Spend the Day

So what is campus food and an MIT class really like? One of the best ways to become acquainted with MIT is to spend some time on campus, one-on-one with a current MIT student! The MIT Student Host Program matches prospective high school juniors and seniors with an MIT undergraduates from 11am-2pm. Attend a class, grab some lunch and get an informal tour of campus while you ask away about your host’s MIT experience!

MIT Student Host Visits are available Monday through Friday on days when classes are in session. Visits are set up with MIT volunteers and are on a first come, first serve basis so please sign up at least two weeks in advance of the date on which you are interested in participating in the MIT Student Host Visit. Please bring $8-10 to cover your lunch on campus.

To arrange a hosted day visit, please log into your MyMIT account and use the Shadow a Student Form. We need some time to arrange your visit, so please register at least two weeks in advance.

Stay Overnight

If you enroll at MIT, you will spend roughly 1,000 days and nights here - so before you commit yourself, it makes sense to sample the place for a day and a night if you can. Stay overnight in an MIT living group. Tour the campus. Attend some classes. Get a feel for the city around you. With all that experiential data, you're bound to have a better sense of whether MIT is the place for you.

In conjunction with student volunteer hosts, the Admissions Office arranges overnight housing any Sunday through Thursday evening during the school year (except during MIT vacations, public holidays, and exam periods). During October and November any high school junior or senior may arrange an overnight visit (two weeks advance registration required). Overnights in February, March and April are only for students who have been admitted. We encourage all admitted students to visit during our annual Campus Preview Weekend in the spring. Overnight visits are not available from May through September.

Your visit will be freeform. Like a real MIT student, you will make your own decisions about how to spend your time here. Your student host will introduce you to campus life, and our office will provide you with a few pointers, including a class schedule and a list of suggested activities. The rest is up to you. Try to decide on your own priorities in advance: Do you want to see labs in a certain field, get a sense of the overall classroom culture, hear a certain professor, find out what the athletic facilities are like? Do you want to meet other people who share your background, your home town, or your passion for really, really strange forms of chess? However you choose to spend your time, it's a good idea to talk to as many people as possible. Don't be shy! As you'll quickly discover, MIT is full of friendly people who are delighted to share their elaborate, passionate, often witty opinions on practically any subject.

Costs are minimal. There is no charge for the housing. Depending on the living group you stay with, you may have to pay a small fee for meals.

To arrange an overnight visit, please log into your MyMIT account and use the Overnight Program Registration Form. We need some time to arrange your visit, so please register at least two weeks in advance.