Undergraduate Female · Undergradate Males · Graduate · Off-Campus
Undergrad Housing – Female
As a freshman, deciding where to live can be a daunting task, especially because there are numerous options available. Needless to say, your home at MIT plays a major role in your college experience. That is why you need to choose an environment in which you not only feel comfortable, but one which also caters to your needs as a Muslim woman. Currently, many of the undergraduate Muslim women who live on campus reside in McCormick, the only all-female dormitory on campus. Advantages to living in McCormick include its location (right across from the Student Center and just a five-minute walk to the Infinite Corridor), its condition (clean; relatively quiet), and its convenient facilities (kitchens on each floor, as well as a laundry room, an exercise room, and multiple living rooms).
Because McCormick is one of the few dorms that has implemented Residence-Based Advising (RBA), incoming freshmen interested in living in McCormick must apply during the summer. Unlike with most other undergraduate dorms, students are not permitted to switch into or out of McCormick in August. This advising program, because it is “residence-based”, ensures that the other members of your advising group are also McCormick residents. There will be several forms mailed to you during the spring and summer explaining the housing selection process; watch for forms regarding the RBA program for prospective McCormick residents.
In McCormick, as with many of the dormitories on campus, freshmen usually live in doubles or triples; a lucky few might get singles. Having a roommate can often be a rewarding experience, and one to which you will quickly adapt. In general, the few dormitories on campus that offer singles to freshmen (like MacGregor) are coed (although it is possible to live in an all-girls suite in MacGregor), which often, but not always, means coed bathrooms.
If you do apply to live in McCormick, you will be given your room assignment and the names of your roommate(s) before you arrive on campus. However, you are still allowed to choose your roommates. Insha’Allah, during the summer, the MIT-MSA will try to organize a list of incoming Muslim freshmen and their contact information. This will give you the opportunity to get in touch with other Muslim sisters; this can possibly give you the option of picking them as roommates as well.
If the idea of living in McCormick doesn’t suit you, but you are interested in living and sharing facilities only with other girls, MacGregor Hall might be another option. MacGregor is arranged into suites of six to eight singles; each suite with its own kitchen and bathroom. However, we highly recommend living in McCormick because it is much closer to campus and has a larger community of sisters. Also, be aware that if you decide not to opt for McCormick, you will have to go through the regular housing lottery process that takes place during orientation.
Undergrad Housing- Males
Housing for male Muslims is, in a way, a tougher issue than it is for females because there is no completely all-male dorm. All dorms on campus, except for MacGregor, have singles and doubles. Some also have triples and quads. Since your chances of getting a single during your first year is low, except in MacGregor, you will most likely have to room with another person. For many reasons, we have found that you may want to consider finding a Muslim roommate. We in the MITMSA hope that we have made it easy, inshAllah, for you to find a Muslim roommate beforehand.
Just contact the MIT-MSA Executive Committee and let them know that you would like to get contact information of other Muslim freshmen concerned about the same issues. You can then write to each other and perhaps even plan to room together before you arrive on campus.
The other concern about living space that you may have as an incoming freshman may be the coed living environment prevalent throughout the housing system. In most dorms this also means coed bathrooms. Some dorms have all male suites or private bathrooms. Specifically, MacGregor and Burton-Conner have a few all male suites and New House has somewhat more private bathrooms with doors that lock even though the suite is coed.
While New House is a coed dorm, it is the dorm that has the most Muslims on campus. In New House, the Muslims pray fajr, eat suhur during Ramadan, and relax with foosball and pool together. Many of the Muslims there are happy with their living arrangements and its coed environment has not been an issue to them.
So what should you do to make sure that you will find housing that is appropriate to your needs next year? We suggest that you first consider trying to find a roommate or decide if you would prefer to live in a single. Next, you will want to get in touch with Imam Suheil Laher, MIT’s Muslim chaplain. Specifically, if you find a roommate that you would like to live with, let him know that you want to live with him.
Time is important in this process. The earlier you move on this, the more likely that it will go smoothly. Do not wait until the standard lottery process, because then the process will be considerably more difficult and the options more limited.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail the MSA Executive Committee at msa-ec@mit.edu.
Graduate Housing Info
Coming Soon
Off-Campus Housing Options
As an incoming undergraduate freshman, you are required to live on campus, which makes your choice easy. You have none.
For first-year graduate students, we recommend living on-campus at least your first year, until you become familiar with the area, and are settled. However, there are several reasons people live off-campus too, from having a bad housing lottery number, to wanting to live with someone in particular. Note, though, that the housing prices in Boston are very high, and living alone is very expensive.
For many reasons, we have found that you may want to consider finding a Muslim roommate. We in the MITMSA hope that we have made it easy for you to find a Muslim roommate beforehand. Just contact the MITMSA EC and let them know that you would like to subscribe to our roommate email list, which will allow you to get contact information of other MIT Muslims looking for roommates. You can then write to each other and perhaps even plan to room together before you arrive on campus.
If you are conducting an off-campus housing search, you probably want to start with the Off-Campus Housing Office, where you can get lots of information about the Cambridge area, as well as apartment listings. Other popular listings can be found through The Boston Globe.
Time is important in the housing search. If you are looking for housing in the Boston area, the best times are in June and August. Still, you must be quick. The good deals that are posted in The Boston Globe on Sunday morning, are often gone by Sunday afternoon.
