I am hoping to attend MIT after I finish High School. MIT requires that first-time students live on-campus. However, this is a problem for me. I will be graduating from High School a year earlier which means I will be 17 when I go to college. The plan I had with my family was that they were going to come with me for college and we were going to rent an apartment in the area for the first semester until I turned 18 in December. Will MIT not allow this? What would I have to do? Would I have to live on campus while a minor? Is that allowed? Thank you.
MIT spells it out:
https://studentlife.mit.edu/housing/housing-policies/first-year-residency-requirement
I wouldn’t worry about it until you actually get admitted.
That said, I see no reason why a family would (or should) go with you to college. There are plenty of 17 year olds that live in dorms.
Sorry. I wasn’t aware MIT had a separate site for housing. Thank you!
Also, the family living with me the first semester is a very long and personal story. It would only be a semester until I turn 18. After that I’d apply for Spring housing and just stay there until I finish college.
“they were going to come with me for college”. Really? There are plenty of students at MIT who are 16 or 17 but as far as I know, none moved to Cambridge with their parents in tow. I simply can’t imagine. Hopefully the intention wasn’t for them to also attend classes. I can’t imagine a good fit between MIT and a student who brought parents to school with him or her.
MIT usually does not guaranty housing for a student that originally lived off campus. There is a real shortage of housing now. If you start off off campus, you may not get on afterwards. If you actually pay for a room in a dorm though, no one will actually make sure you sleep there every night. You can them easily stay in an apartment with your parents if it’s necessary. Or consider staying in the dorm like everyone else, but go stay with your family on weekends.
The new dorm will open in 2020 which will ease crowding. That aside, MIT isn’t a commuter school. Not living on campus detracts from the college experience, in my opinion.
@TheGussA:
To me, the situation you describe in your opening post will do you a huge disservice that could impact your MIT experience in later years. You’ll miss out on the social bonds, interpersonal growth, and academic peer support that comes from your on-campus living group.
I would strongly dissuade anyone from starting college that way. The price you’ll pay will be quite high.
There are plenty of 17 year old freshmen living in the dorms. You should not live with your parents the first semester. If you are not ready for college life as a 17 year old you should defer your acceptance and plan a gap year.
There are a surprising number of 16 and 17 year olds at MIT. If your family won’t allow you to stay on campus, try to delay HS graduation by taking more AP or dual enrollment courses. You can’t be too prepared, you’d probably get sophomore standing during freshman year doing it this way.
I do know three MIT students who did not live on campus freshman year. One lived in Bayridge Residence in Back Bay (A Roman Catholic girls residence hall open to MIT students , and other area schools ) and two others lived with their parents. There were plenty of 16 year old girls though on campus, I had two roommates in a quad in Baker House, who were sixteen and me and the other roommate were age 18. I think though if you discuss the idea of bringing your parents with you, in your interview, it will not be in your favor. It will seem that you are not ready for college. However I would say if your parents want to do it this way, just figure that out, once you get into some colleges. Your parents may be surprised at how expensive it is to rent in the Cambridge area as well. It will not be the comfort of home for you, so I don’t see a big advantage to you, so much, but I don’t know if you have some special circumstances that cause you to want to live with your parents. Being underage is not a reason, generally.