Types of aid: Other scholarships and grants

Scholarships and grants are forms of financial aid that do not need to be repaid. Beyond the MIT Scholarship, undergraduates may receive scholarships and grants from government and private sources.

Federal grants

You’ll automatically be considered for federal grant programs when you apply for financial aid each year. If you’re eligible, we’ll include the grants in your financial aid award. MIT administers four federal grant programs:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
• Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant
• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant

State grants

Some states have their own financial aid programs, including need-based grants and merit-based scholarships. If you’re a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you may qualify for financial aid from your home state.

If you receive a state grant, we’ll include it in your aid award as soon as we receive it from your state.

Private scholarships and grants

There are many private scholarships and grants you can apply for on your own. If you receive one, we use it to replace your student contribution⁠01 The amount you can reasonably be expected to contribute toward your own educational expenses. For undergraduates, the student contribution is the summer earnings expectation and student employment during the academic year.   requirement before we reduce your MIT Scholarship.

There are many scholarship search engines that can help you find additional funding. Please know that you should never pay for a scholarship search service. You can also reach out to any groups or organizations that you have been involved with to see if they offer private scholarships. We recommend the following sites to get you started:

• collegeboard.org
• fastweb.com
• scholarships.com
• unigo.com
• studentscholarshipsearch.com

What you should do if you get a private scholarship or grant

First, congratulations! If you receive outside scholarships or grants, you will need to submit the Outside Award Reply Form. This lets us update your financial aid award.

Please note: If you, or your scholarship organization, do not let us know how to distribute your award (all to one semester or split evenly between the two), the funds will be distributed evenly between the fall and spring semesters.

1. The amount you can reasonably be expected to contribute toward your own educational expenses. For undergraduates, the student contribution is the summer earnings expectation and student employment during the academic year.⁠ back to text ↑