Domestic students

 

We are one of only seven colleges in the U.S. that is committed to meeting 100% of your demonstrated financial need while remaining need blind in our admissions process.

Our commitment to affordability

We want to make sure that MIT is an affordable option for all of our admitted students. Our financial aid team works closely with you and your family to develop a plan tailored to your financial circumstances, so that you can attend MIT and cover your expenses while you’re here.

How to apply

Applying for financial aid can be complicated, so we have broken it down to make it a bit easier. Before we can decide what your financial aid award looks like, we need to know what your financial situation is. To do this, we use three documents that paint us a detailed picture of what kind of aid you’ll need to be able to attend MIT affordably.

Four steps to apply for aid
  1. CSS Profile: a tool provided by the College Board that we use to determine if you qualify for a need-based MIT Scholarship
  2. Create your FSA ID: If you plan to fill out the FAFSA you need to create or reconfirm your Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) as soon as possible. Beginning this year, students and parents are not able to share an account on the Federal Student Aid site. If you are a student, parent, or other contributor, you need to create your own account. Once completed, it will take 5 business days for your account to be activated before you can fill out the FAFSA. See details on how to fill our your FAFSA below.
  3. FAFSA: the form you need to fill out to see if you are eligible for any federal or state student aid. See our FAQs for answers to common questions about the FAFSA and learn more on how to fill our your FAFSA below.
  4. Parental tax returns or income documentation: your parents’ tax returns or income documentation must be submitted through the College Board’s secure IDOC platform
Start your application →
Estimate your federal aid

If you would like to get a sense of how much federal student aid you may be eligible for, you can complete the Federal Student Aid Estimator. It takes about 10 minutes, and you can do this before filling out the FAFSA. You will need your family’s financial information, including tax filing status, adjusted gross income, total assets, and any annual child support received.

More about each of the pieces we use to determine aid

CSS Profile

  • The CSS Profile is a tool provided by the College Board that we use to determine if you qualify for an MIT Scholarship.
  • For the application, you will need the following:
    • Your parents’ 2022 income tax returns or wage statements
    • Any other records of money earned
    • Bank statements
    • Records of investments
    • Records of untaxed income
  • Designate MIT as one of your recipients by using our CSS code 3514 and answer all supplemental questions specific to MIT.
  • If the fee presents a challenge, it may be waived by the College Board. MIT is not able to offer a fee waiver directly.
  • If your parents are separated or divorced, each parent will need to complete their own CSS Profile application.
Fill out the CSS Profile →

FAFSA

  • The U.S. government determines the amount of federal student aid—grants, loans, and work-study—you qualify for using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
  • The 2024–2025 FAFSA is now available. Domestic students should submit it as soon as they are able.
  • Create your FSA ID now: Create or reconfirm your Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) as soon as possible. Beginning this year, students and parents are not able to share an account on the Federal Student Aid site. If you are a student, parent, or other contributor, you need to create your own account. Once completed, it will take 5 business days for your account to be activated before you can fill out the FAFSA.

    You need the following to create an account: 

    • Your Social Security Number (SSN): If a contributor does not have an SSN, they may still create an FSA ID—however, this feature is not yet available. We will update these directions when more information becomes available.
    • Your own email address and/or mobile phone number
  • For the application, you will need:
    • Your parents’ 2022 federal income tax returns and W-2s
    • Other records of money earned
    • Current bank account balances
    • Records of investments
    • Records of untaxed income
  • Please designate MIT as one of your recipients using Federal Code 002178.
  • If you are asked to verify your FAFSA, this means that you may need to take a few extra steps to confirm your financial information. You can learn more about verification here.
Fill out the FAFSA →

Parental tax returns or income documentation

  • After submitting the CSS Profile, you will need to submit your parents’ tax returns or income documentation to the College Board’s secure Institutional Documentation Service (IDOC) for processing.
  • If your parents do not file a tax return, please complete the Non Tax Filer Statement through IDOC and submit it along with documentation of income (W-2, 1099, or a letter from their employer outside the U.S.).
  • For the application, you will need:
    • Your parents’ 2022 federal (not state) tax returns along with all schedules, statements, and W-2s. Veterans of the U.S. armed forces are exempt from this step.
  • If your family owns a corporation or interest in a partnership, you must send the corporation or partnership tax return through IDOC. Please note that a Schedule K-1 is insufficient data, as the complete tax returns are needed.
  • If you, your parents, or other siblings are beneficiaries of an estate or trust, submit the appropriate Schedule K-1 of IRS Form 1041 or IRS Form 4970 through IDOC.
  • If your parents are separated or divorced, your non-custodial parent’s tax return is required as well.
  • If your parents live outside the U.S., please provide the tax return from that country, along with a translation to English if applicable.
  • You must submit all documents directly to IDOC. We will be unable to accept anything sent directly to MIT.

Please note: It can take up to two weeks for the tax returns to be received by MIT.

Submit parental documentation →

Need help?

We know applying for aid can sometimes be confusing, so we are here to answer any questions that you may have. Feel free to email us at sfs@mit.edu or call our office at 617.258.8600. We have a team of financial aid counselors that will guide you through the process.