<p>No, I tried to move into my dorm before checking in at the student center last year on the official check-in date and the first thing they asked me for was my student ID which incidently you get at the student center. When I said I hadn't checked in yet they specifically said that until I had my MIT ID (not just any ID) I would not get a key to my room and wouldn't be allowed to move in. So no, they don't just leave rooms open and you need to check in at the student center before you can move in. At least for BC you do.</p>
<p>Okay, we are all talking about multiple things here.</p>
<p>When I say "they prop the doors open", I mean that the outside doors to the dorms are propped open. You do have to check in with the front desk of the dorm in order to get your room key, which some dorms may not let you have without a student ID.</p>
<p>It's not getting into the dorm itself without an ID that's the problem, it's getting into your room.</p>
<p>Simmons has people at the front desk who press a button to open the door for you. You'll need your card anyway, so you could probably leave your luggage at the front desk and have them watch it while you go pick up your card.</p>
<p>No I'm talking about staying home at night. I am still participating in dorm rush and all the events, but my parents want me home at night.</p>
<p>I think Mollie and Jessie understood that completely, and their answers are still the same. You will miss a major part of the orientation and dorm rush experience if you are not there overnight, and will be setting yourself in isolation from the rest of your class. (And if you're not there at night, when people stay up late and visit various dorms to see what it's like at night, you aren't really participating in dorm rush.) </p>
<p>It sounds like not a good idea at all.</p>
<p>I don't understand the purpose of keeping you at home overnight. Do you plan on doing this over the regular school year??? If your parents are so close why are they so worried?</p>
<p>Consider the vast majority of students whose families live nowhere near Cambridge. Hundreds of miles away. They aren't able to see their parents but a few times a semester. Is this bad? No, not necessarily. At some point in your life you will have to separate from your parents. You might as well do it now, with the rest of your classmates.</p>
<p>I too don't think it's a good idea at all.</p>
<p>? How is the dining hall food, and is it worth the programs?</p>
<p>Dining hall food is okay. I ate it a lot freshman year, and basically never have since. It's not really that it was so bad, it's just that I got sick of eating the same thing every day.</p>
<p>If you enroll in the preferred dining programs (and if you're in a dining hall dorm, I believe you have to*), you will basically have to eat at the dining halls every night to make the investment worth it; the dining plan is $300 per semester, and it gets you a 50% "discount" on all the items. So you have to spend $600 total per term to break even.</p>
<p>$600 per term
14 weeks per term
5 days per week that dining halls are open
= $8.57 per day on average.</p>
<p>I think I usually spent around $7 on meals (entree + soda), and to break $8.50, I think you'd have to get a dessert or a piece of candy or something.</p>
<p>So basically, unless you actually eat at the dining hall every single night, and eat heftily while you're there, the preferred dining membership will cause you to lose money.</p>
<p>Hello, just checked the webpage. Apparently Simmons, Baker, and Next all require that you join the preferred dining program all four years! That *sucks. Lord, you couldn't pay me to eat at the dining halls every night all four years.</p>
<p>Are the dining halls not open at any other time except for at night? What about lunch????</p>
<p>Er, I'm not sure about your math... If you spend $600 with the 50 % discount then without it you would have spent $1200 leaving you with a $600 dollar difference. The break even point should rather be $300. And starting with the first full week in September I counted 16 full weeks until December 23rd which is when exams end. I assume the dining halls will be open throughout those dates (not sure...?).</p>
<p>Anyway, if you use 14 weeks, that correlates to $4.29 a day. If it's 16 weeks it's $3.75 a day which seem like far more reasonable numbers.</p>
<p>aviatrix, they're only open for dinner. I was told that most students don't go back to their dorms for lunch anyway. Breakfast might be nice though (at least some fruit, yogurt, or cereal...but I guess La Verde's is on the way to class so this isn't too bad a problem). Oh, Simmons has a late night cafe which you can also use it for (open 9-12 I believe).</p>
<p>Oh, I mean that the break even point is the $300 investment + spending $300 on top of that = $600. So yes, you're only spending $4.29 a day above and beyond the original $300 investment... but I don't think the original investment is inconsequential.</p>
<p>The academic calendar is usually calculated at 14ish weeks because of the number of holidays -- the dining halls aren't open on the Sunday of a long weekend, nor over Thanksgiving, etc. (And I didn't think they were open during finals, but my fiance informs me that I am wrong.) So the 15 weeks of a semester only comes out to about 14 weeks' worth of days.</p>
<p>Ahh, I wasn't thinking straight this morning :P Yes, you're right then. Shoot, this is a hassle. I'm temped in Simmons but I'm looking into other dorms a lot and the dining plan is the biggest factor for me right now. I think I'm going to do a cost-benefit analysis right now, hehe. I wish there were a Simmons menu up...does anyone have a link to one (past years menus are fine too).</p>
<p>
[quote]
No I'm talking about staying home at night. I am still participating in dorm rush and all the events, but my parents want me home at night.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You can't participate in "all the events" if you go home at night, especially considering what most parents' version of "night" is. The night is prime dorm rush time, and it's the only official hall rush time.</p>
<p>There is no reason for your parents to keep you home at night. Don't let them do it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You can't participate in "all the events" if you go home at night, especially considering what most parents' version of "night" is. The night is prime dorm rush time, and it's the only official hall rush time.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Agreed -- I'd say that the events at night are more important than almost all of the events during the day, no matter what the ARC says. (Not to mention that I vividly remember staying up until 4 AM during many of the nights of orientation, talking with people and meeting people and settling into my new life.)</p>
<p>Part of coming to college and growing up is learning when it's appropriate to tell your parents no.</p>
<p>regarding staying home at night during Orientation, I'm going to embrace what Jessie and Mollie said to the 10th degree. </p>
<p>College is a time full of new experiences, its tough at first, but don't let your parents make you shy away from it. Really, all the fun things, all the things that make orientation/rush/rex/pre-class so awesome, are the things that happen at night. Once you get the schedule, you can even see how many things you'd be missing. You'll meet the most people at night as well.</p>
<p>In short, stay!</p>
<p>So i was wondering, if I bring pans and other cooking utensils, do I keep them in my room all the time, or just leave them in the kitchen? I wouldn't think they'd get stolen outright, but with borrowing and such, they might get reallocated. (btw, which dorms actually have kitchens?)</p>
<p>EC, Senior House, Bexley, Simmons, BC, MacGregor, New, McCormick, Random, have on-floor kitchens...</p>
<p>Baker and Next each house a huge common kitchen...</p>
<p>More information on houses can be found [url="<a href="http://web.mit.edu/housing/undergrad/residences.html%22%5Dhere%5B/url">http://web.mit.edu/housing/undergrad/residences.html"]here[/url</a>].</p>
<p>I left mine in a suite closet for a while (in MacGregor, there are suite lounges next to the kitchens which are available for general use), but people kept borrowing them (fine) and not cleaning them (not fine). So they got taken back to my room.</p>
<p>So it probably depends on how anal you are about keeping your cookware in good shape.</p>
<p>OK, here are my opinions on the two things being discussed:</p>
<p>As for going home at night, I agree with Mollie and Jessie that this is a really bad idea even if it is just at night. The activities in the day are alright, but the most important part of orientation is to meet people and have fun (most of which happen at night). I know that during my orientation I stayed up really late at night and hung out with everyone I had met and threw and went to parties. I rarely went to bed before 3 or 4 during orientation and then into fraternity rush. (This does calm down somewhat once classes start). But to sum up, don't go home at night during this time. If anything wait until a few weeks in and spend a weekend or two at home.</p>
<p>As for the dining hall food. It varies day to day, but at Simmons for the most part, there is a stir fry station, salad bar, soups, dinner section (with varying options each day), and then a constant section that has basics like hamburgers and chicken fingers and stuff. Most of the dining halls are the same with just some differences.</p>
<p>The dining hall menus aren't up yet..(they're not very good with that in general) so I'm going to give a list of options available at Simmons Dining at a typical night: </p>
<p>^ denotes a side dish, all sides interchangeable</p>
<p><em>Grill: one main dish and one side</em>
hamburger/cheeserburger
quesadillas
burger of the day (barbecue chicken, sloppy joes, steak tips..)
fish fillet (salmon, cod?)
steak (sometimes)
chicken fingers
french fries^
sweet potato fries^
onion rings^</p>
<p><em>Dinner Section: one main course and 2 sides</em>
Half Chicken (available almost daily, with various seasonings applied each day)
Some kind of main course involving meat (casserole, steak tips, meatloaf, pot pies, burritos, etc.)
vegetarian main course (stuffed tomatoes, cheesy something or another, vegetarian lasagne, etc.) *note, vegetarian != vegan at MIT. Make sure you ask first.
Pasta (available daily in one form or another)^
At least 2 other sides available (mash potatoes, corn, green beans, rice, squash)^
Soup (two different kinds daily)^</p>
<p><em>Salad Bar: Large plate and 2 sides</em>
2-3 types of greens (mixed greens, romaine lettuce, iceberg) ^
3-5 types of dressing (vinigrette, thousand island, italian, caesar, couple fat frees)
Condiments (ketchup, musturd, pickle, olive oil, A1 steak sauce, soy sauce, etc.)
10+ types of toppings to be also used in stir fry (bell peppers, mushrooms, water chestnuts, tangerine bits, pineapple, onion, red onion, green beans, brocolli, and others that i don't remember)</p>
<p><em>Stir Fry: choice of starch, meat, and vegetable cooked together. no sides</em>
different kinds of starches to choose from (linguine, rigatoni, rice, etc.)
available meat (beef, chicken, seafood, tofu, etc.)
two different daily sauces (teriyaki, cajun, spicy orange, etc.)</p>
<p><em>Sandwich Station: Sandwich and 1 side</em>
Subs (if you want a type of meat, they probably have it. lots of different sauces too...like pesto and garlic mayonaise. You can also get the subs toasted)
I want to say taco salad...but I've never had one
Be creative. Make friends with the sub lady and all possibilities involving bread, meat and cheese are at your disposal. (ie. garlic bread, cheesy bread...)</p>
<p><em>Desert station: sorry, dining discount not applicable here</em>
3-4 types of pies/cakes (pumpkin pie, applie pie, fudge cake, carrot cake, etc)
Yogurt Parfait + other kinds of parfait
Cookies (sometimes)
Fondues (special holidays, ie valentines)
Ice cream fridge (dots, haagen daaz pints, drumsticks, popsicles, etc)</p>
<p><em>Drinks:</em>
soft drinks (coke brand, sorry pepsi people)
lemonade
fresh juice
coffee
tea</p>
<p><em>Fruits:</em>
Oranges, apples, bananas (unpeeled, and generally unfresh)
Cups of melon/pinapple/strawberry+whip cream (peeled and packaged and fresher)</p>
<p><em>A la carte: things that discount doesn't apply to besides dessert</em>
Milk (carton and nesquick)
Soy Milk (Silk?)
Bottled Lemonades/limades
Powerades?
Fruit Juices
Red Bull
Cookies
Candy</p>
<hr>
<p>I hope this provides you with a better idea of the dining available. All four dining halls open from 5-8 although some dining halls start sucking after 7pm (as in, leftovers). You also should next expect the same variety/choices at all the dining halls. Depending on management, a dining hall can be good or bad each semester. Next House used to have the best dining, but has declined in recent times. Personally, I would rank the dining halls as follows (as of Spring 2006):</p>
<ol>
<li>Simmons (wides variety/selection and conscious attempt to be healthier while constantly try new things such as dim sum night and new chef recipes)</li>
<li>Next House (smaller selection, but dining facility is by far the best)</li>
<li>Baker (Pretty good selection, but cooks are always hurried/stressed out due to the dinner rush. You have to be patient here as the area is crowded and loud and cooks don't always hear what you want.)</li>
</ol>
<h2>4. McCormick (I can guarantee you that they will have mash potatoes available there 90% of the time. At least it's been available EVERYTIME I've gone, which I wouldn't mind being a mash potato lover except that they don't make it well. Food's not that appetizing and the worst, no carryout available. McCormick started requiring people to eat AT the dining to "foster community." whatever, load of crap. Bring your own styrofoam/plastics.)</h2>
<p>Knives, Pots and Pans:</p>
<p>EC, Bexley, Burton Conner: Most people feel safe leaving their stuff in the kitchen. EC has cupboard for people to claim as their storage and Bexley share a kitchen between 2-4 people. You'll know where your stuff are. Of course, don't bring Martha Stewart's Premium Collection. This is college for godsakes. Burton Conner has a suite kitchen, label your utensils and label your food, you should be fine. </p>
<p>Simmons, Next House, McCormick, Baker: There is one large "country kitchen" in your dorm. Most people carry their stuff down in a box to cook. Don't keep stuff there unless you're donating it to the community. Simmons is unique in that it has smaller kitchens scattered on some floors through out the building. These are more for reheating and popcorn making. Regardless, no place to store but in your room.</p>
<p>Random: I think like EC's system, but not 100% sure (but 73% sure).
New House: Maybe...like...Burton Conners??...
MacGregor: see Molliebatmit's post
Senior house: no freakin' clue. </p>
<hr>
<p>Hope this was helpful. I can only comment on what I know: food.</p>