Frequently Asked Questions
- Does MIT offer scholarships/grants to graduate students?
- I am a graduate student; can I take a leave of absence or withdraw?
- Can I get funding help for my graduate study abroad?
- Can I get funding help for graduate summer school?
- Why isn't my TA/RA reflected on my bill?
- How will summer housing billing work for grad students?
- I’m having trouble filling out my FAFSA, help!
- My FAFSA says it is “In review” on the studentaid.gov site, what should I do?
- What do I do when I am ready to return to MIT?
- What if I need a leave of absence?
- I am a graduate student; can I take a leave of absence or withdraw?
- I'm planning to leave; what happens to my financial aid?
- Can I get a refund if I withdraw for medical reasons?
- What is tuition insurance?
- I’m planning to leave, what happens to my student account?
- When will my loans be reflected on my account?
- Does MIT offer scholarships/grants to graduate students?
- Why is my student loan not credited to my account?
- How do I access my credit balance?
- I forgot my MITPay authorized payer username and/or password. How do I retrieve them?
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.
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.If your FAFSA appears as “In review” (meaning it has not been processed) in your studentaid.gov account, 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.
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.
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.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.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.
We send your credit balance to you through direct deposit. After you set up direct deposit, you may either stop in to meet with your student services counselor, or contact us by phone or email to initiate your direct deposit transfer.
You can learn more about how to request a refund here.Unfortunately, we do not have the permission to reset usernames or passwords for authorized users.
If you have forgotten your username, you will need to have your student reset your access to their account.
If you have forgotten your password, you can change it by clicking the "forgot password" link, which will send an email with instructions on how to reset your password. If no email has been received, we advise you to check your spam folder.