Exciting news today:
After much work, we in SFS launch our new online financial aid calculator today.
This new service allows families to estimate the cost and financial aid award at MIT based upon their individual income and assets. Using technology developed by our partner, Think Ahead LLC, families can now enter their information, see an estimated family contribution and financial aid award, and estimate the effect of various "what if" scenarios on their financial aid packages.
This new service allows both domestic and international students to receive information assisting them in determining whether they can afford the cost of an MIT education. MIT is the first college in the nation to provide a way for international students to estimate their awards, and we join a small (but growing) number of colleges to allow domestic students to see into our needs analysis formula.
There are some items and limitations to be aware of when using the calculator. As always, the information provided by the calculator will only be as good as the information you enter into it (i.e. "garbage in" equals "garbage out"). Also, MIT financial aid remains the final arbiter of your actual financial aid award; this calculator is meant to be an estimate only and your final financial aid award may differ from the sample provided (both due to professional judgments made by our financial aid officers and additional information provided by you). Last, the financial aid calculator is not intended for use by divorced / separated families (although you could have each parent complete the calculator separately and add the two results together to get a very rough approximation of a final result); our analysis for divorced / separated families looks very closely at each situation and as such cannot be approximated by the calculator.
We hope this tool will be very helpful for incoming, prospective and current students. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to comment below.
Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)
Posted by: Monkey King on May 12, 2009
Posted by: navin on May 12, 2009
Posted by: Labib(?14) on May 12, 2009
Posted by: Dimitris on May 12, 2009
Posted by: Parent on May 12, 2009
Thanx a lot to everyone at SFS for alll the hard work!
Posted by: Shiv on May 12, 2009
Thanks so much, this makes me even more determined to shine on that MIT app!
:D
Posted by: Cody Dean on May 12, 2009
I understand that the pell grants reduce efc? Is this correct? Also, can the 1900 minimum student contribution be fulfilled via on campus work?
Posted by: Cody Dean on May 12, 2009
Posted by: NathanArce on May 12, 2009
Posted by: CuriousGeorge on May 12, 2009
Posted by: Michael Plasmeier on May 12, 2009
The middle class is royally screwed on financial aid. What else is new? The fact is, if we changed our lifestyles by forcing our parents to sell our house and purchase a much smaller one, and forced them to only buy the bare minimum to get by on, in terms of food, "luxury" items, etc., but they kept their current incomes, our financial aid award would be exactly right. We would have "enough" pure income to fully pay for MIT.
But this is the real world, and like my parents, I'm sure your parents aren't willing to "subject" themselves to the lifestyles of the families whose children are getting full-rides to MIT, even though I would be fine living like that.
Posted by: NathanArce on May 13, 2009
Rich people (100k+) might be able to substitute more leisure in if they have influence over their hours, but normal people are stuck working what their employers tell them too--esp. in this economy where you are lucky to have a job.
Posted by: Steve on May 13, 2009
You are right on the money. Middle class? Yup we're screwed. If you are rich, if you are poor, then you have no problem affording those top schools who are too good to give out merit-based scholarships (face it, everyone accepted would deserve one). But if your parents work hard for their living, are successful in their businesses, and thrive in our capitalist society (without being one of the uber-rich-that takes time) then they are PUNISHED for their success by not qualifying for financial aid. Or not enough at least. That sucks.
I'm waiting to hear from financial aid, but I'm not hopeful. My parents have never considered MIT financially feasible-we are upper-middle class and my dad owns a few businesses. We've got money, but it sure isn't liquid enough to be spent on MY tuition. I've got brothers going to grad school, and a little sister who also will need to be put through college. Besides, I've got full rides elsewhere. Going into debt is not an option.
Going to MIT has been my dream for years... and after CPW I would do ANYTHING to go there. ANYTHING. But, it looks like I'll have to wait for graduate school.
Oh and yes it is ridiculous how people must 'subject' themselves to such lifestyles to pay for college, as NathanArce said. Ridiculous.
Posted by: JoAnna on May 15, 2009
Posted by: Niko Koppel on May 15, 2009
Some replies!
Labib, we reevaluate financial aid annually unless you request a more frequent review due to an appeal for special circumstances. We meet weekly to review currently submitted appeals.
Cody, yes, Pell Grants at MIT actually reduce the amount of term-time self help (work or loan) you are required to take on. Pell Grants (and other outside scholarships) can also cover your summer contribution if they are large enough.
NathanArce, MIT will be providing an annual update as the years go on to incorporate any changes we make to the needs analysis formula.
CuriousGeorge, remember that any needs analysis formula only "works" for about 75 - 80% of the population. In the rest of the cases, we use changes to our standard methodology (either based on your expressed request for reconsideration or based on our own sense of your case) which may raise or (more often) lower the amount of your EFC. Also remember that this calculator is only as good as the data you enter. If you have questions about your result, I suggest contacting your individual financial aid officer to determine where our numbers differ than your estimates.
Michael, thank you for your best wishes! I too hope that MIT SFS can do more online as the years move forward. In my 7 years here at MIT we have done a lot in this effort (the blog and the calculator are the most prominent examples of this, but there are many others), but there is clearly more work to be done. I leave that for my successor whoever s/he may be.
NathanArce (2nd comment), so I don't want to get into the whole middle-income financial aid thing again, but I will say that the point of putting the calculator online was to be as transparent as we could about the way we calculate our aid. It is true that some colleges have redefined what need means in the last several years, but by any standard MIT is among the most generous institutions in the country when it comes to need-based financial aid.
Steve, the only problem with your analysis is that you are adding the components together. SO let's look at the effect on $1000. Remember that in that $1000, you can take out taxes (fine, let's assume 25% in total for taxes and entitlement expenses) which leaves $750. The marginal rate is applied to the $750 (so 20% of that is $150). So $150 of the original $1000 is 15%, not half.
JoAnna, let's wait to see what the actual award is. Remember that businesses are treated as assets (not the same as liquid assets, but they are assets). Have you run your family's numbers?
And everyone, feel free to contact Niko. We just completed an interview and I think there will be something coming this weekend from his blog.
Posted by: Daniel T. Barkowitz on May 15, 2009
Posted by: Morgan on May 15, 2009
Opinion: Financial Aid Leaves Out Middle Class
By Alison McKenzie
February 26, 2008
The article about the Senate requesting MIT’s information on endowment and tuition on Friday, Feb 22, makes things sound reasonable enough, but it’s glossing over some of the ugly facts underlying MIT’s financial aid policies.
Now, I come from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My parents are still married and work full time. MIT estimated that my parents could give about $25,000 a year towards my education. However, it seems to me that this estimate neglects a number of things — our mortgage, for instance. And the car repair bills, and the credit card debts, and the fact that I have two younger siblings.
The truth of the matter is, my parents can’t afford to put money towards my education. It’s not their fault; they have my siblings to consider, their retirements, their own debts and bills to pay. Besides, I am not my family; I am an adult, capable of caring for myself. It’s not their responsibility to pay for my education. So why does MIT seem to see it as such?
MIT’s financial aid Web site proudly claims “[W]e meet every student’s full financial need.” But one should examine more in depth how that need is determined. Need is based almost entirely upon your family’s income. This means that the majority of other financial factors — such as debts, mortgages, and retirement funds ¬≠¬≠— are essentially ignored.
It’s virtually impossible to decrease your parent contribution. It seems the only way MIT will lower your expected contribution is if you can provide evidence of either abuse or mental disability at home. If you can’t provide satisfactory evidence, your financial aid estimate stays the same. If your parents remove support from you completely (i.e., refuse to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid again), MIT will take the previous estimate and continue to apply it until you leave MIT.
Translation: if your family completely withdraws support from you, but you have no evidence of actual abuse, you will be left with a financial aid estimate that acts as if your familial relations were still entirely intact.
MIT’s financial aid policy, as I have been told empathetically, isn’t based on “if your parents are willing to pay”, but “if they can pay.” This is a roundabout way of saying “If your parents aren’t supporting you, there isn’t anything we’re going to do about it, so you’re pretty much out of luck.” Which means that students like me — whose families have a decent income but virtually no expendable money — are left in the cold.
MIT might not be as wealthy, but Harvard University’s new policy is extremely reasonable. The Web site states that families with an income between $120,000 and $180,000 are expected to contribute 10% of their income — versus the approximately 20% that MIT has estimated my family can contribute.
Even taking into account the difference between MIT and Harvard’s endowments, such a contrast seems ridiculous. As an adult, I should be able to move forward into my future instead of having to worry about paying off my past. My parents shouldn’t have to be responsible for me or my education.
MIT might be feeling pressure from the Senate regarding their financial aid policies, and I say that they ought to be feeling it. The cost of education is absurd enough without roundabout financial aid policies that leave low-income students with negligible loan debt, while middle class students wonder whether or not they’ll ever be able to pay off their debts.
It’s great that MIT can provide for low-income families; don’t think that I have an issue with MIT providing help to those who need it! However, middle-income students have just as much right to be at MIT as anyone else, and I think that MIT should seriously consider upgrading their aid process.
While the Executive Director of Student Financial Services Elizabeth M. Hicks noted that average student loan debt has decreased from $23,000 to $15,000, one should know that $15,000 is not the end-all-be-all amount that students will have to borrow. I’m looking at about $80,000 of debt by the time I graduate from school — if I scrimp, save, and get a job to cover my extra expenses; Not everyone is being helped as ideally as MIT’s financial aid Web site would like you to believe.
I know I’m not the only middle-income student struggling to figure out how to pay the bills, but I’m hoping that even if MIT isn’t as rich as Harvard or Yale, they can still recognize that the cost of education is getting out of control. Something needs to be done for everyone — including the middle class. Still, I’m not hoping for too much … it seems like MIT is refusing to acknowledge that maybe Harvard has done something right for once.
Alison McKenzie is a member of the Class of 2011.
Posted by: CuriousGeorge on May 15, 2009
I'll let Alison's words speak for themselves. I cannot comment on the specifics of a student case in this kind of a public forum, but suffice it to say that Alison and I have spoken several times since the publication of this letter (which was in February of 2008).
Posted by: Daniel T. Barkowitz on May 15, 2009
It's been over a year since I wrote that article for the Tech, and in re-reading it, something things have changed, and others have not.
I still disagree with how MIT deals with financial aid vs. the way that financial aid is handled by schools such as Harvard and Brown. To be blunt, the difference in policy will cause MIT to lose a large number of applicants and acceptees from the middle class to those other schools, because money IS a huge factor when it comes to attending college - especially in this economy. I still find it ridiculous that some students can graduate from MIT with zero debt, while others come out with $50,000+.
So, yes - MIT's financial aid policy is not particularly kind towards the middle class. However, MIT has made it pretty clear that they are not willing to compromise on this issue; their financial aid stands as it is, and with about an 11% acceptance rate, I don't think they have any worries about losing too many students. Because of this, the question is not "How can we force MIT to change their policy?" but rather "Can I accept MIT's policy in exchange for the education that I know I will receive there?"
If you come from a middle class family, and if you are facing the same situation that I have faced and am still facing, then you need to evaluate what matters the most to you, and how hard you are willing to work. I wrote that article after an extremely frustrating first semester, involving numerous visits to financial aid. There, I was passed around from counselor to counselor, having to explain my situation again each time, and never actually getting any of the help that I needed to work out my financial situation. It was not until after this article was published, and after I responded extremely harshly to an email from an assistant director of financial aid, that I was finally able to meet with Daniel Barkowitz and actually make some progress. Working with Mr. Barkowitz has been great; he is very compassionate, straightforward, and helpful. Developing a personal relationship with a financial aid director has helped me work out my situation, have MIT reevaluate my finances, and get me on track with what I need to do to afford the rest of my time here. As you can see, however, the process is not easy. You have to make the effort to meet with a particular counselor; they will tell you to "just come in and talk to whoever's there", but you need to insist that you would like to speak with a particular person, and could you please make an appointment with them? Don't take no for an answer.
Beyond that, you need to decide how much debt you are willing to accept. I am still paying for college myself; every payment made to MIT has been from my personal checking account, and every loan I have is in my name. But I realized that MIT is where I want to be; I'm studying something I'm passionate about, in a place that I love, surrounded by incredible people. It's going to be hard to juggle the debt, and I do find it frustrating that there are people who don't have to worry about it, but to me, it's worth it.
In short, yes, some of my opinions in that article still stand - but just because much of what I said still holds true doesn't mean that it's worth it for me to hold a grudge against MIT. I decided that I was willing to work hard and accept the debts, and with Daniel Barkowitz's help I was able to have my offer adjusted so that it was far more reasonable for me. There is only so much they can do, but if you put in the time and effort to meet with someone in the financial aid office, they will do what they can to help you.
Best of luck to all of you, wherever you decided to go!
Posted by: Alison McKenzie '11 on May 18, 2009
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