Frequently Asked Questions

Unusual circumstances refers to conditions that may allow for an adjustment to your dependency status based on a unique situation, e.g., human trafficking, refugee or asylee status, parent abandonment, or incarceration. This is commonly known as a dependency override. Students can initiate a dependency overrides for review on the basis of persistent, ongoing, and irreconcilable family dysfunction such as abuse or parental abandonment. You can read more about dependency overrides on our website. To request an adjustment to your dependency status with MIT,  you need to contact your financial aid counselor and see if a dependency override is appropriate for your situation.

Tuition is subsidized for all MIT students. The price of graduate degree programs varies by program and can be found under the specific area of study on the registrar's website.

The financial aid team will work with you to see if you qualify for federal loan funding. Graduate fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships are awarded by each department, lab, or center. You should contact your program administrator to learn more.

You are expected to complete your degree program without interruption.

If you’re granted a medical withdrawal or required to withdraw for a medical reason, you’re no longer registered for classes and no longer eligible to receive funding from or through MIT. This includes research or teaching assistantships. Under most circumstances, external fellowship funding is also suspended. You must contact your fellowship administrator for the applicable policy, since some fellowships pay stipends directly to students.

The Office of Graduate Education has general information on withdrawals and information on medical withdrawals.

The level of support for MIT graduate students to study abroad varies, but each year several MIT graduate students win distinguished international grants to study and conduct research abroad in a wide variety of fields.

For information on funding opportunities for graduate students with international study topics, consult the Office of Graduate Education or the Center for International Studies.

Graduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible for federal student assistance to study abroad if they are receiving academic credit from MIT.

In certain circumstances, you may be eligible for a graduate student summer tuition subsidy. However, if you’re a candidate for a professional degree, you’ll be charged tuition if you’re registered for the summer. Consult the Summer Session Catalogue for more information on tuition and financial aid for graduate and professional students.

Your department processes your teaching or research assistant award. Once it has been processed it will be reflected on MITPay. Please contact your department with further questions about processing.

For graduate students living on campus for the summer, you will be billed monthly for housing. You can view your monthly bill on MITPay. Payment is always due on the first of the following month.

We want to remind you that if your account has a balance due prior to registration day, you may be placed on registration hold.

If you have questions about any of the summer charges, you should contact Housing. If you have any questions about paying the bill, you should reach out to us at sfs@mit.edu.

Your FAFSA will appear as “In review” (meaning it has not been processed) in your studentaid.gov account and no corrections can be made until it is processed. You will receive an email once it is fully processed, letting you know that your FAFSA information has been sent to MIT.

On occasion, an undergraduate leaves MIT for a break, a change of direction or emphasis, or even to take advantage of educational, research, travel, or volunteer opportunities. Deciding whether to take a leave or stay—perhaps with a change in academic program—is a difficult decision. In addition to your parents and peers, there are people at MIT willing to discuss the issue with you.

Please contact Student Support Services for more information on leaves and for help.

Once we receive notification that you are no longer a student, we make the necessary adjustments to your student account and financial aid.

If you plan to return to MIT, you must first contact Student Support Services. You must be current on all your student account and student loan obligations and you must file your financial aid renewal application by the deadline, even if this is prior to the readmission application.

You are expected to complete your degree program without interruption.

If you’re granted a medical withdrawal or required to withdraw for a medical reason, you’re no longer registered for classes and no longer eligible to receive funding from or through MIT. This includes research or teaching assistantships. Under most circumstances, external fellowship funding is also suspended. You must contact your fellowship administrator for the applicable policy, since some fellowships pay stipends directly to students.

The Office of Graduate Education has general information on withdrawals and information on medical withdrawals.

If a student receiving federal financial aid (except Federal Work-Study) completely withdraws from classes before completing 60% of the term, we are required to determine how much of the financial aid was earned up to the time of withdrawal. Any federal funds considered as unearned must be returned by MIT and/or the student to the federal government. This situation could result in the student owing aid funds to MIT, the government, or both. You should view your student account balance through MITPay. Please note: It may take up to two weeks to adjust account balances accordingly based on leave date. Whether there is a balance or a credit due, please contact us to set up a payment or a refund.

If you need to withdraw for medical reasons, you may be able to get a pro-rated refund. This is handled by the registrar’s office and you should reach out to them for more information.

However, some students also take out optional tuition insurance coverage in case they need to withdraw for medical reasons. MIT offers tuition insurance through GradGuard, a third-party vendor that works with the Institute.

This is absolutely optional, but some of our students do take advantage of the protection.

Plans can provide coverage for tuition and fees, including housing and dining charges if applicable. You are eligible for up to a 100% refund—depending upon the policy you choose—if you withdraw due to a medical reason including mental health conditions. Information on the tuition insurance plan is available at GradGuard.com/Tuition/MIT.

Please note: The deadline to enroll is the day before classes begin each semester.

Some students choose to take out optional tuition insurance coverage in case they need to withdraw for medical reasons. MIT offers tuition insurance through GradGuard, a third-party vendor that works with the Institute. Please note: The deadline to enroll is the day before classes begin each semester.

This is absolutely optional, but some of our students do take advantage of the protection. Plans can provide coverage for tuition and fees, including housing and dining charges if applicable. You are eligible for up to a 100% refund—depending upon the policy you choose—if you withdraw due to a medical reason including mental health conditions. Information on the tuition insurance plan is available at GradGuard.com/Tuition/MIT.

If you leave or withdraw from MIT, you are still responsible for paying the full amount due on your student account or making satisfactory payment arrangements with the Associate Director for Collections. You will not be able to re-enroll or register for classes until you have paid the balance on your account. You should view your student account balance through MITPay. Please note:  It may take up to two weeks to adjust account balances accordingly based on leave date. Whether there is a balance or a credit due, please contact us to set up a payment or a refund.

After you have completed the necessary loan requirements, your federal loans will disburse to your student account once your term registration becomes official, usually within the first two weeks of the term. Federal loans will be split evenly between all registered terms for the academic year. The amount of your federal loan will always be slightly more than the amount disbursed to your student account due to federal loan origination fees.

Private loan funds are received from your third-party lender and therefore the date the funds are sent to MIT is determined by your lender. Most private lenders will notify you that your funds have been sent to MIT.

The financial aid team will work with you to see if you qualify for federal loan funding. Graduate fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships are awarded by each department, lab, or center. You should contact your program administrator to learn more.

If this is the first time you are borrowing from a specific loan program you may need to complete the requirements by signing a promissory note and completing entrance loan counseling. Check with a member of the financial aid delivery team for more information on these requirements.

If your financial aid exceeds your charges, or your account is overpaid, you may be eligible for a refund, available after registration, which can be used for your out-of-pocket expenses, such as books and supplies. You must sign up for direct deposit in MITPay before requesting these funds. To be paid for employment at MIT you must also sign up for Payroll Direct Deposit in Atlas.

MITPay and Atlas are two unique systems; you must fill out both direct deposit forms to receive their corresponding services.