ask-paul

@rainynightstarz: Not always strictly true - sometimes you can stay in the same room; but, yes, the vast majority of people will move rooms (even if they stay in the same dorm). I have never heard of the "one exception" you mention, either.

Also, Simmons alum here! Any questions, shoot them my way.

GymKid

I wanted Simmons because it looks like all kinds of students are represented.... is this true? (jocks, musicians, etc)

jessiehl

Not true unless (maybe...I have never heard of this exception either, but it's the only circumstances under which I could see it) you're in a dorm that doesn't do in-house (hall, entry, etc) rush. Because you still have to pick a hall/entry/etc, and they want you to have an incentive to consider places other than your temp.

kryptonsa36

I, and a good number of people I know, stayed in the room I was/we were temped in. For the most part, yes, people (have to) switch rooms, but in the case of Simmons this past year, the people reassigning freshmen their rooms allowed "informal squatting", in which you could ask to try to keep your room and they would do their best to honor your request. Most everyone I know who made such a request had it granted, as none of them were temped in usually-reserved-for-seniors-because-they-are-****ing-huge singles.

curious8582008

I'm in NW35/Future W1. Should be an interesting experience. I heard that the kitchenettes don't have stoves. What kind of kitchen(ette) doesn't have stoves?

neuron39

My son is happy he was assigned to Simmons, 4th floor, his 1st choice. However, he cannot officially get the name of his assigned roommate - unless he gets lucky on Facebook and makes the connection. Why won't MIT release the pairings? It's such a great time now for kids to meet, to talk, etc.

molliebatmit

I might add, perhaps, that the quickest way to not get assigned to the room you're temped in is to go around asking lots of upperclassmen how you can maneuver to stay in your temp room. Room Assignment Chairs (who are students) and rush chairs and other people like that tend not to be sympathetic to freshman laziness.

You should care more about finding a good community both in a dorm and within a dorm, and you shouldn't let laziness get in the way. There will be plenty of people who will be happy to help you move into your final room.

PiperXP

Seriously, avoiding one day of moving stuff around is not worth spending a semester, year, or more in a place that doesn't suit you.

LauraN

Oh my God DO NOT STAY IN YOUR TEMP DORM DURING REX OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND DO SOMETHING UNPLEASANT.

I'm a REX chair of the overbearing variety. I have (and certainly will again this year) FOLLOWED frosh who were overly excited about BC out the front door to actually verify that they had in fact left and hadn't just told me they were leaving and them moved to a different part of the dorm. Just ask Snively. =)

Speaking of BC, I live there, and am a 2 time REX chair, because I'm insane. If you're temped there: welcome! And if you have questions about it (temped or not): let me know!

ask-paul

@curious: The administrators took out the stoves. It was a minor controversy, but I guess they don't want you burning down the dorm.

@Laura: *chuckle*

jessiehl

Maybe it's because the "assigned roommate" is a *temporary* roommate. He's only going to be your son's roommate for the first few days (though, if they like living with each other, end up in the same dorm, and have similar housing tastes, they might be able to do what my frosh roommate and I did at East Campus and become real roommates in the final assignments). Releasing the pairings and otherwise treating the situation like a permanent roommate situation undermines the whole idea that your temp room *is not permanent*.

If the incoming frosh get nothing else out of this thread, I want them to get the whole temporary thing. The series of posts above mine suggest that other current students and alums agree with me.

Yes yes yes yes yes. Hey guys, the upperclassmen, including the dorms' Room Assignment Chairs, do pay attention to your behavior during dorm rush (REX). Especially if you stand out by being obnoxious. And as you can see from some of these posts (particularly Laura's), people really frown on frosh not taking dorm rush seriously (because if they don't, admins may decide that there's no longer any need for it - they have threatened such in the past).

It's fine if you end up in the same hall/entry/whatever of the same dorm where you were temped - sometimes people really ARE in the right place to start - as long as you took rush seriously.

kryptonsa36

I'm just wondering, does anyone happen know the answer to the following question?

In previous years, possibly because of (or at least, for reasons related to) binding RBA, putting Next anywhere in your top 4 choices (no matter if it was 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th) guaranteed you'd be assigned to Next.

Was that still the case this year, even if RBA is not binding anymore?

ducktape

I know barely anyone put Next very high, mainly because so many people have heard of people getting put in there that had it "too close" to the top of their list.

As to whether or not people listing it 4th or 5th got stuck in there, ala the last few years, I don't know.

ducktape

Good god. Note taken to avoid Conner 2. :P

(totally kidding. I'm so pumped for going all out at REX, even though I'm 99% sure I'm staying put in BC.)

jessiehl

What, you think she will stay there? I would be surprised and disappointed if she weren't stalking the dorm floor by floor, and possibly having friends notify her if their frosh are too lazy.