Culture

We’re interested in anything and everything! You’re sure to find other people in Next with similar interests as you - whether it be playing a varsity sport or just going for a casual run, playing in MIT’s best musical ensembles or just jamming in the music room, acting, singing, playing board and video games, building cool techy projects, doing recreational math, sleeping (sometimes…), cooking, or eating - we do it all!

But, despite our huge range of interests, the one thing that we all have in common is that we love to have fun, and we’re friendly and engaging!

To learn more about what it means to be a Next House resident, please take a look at our Community Standards Handbook.

Wings

Next house is composed of 8 wings, a Western wing and an Eastern wing on each of the floors 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Social

Next is one of the most social dorms on campus! We have regular study breaks (such as coffeehouse) and social events so you can take a break from those psets, an annual Next formal so you can dance away. Some other big social events that we’ve had include wing competitions, Next Island, Mardi Gras, and Next Big Party.

But that’s just part of the story - just walk through any wing of Next in the evening and you’ll find a hustle-bustle of action. People will be in lounges working on psets together - having a good time while getting some work done. Others will be cooking, jamming in the music room, watching TV, playing video games, or just chilling and having a good time. It’s these smaller, impromptu social gatherings that really define the warmth and friendly atmosphere of Next.

Student Groups

Next Act

Next Act is our annual, student-run musical. Every year, we transform our huge tastefully furnished lounge (TFL) on the first floor into an awesome theater, and put on a great show for CPW. Everyone in the show - including the actors, actresses, prod staff, and pit orchestra - are students from Next and all around campus. There’s a wide range of experience levels, too - for some it’s their first time being in a show, while others have been in so many shows it’s hard to keep count! Next Act is open to everyone, and it’s sure to be a lot of fun.

Next Bake

Next Bake joins together Nexties that love baking and cooking together. (And are occasionally responsible for feeding us delicious things.)

Next Haunt

Next Haunt creates and operates a real-life haunted escape the room game for the MIT community during Halloween season. It features physical adventures in which groups are locked in a room and must use elements in the room to solve a series of puzzles, find clues, and escape the room within a set time limit. Nexties design the house and the puzzles, build it, paint it, polish it, organize actors, and make sure runs happen. Join us for a truly sp0oOky adventure right in a house within Next House.

Next Sing

Next Sing’s goal is to provide a very-low-commitment, flexible musical activity for all musically-inclined members of the MIT community. We allow all genres of music, and all arrangements as long as they have a singing focus. Overall, we hope to be a welcoming, relaxing musical community.

History and Archives

For a detailed history of Next House, check out this elaborate history report.