Boston & Cambridge

Boston and Cambridge may be the best cities in the world in which to be a college student.

More than 50 other four-year colleges also call the Boston metro area home, and within Boston's city limits, one in every four residents is a college student. The city's convenient public transportation system (the "T") makes it easy for students from different colleges to socialize with each other.

Despite MIT's location across the Charles River in Cambridge, MIT students travel into Boston on a regular basis; transportation is available on foot or bicycle, on an MBTA bus, or on an MIT SafeRide shuttle. Most fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups own houses in Boston, so many students live in the city.

MIT students are able to take in Boston culture, thanks to many programs around MIT which allow students to get free or reduced-price tickets to various events. Students get free admission daily to the Museum of Science, the Museum of Fine Arts, and all Harvard University and MIT museums. The MIT Activities Committee and the Council for the Arts make tickets available for performances and attractions around Boston, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Ballet, and the American Repertory Theater.

Tickets are sometimes available for Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox games, but students most commonly attend these games when their clubs or living groups purchase and subsidize a block of tickets. It's great to go in small groups to the ballet, but it's even more fun to go to a Red Sox game with 30 of your closest friends! A bus runs to Foxboro, Massachusetts, for those who want to attend Patriots games.

Central Square, just steps from MIT's campus, is the hub of the local music scene. Clubs like the Middle East and TT The Bear's Place offer nightly, affordable all-ages shows. If national touring acts are more your speed, check out the schedules at Avalon, Orpheum, and TD Banknorth Garden.

Students regularly eat out at Boston's fabulous restaurants; Italian food in the North End and Chinese dim sum in Chinatown are popular destinations, and new restaurants are always waiting to be discovered. For nights when you just want to stay home, an almost overwhelming variety of restaurants deliver to campus.

Boston offers a plethora of shopping options, from the eclectic shops in Harvard Square to the tony ones on Newbury Street. Several malls are accessible by public transportation; most popular with students is the Cambridgeside Galleria, which runs a free shuttle between the mall and MIT's Kendall Square.