<p>Ok, besides wire strippers and non-moldy desks, is there anything else vital to bring to campus? And what's with the no microwave rule?</p>
<p>When the room inspector comes by and looks at your microwave and asks you, "Are you using a microwave in your room?", say "No sir I am not."</p>
<p>or cover it with a big towel - they can't dig and search ;P</p>
<p>You can hide anything in your closet during the inspection.</p>
<p>I don't know too many people who have microwaves in their rooms, though -- in many dorms, there's a microwave available in a lounge/kitchen nearby, so no need to get your own. Fridges are a little more helpful to have for yourself, since you never have to worry about somebody eating your food by mistake.</p>
<p>Here are some things you might consider bringing:
1. A butterfly chair or other foldable seating device so friends have somewhere to sit when they come to your room.
2. A nice executive desk chair (maybe better to get after you get to campus)
3. A fridge
4. A pot, a pan (maybe a wok), some knives, and a spatula, if you're thinking of cooking for yourself even every once in a while.
5. A dustbuster, if you're OCD like me.
6. One or two extra sets of sheets to delay doing laundry.
7. A laundry basket.
8. One or two power strips -- you will have many more electronic devices than you have outlets!
9. An ethernet cord.
10. A space heater if you get cold in the winter.</p>
<p>Things not to bring:
1. A landline phone -- there will be one in your room, and nobody will ever call your room phone anyway. They'll call your cell.
2. A trash can -- there will be one in your room.</p>
<p>I'm in EC Room H303. How do I know if I have a single or a double?</p>
<p>This is definitely a really dumb question, but I've got to ask: just because I don't need a trash can doesn't mean I can't bring one, right? I got a pretty pink trash can as a graduation present, and I'd prefer that to any generic dorm room trash bin. ^_^</p>
<p>Sure, you can bring one. You'll still have to empty it out yourself. :)</p>
<p>hm... i know cooking in your dorm room is frowned upon, but is a rice-cooker ok? I'm still bringing one anyway (can't live w/o rice) so if it's not allowed in my room, do I need to put it in the kitchen?
thanks~</p>
<p>FOB :o
Bring a rice cooker! and make me rice, im hungry</p>
<p>omgosh yes..rice cooker..which dorm are you in?? haha</p>
<p>what dorm frowns on cooking?</p>
<p>
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what dorm frowns on cooking?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>"Cooking" != "cooking in your dorm room". Cooking in your dorm room is frowned upon for fire safety reasons. Cooking in your hall/entry/dorm kitchen is encouraged. As long as you make sure that the oven is actually working so that when you use it it doesn't emit clouds of smoke, set off the fire alarm, and force your entire dorm to evacuate into January-in-Boston weather at 3am.*</p>
<p>*My freshman-year IAP, 2nd East caused this situation three times in less than a month. I could never figure out why they kept trying to use that oven.</p>
<p>So suppose we got into an rba dorm like Next. I'm guessing we still participate in REX but, besides getting free food and stuff, what's the point?</p>
<p>Do Next and Mccorm deal with rush differently?</p>
<p>They don't really deal with rush at all, except that they do have an in-house rooming procedure at the end.</p>
<p>so what do next kids do during rex?</p>
<p>Haha, I imagine they sleep, hang out with new friends, explore campus, explore Boston... don't worry, there's definitely not a shortage of things to do! :)</p>
<p>Rush is a pretty loosely defined time anyway -- the events are mostly parties held in the evenings, and people come and go as they please. I mean, people in RBA dorms would be perfectly welcome to come to any of the rush events at any of the other dorms if they wanted to come. Who knows, they may want to change dorms after a semester or a year anyway.</p>
<p>
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so what do next kids do during rex?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Generally they go to the exciting events at various dorms anyway, on the grounds that the events are fun and they might as well get some exposure to some of the other subcultures on campus. I mean, two years ago East Campus had a homemade roller coaster! You might as well ride something like that even if you can't move there!</p>
<p>haha yeah, i'm in EC.<br>
i'm guessing rice cookers in dorms is a popular life-style @ MIT?</p>
<p>I certainly have one (and learned to use it via my Chinese best friend -- when I first saw hers freshman year, I was like "What on earth is that thing?"). Best to use it in the kitchen, though.</p>
<p>Is there a website on the rules for customizing a dorm?
I know there are dorms where you can paint and drill things in (a la Laura's blog and pics on EC).
Also how strict are these rules?
I figure it depends on the dorm so in particular, i'm wondering about next.</p>