Spring 2021 Housing Placement Update

November 23, 2020

Dear Undergraduate Student,

I write to share that the building placement results scheduled to be released tomorrow have been delayed and will be shared with you by the end of December due to the reasons outlined below.  

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From the outset of the Spring 2021 planning process, the Institute has cautioned that plans and timelines may change, and that we must remain flexible to navigate and respond to the pandemic’s impact on our operations.  

Over the past few days, it has become clear that we need more time to take your preferences into account and to get a better sense of demand for campus housing so that we can then determine how best to move forward with building placements. Building placements must prioritize your health and safety, as well as the broader community’s wellbeing, while also setting students up to have as positive a residential experience as possible during this unprecedented time. To help us achieve this goal, we need a little bit more time.   

Factors leading to the delay include:

• Positive COVID-19 cases are on the rise across the country and throughout Massachusetts. Given this reality, we must approach building placements and residential density extremely carefully. We want to do everything we can to prevent the number of residents placed in each house from posing an increased risk of spreading the virus.
     
• We’ve received a high volume of Spring 2021 Housing Applications and expect that students’ housing plans may change during the course of the coming weeks.  By waiting a few more weeks to have a more complete handle on the true demand for MIT Housing, it’s our hope that we can make placements in mid-December and avoid reshuffling residents’ assignments in January to help balance the distribution of residents across the houses.
  
  Applicants who have committed to live on campus next semester will still have the opportunity to do so, however, if you no longer require on-campus housing for the spring, you should complete the penalty-free cancellation form within your MyHousing portal as soon as possible, but no later than January 1, 2021.  This will provide us with a more accurate understanding of Spring 2021 housing needs and help us to better accommodate your classmates who have committed to on-campus housing.

We will be reaching out to you in the coming weeks to learn more about your preferences and will share additional information with you along the way. Please visit the Spring 2021 Housing Dashboard for regular updates or reach out to the team at HRS with any immediate questions via email at ughousingspring2021@mit.edu.  Thank you again for your continued patience and understanding. 

Sincerely,

RICH HILTON 
Associate Dean and Director for Residential Services and Operations
Housing & Residential Services