News

Baker and Burton-Conner Are Top Dorm Picks for Freshmen

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Burton-Conner received the most top-four rankings by freshmen during the summer housing lottery, while Baker was the most popular first choice.
Source: Robin Baughman, Housing Office

Crowding at MIT undergraduate dorms has increased from last year: between 130 and 135 students are crowded in dorms room this year, while only 85 to 90 students were crowded in fall 2008, according to Robin Baughman, assistant director of housing. Baughman wrote, “We anticipate this number will go down throughout the fall term as cancellations occur to the building that can accommodate overflow housing.”

One likely reason for the increased crowding is change in freshman class size, which increased to 1,071 students entering this fall from 1,049 entering last year.

The top pick in the 2009 freshman housing lottery was Baker House, which 305 freshman listed as their first choice, Simmons Hall, which 157 freshman ranked as their top pick, and Burton-Conner, which 144 freshman listed as their top choice.

Bexley received the fewest first choices in the summer housing lottery (13 freshmen), while Senior House was the dorm that appeared least often in freshmen’s top four choices (106 freshmen).

This year, 64 percent of freshman received their first choice housing assignment for the summer lottery, 31 percent received their second choice and 5 percent received their third choice.

Two-hundred thirty-four freshmen entered the lottery. One-hundred thirty students, 56 percent of those who entered, moved as a result of the lottery.

In this year’s adjustment lottery, 83 freshman received their first choice building, 33 their second choice, 9 their third choice, and 5 their fourth choice.

Of those who did not move through the adjustment lottery, the most requested dorms were Baker House, Burton Conner, Simmons Hall, and Random Hall.

Of those who did move through the lottery, the most requested dorms were Burton-Conner (52 freshmen), Simmons Hall (44 freshmen), Baker House (41 freshmen), and Random Hall (22 freshmen).

As in previous years, students living in McCormick Hall and did not participate in the Adjustment Lottery.