We’ve put together a helpful worksheet for you to figure out how much you’ll need for a year at MIT. Use these tools to map your costs, make your own monthly budget, and find help in managing your money.
How to prepare
The worksheet is designed to help you—our newly admitted students—build a budget and learn more about how to manage your finances. Please note that the worksheet is meant to help you understand what your budget will look like; your actual bill may differ from the worksheet.
Before you begin, you may want to have a few items on hand:
- A list of your personal expenses.01 Your personal expenses will include all of the costs you’ll have during the year: class materials, your phone bill, food costs beyond the dining plan options, and spending money. You probably won’t know all of them yet, and that’s okay, you can “guesstimate” as you go!
- A list of your personal resources,02 Your personal resources are what you and your family are able to contribute, along with any money you anticipate earning while you’re at MIT. Learn about campus jobs on the <a href="https://sfs.mit.edu/find-a-job/for-students/working-at-mit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Working at MIT</a> page. such as savings and estimated earnings.
- Your financial aid award information, accessed through your application portal.
The two worksheet sections: Academic and living costs
You’ll see that the worksheet below has two sections:
- Paying your MIT bill: First, you’ll total up your estimated charges, then you’ll input your resources to figure out if you’ll need to pay MIT or if you’ll receive a refund.
- Calculating your living expenses, beyond the housing and dining plan options03 All first-year students are required to live on campus, but residence halls and living groups vary in cost. Learn more at <a href="https://studentlife.mit.edu/housing/undergraduate-housing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MIT Housing</a>. included in Part 1: This is where you’ll see what you’ll need to cover your monthly expenses and where you’ll find resources to manage your budget.
What do I do with this information?
Once you’ve mapped out your expenses, here’s what to do next:
- Save your results: Save the results so you can start planning for fall.
- Build a budget: Start building a monthly budget for the coming year.
- Get help: If you have any questions, just let us know.
Estimate your costs
While returning students mostly know their full financial picture, our admitted students find it helpful to have some pre-populated numbers to work with. So unless you’re already an expert, just hit the “I don’t know” button below!
Plan for a semester or the full year
You may need to look at your expenses by semester; however, we recommend that you look at the entire year to get a good sense of what you’ll need for your first year at MIT!
Part 1: Paying your MIT bill
This section calculates the costs of being an MIT student, and will help you figure out what resources you’ll need to pay your bill.
First, let’s calculate your costs:
Tuition
Fees 04 Fees included here cover your student life fee (paid by all undergraduates). You can use the add another fee option to add any other fees you know you’ll have during the year, such as lab charges or program-specific fees.
Housing
Pi Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta are considered a part of MIT housing and appear in this section. Other FSILGs handle their charges independently.
Please note: Tax rates are for the 2023–2024 academic year. The tax rates for 2024–2025 will not be finalized until early summer.
Food
Health insurance 05 Massachusetts state law requires full health coverage for MIT students, so you will be automatically enrolled in the <a href="https://sites.mit.edu/studentinsuranceoffice/about/mit-ship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MIT Student Health Insurance Plan</a>. However, if you already have full coverage (through your parents, for example) then you won’t need anything more. <strong>But you will have to file a waiver by August 15 for the academic year!</strong> Learn more at <a href="https://health.mit.edu/my-mit/students" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MIT Health</a>.
Please note: Health insurance rates are for the 2023–2024 academic year. The rates for the 2024–2025 academic year will not be finalized until early spring.
TechCASH
TechCASH is a flexible spending account that you can add funds to, so you can make purchases at local businesses around campus with your MIT ID.
Costs subtotal
Next, let’s total up your aid:
Financial aid: Scholarships and grants
Please note: If you are budgeting for one semester only, you need to divide your financial aid (grants, scholarships, or loans) in half for this section. Financial aid is distributed evenly between the fall and spring semesters. Meaning if you receive a $10,000 MIT Scholarship, $5,000 is applied to your fall semester, and $5,000 to the spring semester. You are required to notify SFS of any outside aid received as it will impact your financial aid. If you have outside aid but have not received an adjusted award, this tool may not be accurate.
Loans
Our financial aid is designed so that you don’t have to take out loans. However, should you decide to do so, you can add your loans in this section. It’s OK to leave this blank right now!
Aid subtotal
Money owed to MIT (your balance due)
Refund
Monthly payment, if using the Monthly Payment Plan
What do I do with this number?
This is the amount that you will need to pay—and we have a bunch of resources to help with this process:
How to pay → Payment options → Monthly payment plan →
What do I do with this number?
Based on the numbers you put in, it looks like you would have a credit on your account. This means that your aid and loans exceed the costs you have to pay. If this happens, you can apply the credit toward future bills, or request a refund.
Learn more about credits → How to request a refund →
Save your results
Save your results now or wait until the end of Part 2 and save both on one spreadsheet. You can download an Excel spreadsheet so that you can manage your budget on your own, or save it as a PDF for your records.
Part 2: Living expenses
This section will help you figure out how much money you’ll need for your living expenses each month, beyond what’s on your bill in the section above.
Let’s first total up what you’ll need each month:
Housing (off campus)
If you’re not living in MIT housing06 Costs for living off campus can vary dramatically based on the situation you choose. use this section to add up your monthly costs for rent and other bills, such as internet and utilities.
Food
If you’ve got a meal plan and you know that’s all you need, you can leave this section blank—or you can use this area to include additional monthly food costs, such as coffee, eating out, and groceries. You will not be billed for this cost.
Bills
Use this section to include other monthly bills, such as your cellphone, public transit or commuting costs, or anything else you know you’ll be paying each month.
Monthly subtotal
Now let’s add up the other big costs you’re likely to encounter. These are one-time costs that do not recur monthly:
One-time expenses
Use this section to include one-time costs that you’ll need to cover in addition to your monthly bills, such as books, a new laptop, or other life requirements.
$910 is the amount we budget for books and supplies. You can adjust this if you have a better sense of what you’ll need.
Travel expenses
If you’re going to be traveling to and from MIT over the course of the year, you can use this section to total up those costs.
Expenses subtotal
Next, let’s gather the resources you’ll have to cover these costs:
Refund from MIT bill
TechCASH
Earnings (monthly)
If you’re going to have a job, you can use this section to track your monthly income. Additionally, if you’ll be getting a monthly allowance or other support, you can track that here as well.
Savings and other one-time resources
Use this section to account for any one-time contributions you’ll be receiving such as family savings or gifts. This is a one-time amount, and will not repeat monthly.
Resources subtotal
Monthly amount needed
Refund
What do I do with this number?
This is the amount that you’ll need to cover your expenses and bills. Here are a few tips and resources that can help. And you are always welcome to reach out with any questions—we are here to help!
How to pay → Payment options → Monthly payment plan →
What do I do with this number?
Based on the numbers you put in, it looks like you might have some money left over each month. This means that your aid and loans exceed the costs you have to pay. If this happens, you can apply the credit toward future bills, or request a refund and have it transferred to your bank account.
Learn more about credits → How to request a refund →
Save Your Results
Download a PDF for your records, or an Excel file to build a budgeting spreadsheet of your own.
Still have questions? We’re here to help!
Contact Us