Next Big Mailing is out

Next Big Mailing is out The first wave of the Next Big Mailing (NBM) has been sent out (several hundred of them late this week; more will be mailed next week, be patient). Formally known as the A60 for historical reasons we can no longer remember, the NBM represents the transition of the newly admitted class from the Admissions Office to the Academic Resource Center (ARC): theyre the firstyear and Orientation folks. What does the NBM include? A cover letter from Marilee, formally transitioning you to the ARC. The Final School Report. This report tells the Admissions Office your final coursework and grades. Information from the ARC. A letter about the Communication Requirement and Freshman Essay Evaluation (FEE). The Medical Report from MIT Medical. Instructions for obtaining your MIT computing (Athena/Kerberos) account, including your email address. The last item is the one that generates the most excitement. For many students, it doesnt really set in that theyre an MIT student until they send their first email from their MIT account. This day is almost here! Because I care about you, here are some tips for choosing an email address: You must choose a username that is between 3 and 8 characters. Choose a username that you wont be embarrassed sharing with your professors. In some circles on campus, you may become known by your username, so choose wisely. Feel free to choose something with some personality, if you like! A couple ways to check if your username is already taken: 1) put the username into the people search; 2) point your web browser to http://web.mit.edu/yourusername. Neither of these methods are foolproof, but they are good first checks. Good default usernames are your last name (if it is fairly unique and 8 letters or fewer); your first name (if it is fairly unique and 8 letters or fewer); your first and last names concatenated (good for people whose first last names are short). Characteristics I dont recommend: underscores (david_h), numbers (david789), unpronounceable terminations of long last names (hasselho). Note: you can, through Moira, request an email list, which, if you set your username as the only subscriber, can function as a second email address for you; this list name can be longer than 8 characters. Signing up for your account will give you storage space (an online locker) and a website at http://www.mit.edu/~yourusername. And, of course, once you have your MIT email address, you can sign up for Facebook. MIT students/alums what advice would you give?