Student Financial Services
MIT Room 11-320
77 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-9859 (fax)
finaid@mit.edu

All prospective International students can send their Parents' 2010 Income Tax Returns or most recent wage statement (translated into English) directly to Student Financial Services.

U.S./Canadian citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents will still be required to submit the 2010 Tax Returns to IDOC when they are available.

If you have further questions please contact the Financial Aid Office.

You’ve had lots of questions. We not only have the answers, but we also put together this handy-dandy post on everything you need to know about paying your bill.

Where’s my bill? I haven’t received it! What do I do?

MIT does not issue paper bills. All billing is done online through a system called MITPAY. You can access MITPAY through the Student Information System WEBSIS. From there, you should set your parents up as authorized payers if they are going to help you pay the bill. Bills go out generally around the 10th of each month, it is your responsibility to check the billing system at this time to ensure all outstanding charges are paid by the deadline.

My parents can’t access the billing system, how can I grant them access?

Since you are the one receiving the MIT education, you are responsible for your bill, not your parents. Therefore only you have access to your bill. However, you may set up your parents as authorized payers. Your parents will not receive any notifications unless this is set up. Once you have set them up as authorized payers, they should follow this link to access the bill.

It is important to note that MITPAY shows a static “snapshot” of your bill the day it’s generated. Any charges that get added or subtracted from your bill will not be reflected in MITPAY until the next billing cycle (the following month). You will be able to see all transactions by logging into WEBSIS, selecting “Financial Record” and viewing “Current Account Activity.”

How do I pay the bill? What forms of payment are accepted?

MIT does not accept cash or credit cards. We do accept checks, wire transfers, scholarship checks, and 529 plans. Information on payment methods.

I have accessed my bill, but I’m expecting financial aid, which isn’t listed! What do I do?

If you have applied for financial aid and if you have completed your financial aid application, please be patient. We will work with Student Accounts if your application has been completed but not read yet. Contact your financial aid officer if you have any questions or concerns.

I can’t pay this much all at once, what are my options? Is there a payment plan my family can go on?

With changes in federal regulations, the terms and conditions of the MIT Monthly Payment Plan is undergoing some changes. We are still working on a resolution, but please contact your Student Account Counselor to discuss your options.

What is “anticipated aid?”

Anticipated aid is the amount of financial aid you are expected to receive for the term. This is listed as a credit on your bill. Your financial aid will remain as “anticipated” until registration, when it is either disbursed into your student account or removed. It is very important that you complete all required paperwork listed on your financial aid award letter to ensure your financial aid is disbursed in a timely fashion.

Outside scholarships (scholarships from private sources) are also included in your “anticipated aid” figure if you have reported them to us. It will remain “anticipated” until SFS receives the funds from the scholarship agency.

Anticipated aid does expire. If you do not complete any steps required for the disbursement of your funds (such as loan entrance counseling if you’re borrowing, or the online student information review form if you’re receiving a grant), then that figure will eventually disappear and you will be responsible for the remaining charges on your bill.

There is a housing charge on my bill, but the housing lottery results won’t be known until August. How do I know if this is the right cost if I don’t know where I’m living yet?

Because housing charges vary depending on which dorm you’re living in, size and room type, MIT uses the average weighted housing cost for the initial bill. This cost will be adjusted when you find out where you are going to live. This adjustment will be made on the September bill. Depending on where you live, you will either see an additional charge, or a credit.

When is the bill due? What happens if I pay late?

The bill is due on August 1, 2010. A late fee may be assessed on late payments.

For more information on billing, visit http://web.mit.edu/sfs/bills.

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.

Scholarships, Loans and Employment – oh my!

Q. If you received an MIT scholarship, are there any grade/cumulative requirements to maintain it?

A. MIT scholarship is awarded based on need only. There are a couple of federal grants that do require a minimum GPA of a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale to maintain (Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant [ACG] and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent [SMART] Grant).

Q. Are there “merit” scholarships in 2nd – 4th years?

A. No. MIT awards undergraduate financial aid only on the basis of need for all 4 years.

Q. If we get an outside award this year, does that reduced MIT scholarship impact future MIT scholarship awards?

A. The answer depends on whether your outside award is renewable. If it is renewable, we include the scholarship amount in your financial aid package in future years and make the appropriate adjustments to your self-help and MIT scholarship. If the scholarship is not renewable, we do not make any future adjustments to your self-help or MIT scholarship. So to answer your direct question, if you get an outside award this year that is not renewable, the reduced MIT scholarship this year does not impact future MIT scholarship awards.

Q. Just to clarify, my son received a $25,000 scholarship from MIT. If he receives outside scholarship for $5,000, is that $5,000 reduced from the original $25,000 MIT scholarship?

A. We reduce the “self-help” or student loan and/or work component in your son’s package first and then the MIT scholarship. For example, if your son received a $25,000 scholarship from MIT and $4,000 in loans or work and subsequently receives a $5,000 outside scholarship, his loans/work will be reduced to $0 and the MIT scholarship by $1,000. If there are no loans/work, then his MIT scholarship will be reduced by $5,000 in this example.

Q. Can outside scholarships help to cover the amount required for student contribution by, for instance, summer employment?

A. No we do not allow outside scholarships to reduce the student contribution.

Q. What is a Federal Stafford unsubsidized loan?

A. The Federal Stafford unsubsidized loan is a loan that is not awarded based on need, but which is awarded to meet the difference between the cost of attendance and other financial aid. The interest rate is 6.8% fixed and interest accrues while you are in school. If you choose not to make the interest payments while you’re in school, that interest amount will be added to the principle balance (capitalize) when you graduate.

Q. What is the maximum unsubsidized student loan each year? Does this come under the 10% income ratio repayment plan?

A. The maximum Federal Stafford unsubsidized loan is $5,500 for freshmen, $6,500 sophomores and $7,500 juniors and seniors. However, these limits are the maximum for combined subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans. For example, if you already have a $3,000 subsidized Stafford your first year then you would only be eligible for an additional $2,500 in unsubsidized Stafford.
As long as you are not in default, this loan is eligible for the income based repayment plan.

Q. Does the student keep money earned from work-study?

A. Yes. You will get a paycheck for the hours you work and you can use that money toward you bill, your personal expenses or however you see fit. If the position is not a Federal Work Study (FWS) position, or not using FWS funds, then you can earn more or less than what’s on the award letter. If you are working in an off-campus community service position funded by Federal Work Study, you will not be able to earn more than what you are awarded in your financial aid package.

Q. Regarding “work-study” are students paid $9.00 per hour in addition to their “work study” award amount? If not, as most unskilled jobs pay at least $9.00 hour (cleaning, waitressing, etc.), isn’t $9.00/hour exploitative given the abilities of MIT students?

A. $9.00/hour is the Institute’s minimum wage and is the minimum wage for all Federal Work Study positions. You are not paid “in addition” to what’s listed on your award letter. The number on the award letter is a guide that is basically saying “if you earn this much money you will meet that portion of your need.” You may work on campus or in a non-FWS funded position for more than what’s listed on the award letter. Many on-campus and off-campus positions pay much more than the minimum of $9.00/hour depending on the job and skill of the student. Our hourly wage rates vary widely and we do not exploit our students by making them work for less than what they are capable of earning. For more information on median wages and student employment, visit our website.

Q. What kinds of opportunities do students have in summers to earn money to help offset college expenses?

A. There are plenty of opportunities for work during the summer. If you are eligible for Federal Work Study during the summer (see your financial aid counselor to find out!), there are many exciting community service opportunities available. We also maintain a list of on-campus and off-campus summer jobs that do not require Federal Work Study. Find something you like, apply and have fun!

Q. Do students who receive need-based financial aid get preference over students who receive no aid when applying for on-campus jobs?

A. No – there is no preference! You do not even need to be a financial aid recipient to apply for an on-campus job or any off-campus job that is not funded by the Federal Work-Study Program. You would apply just as you would apply for any job and the department for which you are working funds your wages.

If you are an international student, your student visa restricts you to on-campus employment of .no more than 20 hours/week during the term. Please consult with the International Students Office if you are unsure whether you are able to apply for a job.

Finally, tomorrow we will be posting your questions about student expenses and paying your bill!

Needs Analysis

Keep in mind we may not be able to provide specific answers here since each case is unique and is treated as such. Our financial aid staff takes a holistic approach to needs analysis and carefully analyzes the “big picture” when reading your file.

Q. We have three other sons attending colleges. How can we meet with an MIT financial advisor to assist us in finding the best way to finance our attending son’s MIT admission?

A. We take into account the number of family members in the household and the number of family members in college when determining financial aid. Our financial aid counselors are available via phone, email or in person to meet with you and discuss your situation. Each counselor is assigned a group of students according to their last name.

Q. Can we appeal our financial aid provided by MIT based on amounts offered by other institutions?

A. Every school handles their awarding process differently, so the short answer is, we don’t negotiate based on what other schools offered. However, we certainly can take another look if there is something we might have left out of the calculation, or if something in your situation changed since you submitted your documents. For example, did you have medical expenses that didn’t make it into your file? Was there a change in employment recently?

You might also want to take a look at how the other school awards aid – do they offer merit-based aid? Did you only need to submit a FAFSA? Comparing those types of packages to MIT’s is like comparing apples and pickles (although I’m sure Yan Z. can come up with an entire blog of how apples and pickles can happily co-exist). When comparing packages from other need-only schools with a similar application process, consider the total cost of education at each school in relation to the financial aid you received to meet that cost. You may also want to consider what the investment in an MIT education is worth compared to the other schools.

Q. What should our confidence be that our student’s 2nd – 4th year financial MIT package be similar to their 1st year package assuming the parent financial situation stays constant?

A. We assess your family’s financial situation each year and award financial aid based on that assessment. If your financial situation stays constant, you will very likely get a similar package each year. The changes you might see are that the student contribution/summer earnings expectation slightly increases each year, and it’s possible that potential financial aid policy changes may have a small impact.

Q. Are divorced parents with vastly different income and assets given different financial aid consideration or parental contribution decisions?

A. We require financial aid documents from each parent. We calculate a contribution from each parent, and add it together for the total parent contribution. In cases like this, your FAFSA may give you a vastly different expected family contribution (EFC) than MIT does, since the FAFSA only takes the custodial parent’s income into consideration. We keep both parents’ information completely confidential from each other and therefore we won’t be able to provide you with each parent’s contribution figure.

Q. My wife and I have a variety of small partnerships and investments with sensitive ID #s, etc. Is all the information required to be submitted for financial aid?

A. We do require tax returns, W2’s, all schedules and all corresponding corporate or partnership tax returns to complete a financial aid application. This ties in with our holistic approach to needs analysis. You will need to submit this information to the College Board (IDOC). They will scan your documents and we will then be able to download the information electronically into our system. The IDOC system is very secure and we take great care to ensure your private data is protected.

Q. In figuring expected family contribution, how much of retirement assets are included towards ability to pay?

A. Retirement assets are not included in the formula in assessing your ability to pay. We do ask for it because again, we’re looking at the big picture so we want to know what’s there.

Q. Can parents choose to pay the summer employment contribution?

A. The short answer is that yes, your parents can cover the summer earnings expectation on your behalf, but let’s make sure first that you understand that the summer earnings expectation is part of the estimated family contribution (EFC). It is not a specific charge that you will have to pay in one lump sum.

The way the expected family contribution works is that you have a budget (the “Cost of Attendance”), which comprises several different categories such as tuition, fees, books, meals, housing, personal and travel expenses. The financial aid you’re awarded helps pay for those expenses. However, not all those expenses are actual costs. For example, your housing cost will vary depending on the dorm, and room type. Your personal expenses will vary depending on your lifestyle. The EFC figure is what your family would expect to contribute if your spending exactly matched what we have budgeted for you. Therefore, if you spend less than the total estimated cost of attendance, your actual family contribution would be less than the figure we quoted. Conversely, if you spend more than the total estimated cost, your actual family contribution would be more than the figure we quoted.

Whew! Tomorrow we will be answering questions about Loans, Scholarships and Student Employment!

Q. Was the booklet you referenced mailed to all students?

A. Yes, it was mailed to all admitted freshmen. However, you can click that convenient link there and download the PDF version of “Financing Your MIT Education.”

Q. If admission at MIT is truly need-blind, why does the admission application ask whether the student will be applying for financial aid?

A. This is purely for convenience. If you check that box that indicates you will be applying for financial aid, you hit our system quicker and we can then send you our friendly (nagging) reminders of what forms you are missing to complete your financial aid application. This has absolutely no effect on your admissions decision. If you take a look at just how many students at MIT receive need-based financial aid (62 percent!), you will see that your family’s financial circumstances do not help or hurt your chances to get into MIT.

Q. Due to unforeseen events, we didn’t start the financial aid process until two weeks ago. We have already submitted tax returns etc. to IDOC and MIT has received them. Will we receive an answer from financial aid before May 1st (the deadline to accept admissions)?

A. We are aware of the May 1st deadline, therefore awarding freshmen are our first priority. If your financial aid application is complete, it is likely being reviewed right now. You should have it in time to meet that deadline, but I suggest you call the Financial Aid office to follow up and be sure all your required documents are in. If for some reason we cannot get your aid package to you before the May 1st deadline, you can contact Admissions and ask for an extension to make that decision.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post regarding Needs Analysis (“How on earth did you come up with that package?”)

• You can only make one appointment.
• Be on time. Appointments are 15 minutes long, and there will be another family waiting to see a counselor immediately after you. Please be courteous of everyone’s limited time.
• Appointments are typically made for students and/or families who have been awarded financial aid.

The deadline for financial aid applications was yesterday. Some of you may be saying, “I MISSED THE DEADLINE?!?!? NOW WHAT?”

Step 1: relax.

Step 2: no seriously, relax.

It is not too late to begin applying for aid! We read financial aid applications in the order they are complete, continuing to review Freshmen applications through the summer. So the earlier you get your application in to us, the better the likelihood you will have your financial aid award with your admissions packet or by the time you need to make an enrollment decision (May 1).

So if you don’t have your application completed, please don’t panic. What you should do is follow up over the next few weeks, submit your materials, and check the Financial Aid Tracking system in MyMIT.

Speaking of the tracking system, please be patient. We do know that there has been some down time in the system (caused by slower than expected uploads of tracking information), and we’re working hard to improve the system. Please DO NOT submit your forms/documents more than once.

If you’re worried about your application please see steps 1 & 2. If you still have serious concerns after that, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Don’t forget the deadline for Financial Aid applications is February 15th which is also President's Day (so our office will be closed). Keep in mind that it takes about a week for MIT to receive your FAFSA or CSS PROFILE after you complete it online, and any forms submitted to IDOC will not be updated in Financial Aid Tracker until March 1st.

We do understand some applicants may not have their 2009 Income Tax Returns or wage statements completed by February 15, 2010- so simply submit your prior year income tax returns/wage statements, W-2 forms, and all schedules directly to us:

    Student Financial Services
    MIT Room 11-320
    77 Massachusetts Ave
    Cambridge, MA 02139
    617-253-9859 (fax)
    finaid@mit.edu

U.S./Canadian citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents still will be required to submit the 2009 Tax Returns to IDOC when they are available and we do read applications in the order they complete, so the earlier you get your application in to us, the better the likelihood you will have your financial aid award with your admissions packet or by the time you need to make an enrollment decision (May 1).

All prospective International students can send their Parents' 2009 Income Tax Returns or most recent wage statement (translated into English) directly to Student Financial Services.

Need more information about applying for financial aid? Check out the Student Financial Services website!