Rush

  
         
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Rush Survival Guide

  
     
  Choosing a living group is one of the most important decisions of your MIT career, and we want to do our best to clear up any confusion you might have about the process. What follows shows some of the things for you to think about during rush and your freshman year. We hope that this provides some important pointers on how rush works and, at the same time, gives you an idea of what our house is like and at the same time.  So look through, and if you see anything you like, drop by during rush.  
     

 

Some valuable advice about how to make the most out of your early MIT experience.


Surviving Rush...

1. Be yourself! If you feel uncomfortable doing this, maybe you should rush somewhere else.
2. Be outgoing no matter what (the one exception to the above rule). Rush is short and chaotic, so you have to be active and talk to everyone.
3. Spend lots of time at the house and get to know the brothers as well as possible in the time that you have.
4. During rush, visit 5 houses at most; you need to spend time getting to know the brothers at a house, and they need to get to know you to give you a bid.
5. Don't be upset if you get referred to another house. Houses do not want to waste your time. If you aren't going to get a bid, you will probably be told so and shown to another house where you will fit in better.

 

Important Questions to ask

 

Where is your house located?
How many brothers live in the house?
Is there a freshman Hell Week?
What will the pledge program entail?
How important is partying to the house?
How much does it cost to live there?


Hot MIT chicks:
they're everywhere!

 


...And Girls During Rush.

1. If you hit it off with a cute freshman girl, convince her to come along on your first few fraternity visits.
2. If you hit it off with a cute upperclassman at a fraternity, well...not to burst your bubble or anything, but that's her job.
3. Warning: Girls hanging out at fraternities during Rush give you an idea about social life there...only to an extent. Don't be a fool and think that you'll be surrounded by women once Rush is over. Choose a house for the bros, not the girls.

 


Food: The Hellz Yeah & The Hellz No

1. Look for small, dirty-looking trucks on campus; good food to fill your tummy for 3 bucks.
2. Make friends at Wellesley: free food and other yummy treats.
3. Pour House: Saturday evenings, all burgers half price. Best $2 burger ever.
4. ...and other places to eat on Newbury and Boylston St.

Mmmmm.. lobsterrrr... [drool]

1. Slob-dell. Avoid it at all costs. If you don't now, you will eventually.
2. Avoid spending money to eat during Rush. If you spend a penny on food, you're doing something wrong.
3. If the lobster snaps at you, check out some other houses.

Journeying Through Academics

1. MIT won't kick your butt. It will let you fling your butt into its boot though.
2. Take classes with extra letters not extra numbers; e.g. 8.01L not 8.012. You'll enjoy freshman year much more.
3. Pass/no record is a great thing, and you should have fun your freshman year, but if you don't learn the material, sophomore year will suck a lot.
4. Do your work with other people.
5. If you need help, just ask for it. Most people are more than willing to help you out. Everyone is always helping everyone else out here. That's how we survive.
6. Realize that there is a life outside MIT and classes. In fact, this is more important than "why you came here." Find such involvements early.

 


Don't be scared of weird professors. They're cool in their own ways.

 

 

 
Work together. It is a lot easier to get through the tough classes, and everyone benefits.


There is always someone to give you a hand.

 

 


"THAT one! I want THAT guy to rush PKT this year."

 

 

 

 

 MIT students come in all shapes and sizes; they're all cool.

 

 


 

 

Boston Must-do's

1. See a Red Sox game.

2. Walk down Newbury St.

3. Eat at the Top of the Hub once (and only once)

4. Chill in Boston Common

5. Walk the Freedom Trail

6. Museum of Fine Arts

7. Listen to the BSO

8. Run the Marathon

 

 

Social Life

1. Find something to do (other than studying) that (A) takes up all your time and (B) is totally worth it. You'll actually stay saner at MIT this way.
2. Varsity sports. Dance Troupe. Habitat for Humanity. The list continues. It's so easy to find something you love. Don't hesitate to get involved and try new things during your freshman year.
3. Be open to meet people of all shapes and sizes. Make an effort to stay that way, or else you'll quickly close yourself off from many exciting people.