey! I stayed with an APhi sister when I visited in February and I think I'm actually staying with another APhi sister for CPW.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

And regarding living groups, keep an open mind, because I never thought I'd be interested in a sorority but loved the idea when I visited.

jessiehl

For CPW, prefrosh in dorms are hosted by individuals. Prefrosh in FSILGs are hosted by the FSILG - the house signs up to host a certain number of prefrosh, and the prefrosh are collectively hosted by the whole house. Generally, one person in the house is listed as the contact point.

At some point soon, I'm going to write an "MIT Housing For Dummies" post, because the housing procedure can be confusing if you're not used to it.

ducktape

Yeah, she's a freshman, so if she's going to be staying in her dorm that weekend, I'll be with just her, but she might be staying over at the house so then I'd be with her sorority.

mitsoph

Just thought I would get the conversation shifted a bit and see where everyone is staying. Maybe some people here are staying in the same place or some of you have specific questions.

la montagne

Along that note... when do we find out where we're staying?