CPW at Random Hall! by Vincent A. '17

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I first delved into the MIT campus for a 3-day Campus Preview Weekend.  Suffice it to say that those three days felt like the longest three days of my life. My total sleep count over that weekend was in the single digits and I still remember a lot. My adrenaline was at an all-time high, fueled by the Institue’s atmosphere of absolute energy. I remember a large bouncy castle and upperclassmen being dunked in water. I remember hugging Tim the Beaver and pulling my first all-nighter talking to amazing people. I remember my host, who hugged me on sight, and I remember the utter feeling of overwhelming joy as I treaded this new and strange and exciting environment. I remember a cool robot demonstration and I remember more liquid nitrogen ice-cream events than I really should! But despite how much of MIT I soaked in, I only covered a pinprick of what was in store for us.

And to everyone who’s going to be here over the next few days for CPW, I can promise you that getting pulled into its amazing pulse will be almost effortless. It takes a life of its own, and kind of sucks you in. But you’ll also need to be proactive. I found meticulously planning what events to attend particularly unhelpful, because I realized that just taking a bunch of steps in some random direction led me to some new place with some ongoing event far more exciting than what I had originally planned. That said, do go through your CPW booklet, which should contain literally dozens of pages of events spread out over 3-4 days! Find events that get you super-excited and go see them, but don’t overplan.

CPW was one of the most memorable weekends of my life, so much so in fact, that for the rest of this week, I am no longer Vincent Anioke, MIT Freshman. I am now Jason Hernaka, bespectacled, clueless prefrosh from Uganda, and I’ll try to see how many prefrosh events I can sneak my way into, before my cover is blown and I’m kicked out in some barrel.

And now I present some wonderful advice (from wonderful current students at MIT) about CPW, as well the events going on in my dorm, Random Hall! There are tons of exciting ones so come check us out, and worry not if you get lost. The brave soldiers of Random have drawn paths leading from the Student Center to the abode that is Random Hall. Beyond our mystic doors, you will find the Ancients, sage-eyed and grinning, their arms stretched, to welcome you into a new and exciting world.

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Katie B. ’15

1. If you pay for food at any point, you’re doing it wrong.
2. If you’re asking yourself, “Should I go to Thing X?” the answer is always yes. Events > sleeping.
3. Try things you’ve never done before, and try things you’re not sure you’ll like; MIT is all about new experiences!

Elizabeth K. ’14
Don’t stress over not being able to do everything. It’s a life skill you’ll have to get used to if you come to MIT. :)
Also, don’t forget to sleep, as much as people pressure you to do ALL THE THINGS. Sleep is important.

Rebecca L. ’17
I didn’t know housing lottery was a thing and hence paid zero attention to dorms. This is a bad idea. Pay some attention to which dorm you like, so you can think about where you might want to lottery. At the same time, don’t worry a ton about it because fyre and rex.

Kate T. ’16
Check out ALL the dorms! Even if you fall in love with one and all you want to do is spend ALL your time there, you need to keep your options open. If you do end up in your first choice, you’ll have a better idea of what your other friends’ living groups are like. If you don’t get into your first choice dorm, you’ll know what other dorms would be a good fit for you and where you would be happy your first semester (if not your entire time at MIT) :)

Katie S. ’17
Thoroughly look over all the events in advance. Schedule your CPW time, but be flexible. Also, get your parents to go to boring but informative events, and go to the fun ones instead.

Try make it to a lot of the different dorms and get tours (this will be much better than trying to figure out which dorm you want later, with just the online information). Also, really talk to the people who live in each dorm about what it’s like.

Also, even if you’re not planning on living in an east side dorm, you should visit them to see some of the awesome murals they have.

Andrea L. ’14
Have fun!
Try to think about if you want to be like people you are meeting in 2 or 4 years. The people you surround yourself with shape who you become.

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Meanwhile, brewing at Random Hall…

Feel the magic this weekend.