Alcohol:
Look at MIT’s alcohol policy. Bottom line, no alcohol in the SDM office without a pile of authorization forms. Outside of the office, everyone in the program is probably of legal drinking age (21). MIT has had a bunch of alcohol-related incidents on campus since the fall of 1998. The closest pubs are the Muddy Charles which is the student union pub opposite the boat house, or “Characters” which is a basic commercial joint in the Marriott.
Tuition:
Many SDM students arrive with an attitude derived from corporate education: “I am paying $80K for this, it should run smoothly; what am I getting for my money?” MIT’s position is that tuition is used for cost recovery, that is they lose money on every student, but they make it up in volume. Research is their bread and butter, education is a side-line activity. And students are supposed to suffer a bit, that is part of the “MIT experience” (especially amongst professors that are MIT grads). Most professors however will bend over backwards to help you understand the material as long as you show that you are trying (doing the work).
No Whining:
A Classic SDM story here. The original pilot program students complained about things that the staff considered minor. To quash this in the beginning, Prof Crawley on day 1 of System Architecture for the SDM 1997 class wrote a large “Whining” sign on the blackboard with a cross through it (meaning “No”, for any non-American readers). Thus was born the legend of No Whining; the 1997 class uses this saying sometimes without realizing that only they get the joke, while the other party gets offended. Now at least you can make an informed choice about its meaning based on the context.
And you have an inkling of understanding of the egomaniac who teaches System Architecture.
Registration:
Registration for IAP (the January program) and some Spring courses will be essentially handled for you – registration for the rest of your classes and thesis will be done by you. 13-Monthers need to be very active in what they are registered for in the first Spring Semester. The Sloan Bidding system and Websis are things that you should be intimately familiar with before completing your first semester.
Cross registration at Harvard
(as well as some other local Universities) is an option. Several SDMers in the past have done it. Information on how to register is located at on the Sloan Bid site in the left column toward the bottom. If you want to cross-register in Spring be aware that Harvard classes start in mid January and do not align with the MIT semester dates (spring break, SIP week, etc.)
Medical Waiver Forms:
Fill them out – get them in on time (early). They only last a year – you’ll need to do it again. MIT will bill you, and the charges are not reversible once the deadlines have passed. Double-check with medical to be sure they received them - waivers have been known to get "lost".