<p>I know all the 11s are mostly chatting it up on the Facebook group, but I feel like this forum needs more activity! So for those who went to CPW, what are your favorite dorms so far? Mine are:</p>
<p>1) Random (LOVELOVE)
2) East Campus
3) Burton-Conner</p>
<p>Come on guys, posting is fuuunn!</p>
<p>yo Dally! </p>
<p>1) Baker
2) Next
3) Burton-Conner</p>
<p>Random Hall is so far...</p>
<p>EDIT: but so is Next</p>
<p>^I really didn't find it that far from the student center...I made that walk so many times, it was bordering on ridiculous. It is far from the Senior House area, but so are all the West Campus dorms, so... meh.</p>
<p>I didn't get a chance to visit Next or Baker...I'll have to check them out during REX. Wooo orientation!</p>
<p>Random isn't so far away... definitely closer than Next. :P.</p>
<p>Having said that, one should not underestimate the incredible value of being located right next to the supermarket. Randomites only have to carry their groceries 5 minutes away. This makes little to no difference in the spring, but when it's mid-December and you're out of dollar-a-pound pasta, it's a long haul for you in the snow unless you live at Random.</p>
<p>Oh man, grocery shopping makes me wish I lived in Random. Coming home from vacations from the T makes me wish I lived in EC. Mostly I'm just happy where I am, though. =)</p>
<p>Fun fact: Senior House is the closest to the T-stop. I have a T-pass. There is a Star Market right in front of the Porter square stop on the T. Rather than walk all the way to the Star by Random, I actually take the T to Porter, do my shopping, take the T back, and then just walk to Senior House.</p>
<p>Yes, I'm <em>that</em> lazy.</p>
<p>Next House!</p>
<p>We DO get to vote for where we live... right? l0l</p>
<p>Simmons! it has the coolest architecture. I do wish I could've seen Burton-Conner--I hear most students there like it. What was East Campus like?</p>
<p>EC was pretty varied...some floors were way too "out there" for me, while others seemed really cool. I liked 4th west, personally. One floor has a disco dance floor, one floor has ultraviolet lights in the halls...crazy stuff, I guess. It's also really big! I think if you're attracted to the EC kind of style at all, you'll find a group of kids there to hang out with.</p>
<p>is there really a nudist floor at EC?</p>
<p>@Panasonic: No: "a nudist floor" implies there's only one. There are multiple clothing-optional halls in East Campus. :)</p>
<p>^ So sketchy, so sketchy... maybe my brain <em>would</em> explode if I lived there, haha.</p>
<p>random hall was my favorite, far and away by a mile.</p>
<p>now that i've decided to go to MIT, the question is: how hard is it to get into random? i know nothing about the freshman lottery.</p>
<p>Quit scaring away the freshmen. Really, rarely anyone ever takes advantage of the clothing-optional thing on the halls that have it. And, really, it's just like... 1 hall. It's not sketchy because you don't have to live on that hall. :P</p>
<p>So the lottery asks you to rank every dorm from one to whatever, and then the lottery optimizes class preference. So it's difficult to say how hard it is to get into a particular dorm via the lottery, because you don't know what the preferences of everybody in your class are.</p>
<p>In the last few years, about 75% of freshmen have been lotteried into their first-choice dorm, and nobody has ended up in a dorm lower than third choice. Of course, even if you do get lotteried into your first choice, you're still very strongly encouraged to participate in dorm rush, just in case there's somewhere you'd be more psyched about. For that reason, I'd advise everybody to pick two or three dorms they might like for the lottery, then explore more at orientation.</p>
<p>[dormcon]</p>
<p>Random is one of the hardest dorms to get into, in the sense that everyone in Random selects it as their first choice. This may be misleading, however, as Random is unusually small. You have a fairly good chance of getting into Random, but know that, unlike some dorms, it is <em>not</em> guaranteed.</p>
<p>Other dorms for which there similarly definitely no guarantee include: Baker, Macgregor, and McCormick.</p>
<p>Note: this is not to imply that the other dorms are guaranteed to you if you select them first, only that for the past few years, the above dorms (for one reason or another) have filled capacity selecting only the freshmen who listed them first choice.</p>
<p>[/dormcom]</p>
<p>Oftentimes, this leads to extraordinarily interesting cultures.</p>
<p>^MacGregor's popularity in the lottery was, I am fairly sure, a phenomenon that occurred last year rather than in recent years in general.</p>
<p>The "popular" dorms do vary somewhat from year to year. :)</p>
<p>Walking to Random isn't bad at all. It's in a pretty convenient location as well. (Shaw's grocery store, a bunch of Mass Ave restaurants, etc). The only thing is that there aren't any other dorms near it and it kinda feels off campus.</p>
<p>how hard is it to get into baker? i really want it... it's my top choice by far. if i don't get in w/ lotto, can i transfer after dorm rushing?</p>
<p>"only that for the past few years, the above dorms (for one reason or another) have filled capacity selecting only the freshmen who listed them first choice"</p>
<p>I think that was only last year. Usually EC and Baker split the vote for most popular.</p>