MIT helpful info
MIT helpful info
Don't worry, I'm not actually asking you. I just know that right now, no one really knows what their room phone number is. I suppose these numbers aren't as useful anymore since the dorm phone service has changed. But anyway, I remembered from long ago that there was a way to find out your room phone number. But I couldn't remember what it was. I asked the folks at IS&T what the number was that you can call. And here it is: 9400. Just pick up your dorm phone (or I guess any other campus phone) and dial 9400. You will be told your number by a computer.
Well, that's just my tip of the day. Let your friends know!
-Stephanie
P.S. I so far have managed to spot Mike and Julia at MIT. I keep running around Next House looking for some other folk. . .maybe I'm just bad at timing. Sorry! Oh, and let's all figure out when we can get ice cream like Kiersten mentioned!
So, this is mostly for the 09s, since hopefully the current students know about all this already. I wanted to let you know about a few ways to get useful software (besides the usual free stuff, like my beloved Firefox browser and Thunderbird mail client and RSS reader). If you are an MIT student (and have your Certificates installed), you really win in terms of getting some free software. One good site to download software is the MIT Software page, which has useful software for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux computers/operating systems. You can get the Kerberos authentication and encryption software, Adobe Reader, and Anti-virus software. There's also a pretty neat program out there that you can access online from pretty much anywhere, or through a desktop client (that you can download). It's called TechTime, and I am in love with it. It's based on Oracle Calendar, and is pretty nifty since you can actually do a lot of stuff like schedule events with other people, and such. I guess I wont explain everything about it here (that would be silly, and besides, I don't know everything about it by a long shot), but I might be able to answer questions (or point you in the right direction).
Okay, so that was a little overview about the completely free, no questions asked software. There is also quite a bit of software availible to you if you have a decent reason to use it (i.e. for a class, UROP, etc.). Don't be afraid to request the software, though, because there's some pretty good stuff there. Okay, so the site. It's the Volume Site License Software page, and it has some stuff that's free, plus some stuff that's discounted. Depending on the software, you either can request it for yourself, or request it through your class/major/advisor. You'll just have to read through the instructions for the software you want to obtain, to see what you have to do. I've gotten Mathematica and Dreamweaver through this site. I got Mathematica as part of 3.016 (Mathematics for Materials Science and Engineers), and I got Dreamweaver so I could make websites for my RBA advisees to find information. So, those were the reasons I gave when requesting the software. They don't usually have too much of a problem with requests, as long as they're not something like, "cause I want it" or "so i can do mean things to my roommate", or I don't even know what.
So, what other software do you guys use? I really recommend checking these sites out (especially the MIT Software page). I don't know if they still do this, but they might hand out a CD of all the software found on that page with your big packet of Orientation information. So maybe that will make things even easier.
This post makes me want to talk about Athena, but I figure that's for perhaps another post, maybe made by another person all together, since there is so much to know about Athena. If you have any questions about that, you can also try asking me, though I might just point you to a friend or a website. . .
Well, hope that was useful. Again, let me know if you have any questions about this stuff (or anything else). Can't wait to meet you all!
-Stephanie
EDIT: p.s. as one of my comments says, I discovered that MIT is already presenting this information nicely. . .check out Computing for Students at MIT.
I'm devoting this post to discussing the different sorts of activities you can participate in on campus. First I must say, there are more student groups on campus than you could ever have time for. I suppose this is bad in a way, because you wont be able to do anything. But the cool part is, if there is something you want to do, there's probably a group that also likes to do that. And if there isn't, you can start one! The main organization to know about is the ASA, the Association of Student Activities. They are the official organization for MIT student groups. You (incoming freshmen) and any other new students (grad students) will receive/have received a CD-ROM and booklet describing all the ASA-recognized groups on campus. Plus, during orientation, there will be an Activities Midway, where you can explore and sign up for different groups. (and I'm pretty sure there aren't any conflicts with that time, so you'll be able to go!) Of course, feel free to contact any group that interests you prior to coming to campus, if you want to know more about the group.
I've had questions about a few groups in particular. Elina asked me about a cappella groups, and Laila asked me about dance groups. In terms of a cappella groups, there are quite a few of them on campus, but each group has their own style/personality, though most groups sing pop music. And besides all of the a cappella groups on campus, there are plenty of other music groups. There are choirs that you can join (and get credit for in some cases!) and bands and orchestras as well. There are also quite a few groups that put on musical productions and plays.
As for dancing, besides performing in musical theatre groups, there are plenty of dance groups. Some groups do hip-hop, swing, ballroom, ballet, tap, jazz, as well as different cultural groups. I was going to list and link to all the groups, but I realized that there are way too many to count. My suggestion is to go to the ASA Lists page and search either by activity type, or just bring up the whole page and look through them. Then you'll realize why I opted out of listing them all here (and decided to be lazy).
This post is definitely not meant to be complete for all the activities, so I encourage you to check out the information on the ASA website or on the CD-ROM they send out over the summer. And if anyone is reading this, and see that I have said something wrong, or left something out, please let me know, and I will edit this post.
Of course, there are plenty of activities that you can be a part of that are not part of MIT. My freshman year roommate participated at a ballet company in the Boston area, and has continued with it these past few years. If you are passionate about something, or if you want to try something new, there are plenty of chances to do what you want during your years at MIT. Whether you go off campus to do it, or just get together with people not as an ASA recognized group, or join an ASA group, it's definitely important to do stuff outside of school (there I go again, lecturing you like I'm your mother or something). But it's true.
Okay, I have other stuff I want to talk about, but I'll leave that to another post, since it's getting late (because I have to wake up so early), plus that way this post is just about activities.
-Stephanie
First of all, glad I could be of some help to you with my information. And now, Elina has a question for me!
"What
Do I buy???..I never do my own shopping..always wear what mum brings for me..but NOW !!!
as in clothes and shoes..... and how much???"
Well, there are quite a few things to consider, and certainly, everyone is different. A
lot depends on the styles you like, or the money you have/want to spend on clothes. And of
course, it is important to think about the weather. I guess I can discuss
types of clothes as related to weather.
Weather
So, when you first get to MIT for orientation, it's going to still probably be nice
and summery. So at that point, you can have tshirts, tank tops (girls only please!),
shorts, etc. It's also a good idea to have pants for around that time (jeans are my
preference if I'm wearing pants on a warm day), and a light jacket. Fall comes relatively
quickly around Boston, and I usually survive with pants, a long sleve shirt, and a
sweatshirt jacket. Come winter, you might want to invest in something like long underwear
to wear under pants (if you want/can fit them under pants), and of course a winter jacket as
well as the extras, like hats, scarves, gloves, and, the most important, waterproof and
relatively warm boots (thick wool socks are good too). My opinion (not everyone shares this
opinion) is that comfort, warmth, and preventing frostbite is more important than
fasion.
How much should I bring?
A lot of the amount you should bring depends on a few things. For example, you don't
want to have to be doing laundry too often because you ran out of clothes. Keeping this in
mind, the key piece of clothing is underwear. Make sure you have more than enough to get
you through a couple of weeks. Sure you can wear a pair of pants a bunch of times before
washing, you can wear some tshirt under your jacket and no one will know. But you know
you're in trouble if you're out of underwear. So, underwear is often your freedom-from-
laundry limiting factor. As for other stuff. . .don't go overboard. Most dorm rooms have
limited storage space (though they will have closets, drawers, etc.), and so don't go
bringing everything from home (or buying out the whole store). You might want to invest in
storage as well, since you can never have enough! Dual purpose storage (boxes that can be
stacked into a table, a footlocker/trunk can hold stuff and can be sat on, etc.) is
especially good. But enough about storage. That can be a whole other post!
What types of clothes should i bring?
This starts to be more based on your personality and style. . .you should bring both
casual and dressier clothes. . .i suppose that's a given. . .. I tend to have a lot of
comfortable clothes, like drawstring pants and loose jeans. I do have a few pairs of khakis
and am a huge fan of jeans as well. But it's also a good idea to have clothes for
interviews, nice dinners, parties, formals, etc. hmmm, shoes, i would say dont bring too
many, just sneakers, dress shoes, sandals. Oh, and dont forget flip flops for the shower!
hmmm, this makes me think I should tell you about other stuff to bring. besides clothes.
I mentioned storage. . .I guess bedding, pillows, etc. you get a bed and a matress as part
of your room, but they dont really supply bedding (except perhaps during orientation, when
you are in your temp rooms so you dont have to unpack. . .contact the house manager for
whatever dorm you are temped in). Towels (bath, washcloths, hand towels) are good, and
random other toiletrees. hmmmm, i think maybe I'm being obvious, but. . .hmmm. well, dont
forget your computer, and maybe keep a few things around to eat with, like a few plates,
forks, knives, etc. and if your room isnt part of a suite with a kitchen, maybe consider
bringing a fridge.
Okay, maybe I'm starting to get excessive with all my suggestions? I don't know. If you
are thinking about maybe bringing something, and you're not sure if you should bring it or
not, and I can give you my opinion.
One last question I'll answer was about if you can go home for winter break. The answer is, YES! First of all, over winter break, you can just go home, leave all your stuff at your dorm (unlike other schools where you have to move out and such), and enjoy yourself. But you also don't HAVE to leave, either. And in terms of other times of the year. . . College is not like high school: theres no real mandatory attendance. So, if you have to go home to see your little sister perform in her school play (like I did) or if you have any reason (or no reason at all) you can leave. I mean, sure, you'll miss class (or whatever happens on the weekend for you) and just plain leaving when you have a test or other mandatory attendance event will get you in a buttload of trouble, but you're free to do what you want. However, some classes do have mandatory attendance, so skipping those isn't reccomended (although Professors are rather understanding at times if there is something that requires you to miss class. . .so, don't be afraid of them!)
Well, I do have another "book review" to discuss, but I figure this is enough for now.
Maybe I'll post it tomorrow. Keep the questions coming!
-Stephanie