You should check out the Apply for aid section of our website! It will walk you through the general process step by step for domestic or international applicants. Remember, financial aid application deadlines vary depending on if you are an Early or Regular Action applicant, or a continuing student.
We understand that life happens and sometimes deadlines are missed. There is no need to ask for an extension—just submit your application as quickly as possible. Late applicants will receive their financial aid decision later than those who submit by the deadline, but we try to review all applications as quickly as possible.
There are no penalties for late applications. However, financial aid applications must be received before the end of the academic year, in order to be considered for aid in that academic year. For most students, that is mid-May. For those only attending in the fall, you must submit your aid application by mid-December. If your application isn’t completed by that time, you will not be eligible to receive either MIT or federal financial aid for that academic year.
Students who believe that it is impossible to provide parental information may submit the Noncustodial Profile Waiver Request form through the College Board’s secure IDOC platform. Waivers are reviewed once a student has been admitted to the Institute, along with the rest of your financial aid application. Please note that the Noncustodial Profile will remain in the financial aid requirements checklist as a required document until your waiver request is reviewed.
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.
Current students can view their offer in our Online Financial Aid System.
Prospective first-year students can access their offer through the MIT Application Portal until mid-May, after this time it can be viewed in our Online Financial Aid System.
We consider each financial aid application on a case-by-case basis within our general guidelines for offering need-based financial aid. While we don’t negotiate financial aid or match another school’s offer, we’re always willing to talk with students and families who are concerned that they can’t afford MIT with their award.
If you decide you need to appeal your financial aid offer, we ask that you reach out to your financial aid counselor. After this initial conversation, we may ask you to complete a supplemental form such as the Parents’ Estimated Annual Year Income Statement or the Monthly Cash Flow Statement.
If you receive additional financial aid after you have your financial aid offer, you may have what we refer to as an overaward. The additional aid could be a scholarship or grant from an outside organization or a research or teaching assistantship from an MIT department. When these circumstances arise, we reevaluate our original financial aid decision. If we adjust your aid, we will notify you and offer counseling so that you understand how the change impacts your student account and budgeting.
Although a summer UROP is usually done for pay, registered MIT undergraduates may do it for academic credit instead. However, there is no MIT financial aid available to assist with this tuition charge.
Students submit insurance waivers each year through MIT’s enrollment partner Academic Health Plans. Directions on how to submit a waiver can be found on their website.
Returning students must submit a new waiver each academic year.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact Academic Health Plans or call them directly at 855.451.3550.
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.