Nov 21, 2024 19:00:00

MIT has announced a generous financial aid program for undergraduates, offering tuition exemptions for families earning less than 31 million yen a year, and exemptions for all costs other than tuition, including food and housing, for families earning less than 15.5 million yen a year.

On November 20, 2024 local time,

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced in its official publication, MIT News, that undergraduate students whose household income is less than $200,000 (approximately 31 million yen) per year will be exempt from tuition fees starting in the fall of 2025.

Undergraduates with family income below $200,000 can expect to attend MIT tuition-free starting in 2025 | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-tuition-undergraduates-family-income-1120

MIT has announced a new financial aid policy. Under this financial aid policy, starting from the new semester starting in the fall of 2025, undergraduate students whose household income is less than $200,000 a year will be exempt from tuition fees. In the United States, 80% of all households have an annual household income of less than $200,000, so it is expected that many undergraduate students will be able to benefit from tuition exemptions. Until 2024, the standard for tuition exemptions was 'an annual household income of less than $140,000 (approximately 21.7 million yen).'

In addition, for undergraduate students with an annual household income of less than $100,000 (approximately 15.5 million yen), which applies to 50% of all American households, all expenses necessary to attend MIT, such as housing, food, fees, and books, will be waived in addition to tuition. Until 2024, this support program, which also waives all expenses other than tuition, was only available to undergraduates with an annual household income of less than $75,000 (approximately 11.6 million yen).

MIT has allocated $167.3 million to undergraduate financial aid in 2024, up about 70% from 2014.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth said of the university's financial aid policy, 'MIT's educational model is intensive, demanding, rooted in science and engineering, and has great practical value to students and society. As

reported by the Wall Street Journal , MIT outperforms any university in the United States in improving the economic future of its graduates, and we also rank first in the world in graduate employability .' 'The cost of college is a real concern for every family. MIT is determined to offer our transformative educational experience to the most talented students, regardless of their economic situation. So to all the students who dream of attending MIT, don't let cost concerns get in the way.'

MIT is one of only nine universities in the United States that does not consider an applicant's ability to pay as part of the admissions process, and instead meets the demonstrated financial need of all undergraduates. MIT also does not expect students to take out loans, and unlike most other universities, it does not give admissions preferences to the children of alumni or donors.

'We believe MIT should be the premier destination for the nation's best students interested in a science and technology-centered education,' said Stuart Schmill, MIT's dean of admissions and student financial services. 'We also believe it should be accessible to the best students, regardless of their financial situation.' 'Today, with need-based financial aid, an MIT education is much more affordable than it has ever been, even though MIT's 'list price' is higher than it was when I was an undergraduate (Schmill graduated in 1986).'

The median scholarship amount received by MIT undergraduates in 2024 was $12,938 (approximately 2 million yen), and 87% of undergraduates successfully graduated from MIT without debt. The average amount of debt for undergraduates graduating from MIT in 2024 was $14,844 (approximately 2.3 million yen). MIT graduates are said

to benefit throughout their lives by having the title of 'MIT graduate,' and the latest survey shows that the average starting salary for MIT graduates is $126,438 (approximately 19.6 million yen).

Funds allocated to MIT's financial aid programs come from an endowment fund based on donations from alumni and others. The existence of this endowment allows MIT to provide the same level of financial aid to students now and in the future. MIT President Kornbluth said, 'Today's announcement is a powerful testament to how highly our alumni value their MIT experience. We can provide financial aid of this magnitude because of personal donations to the endowment fund from generations of MIT alumni and friends. In fact, the endowment fund is an intergenerational gift from MIT alumni to the students of today and tomorrow.'

As mentioned above, if a family makes less than $100,000 a year, the school will cover all costs associated with their child's attendance at MIT, including tuition, housing, food, fees, books, and other personal expenses.

Families with annual household incomes between $100,000 and $200,000 will be required to pay between $0 and $23,970 (approximately 3.7 million yen) for all expenses incurred by their children to attend MIT. According to data released by the Education Data Initiative , the average annual cost of attending a state university in the United States is $27,146 (approximately 4.2 million yen). In other words, MIT students can reduce their expenses by far more than students attending other universities.