A Prefrosh’s thoughts on Campus Preview Weekend

Posted on April 24, 2016

It’s been two weeks since MIT’s Campus Preview Weekend ended, but I haven’t had a chance to sit down and collect my thoughts until now. It was a really great experience; it was my first taste of college and also my first time in Boston.

Thursday was actually quite underwhelming for me. It was raining pretty heavily for almost the entire day, and walking outside was a dreadful experience. Sure, I packed an umbrella and my jacket protected me from the elements, but my shoes didn’t keep my feet dry. Walking around with soggy socks was awful – I did pack a change of socks but it didn’t take too long for those to get wet too, even though I was extra careful not to step into any puddles. The best part of Thursday for me would be the Speed Friending event: it was a lot of fun meeting new people, even if I’ve probably forgotten the names of all the people I talked to there. Also had my first taste of liquid nitrogen ice cream, and it tasted pretty good.

Friday was much better than Thursday as far as the weather was concerned. Having a better understanding of the layout of the campus was probably helpful too. Highlights included playing Secret Hitler, going through the contemporary art museum (which had an exhibition on Nigerian prince scamming), even more liquid nitrogen ice cream, watching Bakemono no Ko, and the tangerine tour (which was my favorite part of CPW).

Saturday went smoothly as well. It was the first time I worked with Lua, and used the LOVE game engine to make a game titled “Aesop’s Fables, III” at SIPB. The best event of the day was certainly Random Hall’s Nekomimi Maid Cafe, where omurice was served by cute maids with cat ears. Really don’t have much more to say about that event, other than the fact that I can die happily now.

Nothing really happened on Sunday, except that I stopped by the MIT Coop in Kendall Square. I was surprised when I walked in and saw all the books; the Coop in the student center really doesn’t do the description “bookstore” justice. Even though prefrosh had a 15% discount (on top of the standard 10% discount for members), there wasn’t anything that particularly stood out to me. I bought two magnets and left.

Here are some general thoughts/advice I have for future CPW attendees:

• Stock up on sleep beforehand. If you’re getting more than say, six or seven hours of sleep a night during CPW, you’re doing something wrong.
• Likewise, get your homework done before leaving. Nobody wants to work on homework during CPW, and doing your homework while exhausted right after CPW will suck too. When I got home after returning from CPW, I took a twelve hour nap.
• Bringing water resistant shoes would be a good idea. Expect a lot of walking, especially if you have to walk to or from an off-campus frat house.
• Getting the Uber app could save a lot of time walking.
• Never pass up liquid nitrogen ice cream. You can never have enough ice cream.
• Use your meal card on stuff like bubble tea because you’re going to find enough free food elsewhere.
• Don’t be afraid to ditch your friends for other friends, or go solo when there’s something that interests you but not the people you are walking around with. It’s still important to keep in contact with your friends though, if they discover something really cool.

That’s all for now, I guess.