As part of our mission to uphold meritocracy and fair access for students from all backgrounds, we welcome applications from students, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. Undocumented and DACA-mented01 A term for students who have received <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_Action_for_Childhood_Arrivals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals</a>. applicants alike submit the same application components and go through the same selection process as all other students.
For those students who face financial barriers, we offer fee waivers on our application, conduct need-blind02 This means we do not consider your (in)ability to pay for MIT in our admissions process. admissions, and provide generous financial aid that meets 100% of a family’s demonstrated financial need, which includes tuition, housing, food, books, and personal expenses.
MIT is committed to supporting undocumented students in our community as well as outside the Institute. In 2017, MIT’s 17th president, Rafael Reif, wrote an editorial in the Boston Globe arguing for the preservation of DACA and advocating for a pathway to citizenship, and MIT filed an amicus brief in a federal lawsuit challenging the repeal of DACA. Meanwhile, at MIT Admissions, we reaffirmed our support for undocumented students in our blogs.
If you have specific questions about the application process for undocumented students, please contact Admissions Counselor Erin Murray.
For more detailed information regarding the cost of attendance, including specific costs for tuition and fees, books and supplies, housing and food as well as transportation, please visit the Student Financial Services website.
Resources for students
Resources for applicants
We have identified additional resources for navigating the college application process as an undocumented student.
- Unafraid Educators, a subcommittee of the Boston Teachers’ Union, has created a resource for applying to college.
- The Illinois Association for College Admissions Counseling published a comprehensive website that includes colleges’ and universities’ policies, resources and scholarships, and guidance on questions to ask admissions offices.
- Best Colleges has developed a guide on preparing for college and applying for admissions and financial aid as an undocumented student (esta guía está disponible en español).
- QuestBridge offers several programs designed for students of modest socioeconomic backgrounds that are open to undocumented students.
More broadly, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and National Immigration Law Center provide news and legal updates, including information on DACA. For students interested in advocacy, United We Dream has mobilized immigrant youth-led movements to lead, empower, and transform communities.
Resources at MIT
- Student Support Services (S3) offers individual and group advising to this close-knit community and works to ensure that they can have the same student life and learning experience as all of our students.
- Provost Cynthia Barnhart, who oversaw student life and learning at MIT for seven years, published a letter to the community when she was chancellor, detailing the measures MIT has taken to protect and support undocumented students on our campus.
- We have an immigration lawyer who offers students legal advice regarding their status.
- A term for students who have received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. back to text ↑
- This means we do not consider your (in)ability to pay for MIT in our admissions process. back to text ↑