Our mission is to ensure an MIT education is affordable to every admitted student on the basis of their talent, regardless of their financial circumstances.
Upon admission, every MIT student is assigned to a financial aid counselor.01 Counselors are assigned by the first letter of your last name—feel free to reach out to your counselor with any questions you may have. Your counselor works carefully to understand your financial situation in order to assess need and award aid equitably.
Every family has specific, personal circumstances, but this is our general process:
- We estimate your cost of attendance (COA), or how much we expect MIT to cost for you to attend for the current academic year.
- We review your financial aid forms to establish your family financial responsibility, or how much we believe you and your family can be reasonably expected to contribute toward your MIT education. To do this, we apply a consistent approach known as “need analysis” to every family’s unique circumstances.Like the admissions process you’ve just experienced, this process is run by dedicated professionals with a commitment to our mission of helping every admitted student afford MIT. Each application is read by two financial aid officers to help ensure consistency and impartiality across cases.
The difference between the COA and family financial responsibility is how we calculate what we will award you in institutional grants and scholarships.
How we conduct need analysis
“Need analysis” is the term used in our profession to refer to our process of determining how much you and your family can afford to pay for MIT, and thus your “demonstrated financial need” that must be met with aid. As we described above, this process is both highly individualized to the specific circumstances of each family, while the principles apply consistently across families. This is how we attempt to ensure both affordability and fairness for all of our undergraduates.
In order to conduct a need analysis, we require extensive financial information from your parent(s) or guardian(s), whether custodial and/or noncustodial.02 A term used in connection with separated and divorced parents to refer to the parent who does not have custody of the child, or the parent with whom the child does not live with the majority of the time. If, however, there are extenuating circumstances that prevent noncustodial parent information from being provided, you may request a waiver of the noncustodial parent’s information.
Because of the complex and individualized nature of our need analysis, it is impossible to list all of the considerations that determine your financial aid. However, at a high level, our counselors evaluate demonstrated need by using three frameworks:
- The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- The College Board’s Institutional Methodology, a research-backed measure of family financial strength that we then modify to align with MIT’s principles of affordability
- MIT-specific considerations of financial need not included in the College Board’s Institutional Methodology
Some standard factors calculated in the Institutional Methodology
- Number of people in the family
- Number of children currently attending college as an undergraduate
- Country/state of primary residence
- Total parent income03 MIT defines total family income as income from all sources, taxable and non-taxable. It can include, but is not limited to, wages from work, business and real estate income, self-employment income, unemployment compensation, child support, and alimony, as well as contributions to, and distributions from, retirement accounts. from all sources, whether taxed or untaxed
- Taxes paid
- Non-reimbursed medical expenses
- Private school tuition for younger siblings
- Total assets04 Cash, non-retirement investments, real estate (other than your primary home), the value of businesses, etc.
Some factors not in the Institutional Methodology, but that we consider at MIT
- How your parents have prepared so far for retirement05 This is for informational purposes. Your total retirement savings are not included in the asset calculation.
- Financial support given to grandparents or other relatives
- Other compulsory financial obligations, whether one-time or ongoing
Please note: Unlike many schools, we exclude home equity from your financial aid calculation, and also provide a substantial allowance for those who rent.
Still have questions?
If you have any questions about your financial aid, or if you need our help navigating a complicated situation, please contact us! We want to understand the complexities of your financial situation and do our best to make your MIT education affordable.
- Counselors are assigned by the first letter of your last name—feel free to reach out to your counselor with any questions you may have. back to text ↑
- A term used in connection with separated and divorced parents to refer to the parent who does not have custody of the child, or the parent with whom the child does not live with the majority of the time. If, however, there are extenuating circumstances that prevent noncustodial parent information from being provided, you may request a waiver of the noncustodial parent’s information. back to text ↑
- MIT defines total family income as income from all sources, taxable and non-taxable. It can include, but is not limited to, wages from work, business and real estate income, self-employment income, unemployment compensation, child support, and alimony, as well as contributions to, and distributions from, retirement accounts. back to text ↑
- Cash, non-retirement investments, real estate (other than your primary home), the value of businesses, etc. back to text ↑
- This is for informational purposes. Your total retirement savings are not included in the asset calculation. back to text ↑