This post is the fourth and final post in a series of four dedicated to answering all those questions that you asked, didn’t have time to ask or were afraid to ask during CPW. These questions were compiled at the Student Financial Services Presentation given by our very own Betsy Hicks, Executive Director of Student Financial Services.

Student Expenses, Billing and Payment

Q. How much does medical insurance cost?

A. 2010-2011 health insurance costs are not yet available. We expect to have this figure in early May.

Q. If students have a summer job is there additional charges for housing? When do they come home?

A. If you decide to work during the summer in the Boston area and live in on-campus housing, you will be charged for summer housing. We do not offer financial aid in the summer, so we recommend that you budget ahead for this. You may also choose to work in your hometown during the summer.

Q. Does it [financial aid] include health insurance expenses, if the student does not have health insurance?

A. We do not include health insurance in the student expense budget for domestic students, but we do for international students because we take the cost of health insurance into account before setting the expected parental contribution for domestic students, but not for international students

Q. Does the health insurance cover the calendar year of 12 months, or only a 9-month academic year?

A. Health insurance is available for 12 months; the fall term covers students from 9/1 - 1/31 and the spring term from 2/1 - 8/31. Because the “spring” insurance covers the summer months, this amount may be higher than the fall amount.

Q. Where can you get information on the relative costs of the different housing and dining options?

A. The housing office provides information on dormitory types and costs. The dining office provides information on meal plans.

Q. What’s the advantage of “Dining Dollars/Tech Cash” vs. personal credit card?

A. Tech Cash and Dining Dollars are accepted on campus and can both be linked to your student account via your MIT ID card (Tech Cash is automatically linked) or to a credit card. There is a huge convenience benefit to this since you don’t need to carry your credit card around campus. The money you spend in Tech Cash or Dining Dollars may be billed to your student account. Charges billed to the student account are due by the first of the following month.

Q. What fees/penalties are associated with the monthly payment plan?

A. The MIT Monthly Payment Plan is an installment arrangement that allows you to pay your account in four monthly installments for the fall and spring terms and three monthly installments for the summer term. Currently, a finance charge of 0.667% per month (8% annual percentage rate) is assessed on the unpaid account balance after each semester’s payment due date (August 1 for fall semester and January 1 for spring), excluding the extended student health insurance. However, the terms and conditions of the monthly payment plan are under review and are subject to change.

Q. Can we set up an account for MIT to withdraw the needed amount automatically?

A. Not currently but SFS is looking at this as an option in our review of the current plan.

Q. If we have 529, what’s the process of paying from this account?

A. Since different 529 plans have different procedures, your best bet is to contact your 529 plan administrator to find out what their payment procedures are.

Q. Can a parent pay for MIT costs (tuition, room, etc.) by credit card without paying a fee, in order to accumulate frequent flyer points?

A. Unfortunately MIT does not accept credit card payments for student accounts.

Q. Is there interest & penalty for ¼ monthly payments?

A. Please see the above answer regarding the MIT Monthly Payment Plan and keep in mind that we are reviewing these terms and conditions and changes may be forthcoming.