With apologies to Meja (but do play the video while you read the post):
So, welcome back to the 1980s, when many of the pop songs of the area dealt with the economic problems (see the Flying Lizard's cover of the Beatles' "Money (That's What I Want)") or aspirations to move beyond our current economic status to a more "Material" World (think Madonna's "Material Girl") or to live a "Glamorous Life" (Sheila E.).
But where is a person to go if they want do more to learn about the current state of affairs than just listen to 20-something year old pop songs?
In recent days I have discovered a great source about the current economic situation. In terms that even I can understand (and you can too), Alex Blumberg, Laura Conaway and other NPR staffers explain the current situation to me. Between their blog and daily podcast (entitled "Planet Money"), they have explained the Ted Spread, the meaning of deleveraging, how commecial auction facilities work, etc. To me their 30 minutes of daily update is the best daily news show that I listen to, since it gives me the background to understand what's going on in the "real" financial world.
In the MIT financial aid world, I want to take a moment just to confirm our core principals. For both domestic and international applicants, we offer a program that is need-blind for admissions, we award student financial aid only on the basis of need, and we meet the full financial need of every admitted applicant. These are MIT's core principles, and in this era of economic uncertainty they bear repeating.
This holds true for new applicants and well as current students. The staff in SFS stands ready to help students who need assistance due to changes in family financial circumstances or who are dealing with changes due to the economic times. Just be in touch with us, and we will work with you...
We are currently hard at work on readying some new features for our web site which wil help families in estimating how much an MIT education will cost. Keep your eyes on the blog and on our web site for more information about these initiatives. Also we will be updating the sections of our web site dealing with how you apply for financial aid in the next few weeks. I will post a note here when these changes have been made...
In the meantime, enjoy the roller coaster ride. Here's hoping that you aren't living a life where:
Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)
Good post by the way.
Posted by: Navdeep on October 22, 2008
Posted by: Ineverlied,norshouldU on October 22, 2008
While I know we (you and I) could probably quibble about a particular student's needs analysis (and maybe this is the complaint you are making), I don't think it is arguable that we do stand by our principles, in boom times as well as bust.
If you care to identify yourself to me privately and raise any concerns about your own financial aid, feel free. My email is listed on the web.
But my point in making this post was also to reassure prospective students that in difficult times MIT would not be retreating from its principles. This is certainly true in the main; [erhaps your situation has left you feeling otherwise.
--Daniel
Posted by: Daniel Barkowitz on October 23, 2008
It seems that you feel mildly offended, my apologies for that.
And as for the response, I really don't know to how to reply you, unless the dialogue becomes more complicated and out of context. The message I've tried convey, is complicated in its runtime sense, and can be easily misinterpreted. Moreover the space, and the place are not for such debates provided; when we(you & I), both can see on behalf of our experiences that: once made, professional views must not be changed.
So you do, what you feel just; and I do(not on your blogs), what I feel.
Quite a cliché! Lol
Regards,
Posted by: Say I'm 'X' on October 23, 2008
Posted by: current '11 on October 23, 2008
Posted by: X on October 23, 2008
Does MIT have safe kept money just for these situations?
Some Universities have told me that many Universities in the United States started preparing and made plans for this crisis before most people even imagined it. Is this the same for MIT?
Posted by: Ivan on October 23, 2008
Posted by: lmnop on October 23, 2008
Do you consider income primarily, or net worth (i.e. value of home)? And does your office factor in the age of parents (their proximity to retirement)?
Posted by: 0 on October 23, 2008
So, X, first of all thank you for providing (some) clarity! I am not offended (not even mildly)! And even if I was, no apology needed... I hope our level of discourse (and the level of discourse on any of the blogs) is such that we can each state our opinion and our rationale for it, and still have a civil conversation. That at least is my plan!
So, we come back to some definitional questions here. First, what is middle class? If you use the generic term in use in America or Europe, then almost anyone can define themselves as a member of the middle class. If, however, you take a look at actual income statistics for what constitutes a true American middle-class, the definition narrows. Remember, median household income in the United States in 2006 was $48,451 (and that is household income, not individual income).
That said, our financial aid programs at MIT reach families earning much more than the median income. As you should know (and I have stated here before) we have no artificial cut-off for incomes for grant recipients. We have families earning up to (and over) $200K a year who receive grant (largely due to having more than one child in college when the income level is that high) and families who earn nearly nothing (just barely getting by on welfare and food stamps).
Financial choices are what they appear to be -- choices. I don't mean to minimize how painful some of these choices may be. "lmnop" opines that "many students who are accepted may face a problem in which their parent says that it would cost too much to go to MIT". In these situations, we can work with families to make sure that we are considering their student for any and all possible sources of aid, and -- if none is available -- work to find a financing straregy that works for that family.
When I said, "The staff in SFS stands ready to help students who need assistance due to changes in family financial circumstances or who are dealing with changes due to the economic times", I meant just that. Many families are seeing the incomes change overnight, and their assets dry up. Remember that at MIT we have already taken steps to deal with the asset situation: this year we eliminated consideration of home equity for families with incomes of $75K and less, and for other families we have long been protecting equity by a factor in comparison to income (thereby minimizing the impact of "artificial" home equity for those families who bought their homes years ago and could never afford them now). My point was that if families are feeling the pinch, they should simply talk to us.
As for you, X, if you want to continue the conversation privately, email me. My address is moneyman[at]mit[dot]edu. I would be happy to listen to and address your complaint.
-Daniel
Posted by: Daniel Barkowitz on October 23, 2008
Anonymous, stay tuned... Something like what you suggested should be coming in November... And it is time for me to run the series of how we calculate your EFC again. Maybe I'll do that in the coming weeks... (or you can look at my archive).
Posted by: Daniel Barkowitz on October 23, 2008
Posted by: vnhgdr on October 23, 2008
Its all sorted out, now.
Posted by: X on October 23, 2008
Posted by: Abdel-karim on October 24, 2008
Posted by: Abdel-karim on October 24, 2008
Posted by: Daniel Barkowitz on October 24, 2008
Why doesn't MIT consider a sliding scale for tuition, say a percent of your combined income per semester (10-25%)? This is more equitable/fair and is still need based. And yes, I did ask for a reconsideration of the financial aid, and it was turned down.
Posted by: Dad out West on October 24, 2008
I agree with Dad out West. My Mom and Dad are really sweating this. I'm one of a set of twins and my twin has already been accepted to his choice of school. My younger brother will be applying in the next two years. As mentioned earlier, the economic times have forced everyone to tighten their belts. Even though they make more than 100k, two of us entering college at the same time and another entering two years down the road is going to push them into a financial burden. My Mom jokes that she'll have to work until she's 100, but I know she's really concerned. They've given up a lot to make sure we all had everything we needed to do well. We're all keeping our fingers crossed.
Posted by: Nick Pre-Frosh on October 25, 2008
Thanks.
Posted by: Ashwathi Iyer on October 26, 2008
Posted by: Anonymous on October 26, 2008
Posted by: Chan-Hee on October 28, 2008
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