Scholarships and grants are forms of financial aid that do not need to be repaid. Beyond the MIT Scholarship, undergraduates may receive scholarships and grants from government and private sources.
Federal grants
You’ll automatically be considered for federal grant programs when you apply for financial aid each year. If you’re eligible, we’ll include the grants in your financial aid offer. MIT administers several federal grant programs:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
State grants
Some states have their own financial aid programs, including need-based grants and merit-based scholarships. If you’re a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you may qualify for financial aid from your home state.
If you receive a state grant, we’ll include it in your financial aid as soon as we receive it from your state.
Outside scholarships
There are many private scholarships that you can apply for on your own to cover your student contribution. We recommend that you take a moment to learn how outside scholarships work with your financial aid and family contribution.
Scholarship search engines can help you find additional funding. You can also reach out to any groups or organizations that you have been involved with to see if they offer private scholarships. Please know that you should never pay for a scholarship search service!
If you would like to apply for private scholarships to cover your student contribution, we suggest the following resources:
What you should do if you get a private scholarship or grant
First, congratulations! If you receive outside scholarships or grants, you will need to submit the Outside Award Reply Form. This lets us update your financial aid.
Please note: MIT’s policy is to distribute your anticipated scholarship award(s) in equal payments over your expected enrollment period. For example, if you are reporting an award of $1,000, we will record this anticipated scholarship as $500 in the fall semester and $500 in the spring semester unless instructions are included with the scholarship payment that direct us to act otherwise. For questions or assistance, please email sfs@mit.edu.