Financial aid budget, exceeding $100 million, is highest ever
Financial aid budget, exceeding $100 million, is highest ever
MIT will allocate $103.4 million to undergraduate financial aid next year, the MIT Corporation announced at a meeting on March 6.
This marks an 8.8 percent increase from the 2014–2015 budget and is the first time that MIT’s undergraduate financial aid budget has exceeded $100 million.
According to MIT, next year’s budgeted increase reflects a commitment of $3.2 million to reduce the “self-help” portion of MIT’s financial aid package, which students generally contribute through loans and earnings. The current aid package includes a $6,000 “self-help” contribution.
A 3.75 percent increase in undergraduate tuition and fees was also announced by the Corporation. According to an MIT news office release, Dennis Freeman PhD ’86, the dean for undergraduate education, said the $103.4 million financial aid budget will both cover this increase and “lower the net price for all students with financial aid.”
Fifty-nine percent of MIT’s undergraduate population receives need-based financial aid from the Institute. Thirty-two percent of undergraduates attend MIT tuition-free.
MIT’s financial aid budget has increased steadily since 2000, when it amounted to $30.5 million.
—Jennifer Switzer