Undergraduate expenses
Graduate student expenses
How will I finance my family’s share?
Is my family eligible for tax benefits?
UNDERGRADUATE EXPENSES
The first thing you should know is that relatively few MIT undergraduates (and their families) pay the full price out of pocket. Instead, they use some combination of MIT scholarships, savings, student and parent loans, and term-time and summer jobs to meet their total expenses. This requires some research and careful planning of your current and future budget.
The estimated price or expense budget for 2008-09 for undergraduates is $50,100. This breaks down as follows:
| Tuition and fees | $36,390 |
| Room and meals | $10,860 |
| Books and personal expenses | $2,850 |
| Total price for MIT undergraduates | $50,100 |
Your actual price will vary depending on choices of dining and housing options, travel expenses, other out-of-pocket expenses, etc. You can get a more accurate estimate by using our student budget worksheet. Then you can learn more about how much of the price you’ll actually be charged by clicking on How much will I have to pay?
Your student expense budget has two categories: things that MIT charges for, and things you must pay for out of pocket.
MIT expenses
Below are some of the amounts charged by MIT for the 2008-09 academic year. These figures do not include expenses for the summer term from June through August.
| Expense | What most students are charged | MORE INFO |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $36,140 | Registrar’s Office |
| Student activity fee (mandatory for all students) |
$250 | Graduate Students Office |
| Housing (on-campus residence hall required for freshmen) |
$4,128 to $7,104 | Housing Office |
| Meals | $4,300 1 | Campus Dining |
| Student Medical Plan | $0 | MIT Medical |
| Student Extended Insurance Plan 2 | $1,570 | MIT Medical |
1 This is the budget figure suggested by Campus Dining for 32 weeks on campus per academic year; MIT does not have a traditional all-you-can-eat meal plan system.
2 Some form of hospital insurance is required by Massachusetts law. As part of the basic tuition fee, MIT provides the basic Student Medical Plan but also charges all students for the Student Extended Insurance Plan, which provides hospitalization coverage. However, students who can demonstrate that they already have comparable coverage under another insurance program are granted a waiver from the Student Extended Insurance Plan. There are additional charges for coverage of partners and dependents under both the Student Medical Plan and the Extended Student Insurance Plan. Click here for a chart that compares all services and rates offered by MIT Medical to students and their families.
Out-of-pocket expenses
There are other expenses that are not billed by MIT that you should take into account when planning your budget, such as:
- Food (other than food paid for in your dining plan)
- Phone / cable TV / Internet (all on-campus housing has free wired and wireless Internet access)
- Utilities – heat, water, gas, electricity (if you live in an apartment where these are not included in the rent)
- Books and personal expenses – computer equipment, clothing, entertainment, etc. MIT budgets $2,850 for this category (see top of this page) but does not bill students directly.
- Travel – for example, airfare for visitng your family. Financial aid packages include an amount for travel based on the student's home address, but does notarrange or bill for travel.
- Local transportation (getting around Cambridge and Boston by bike, car or public transportation)
Class of ’10
Adi is one of thousands of students who are paying much less than MIT's “sticker price” – because we meet every student's full financial need.
{ LEARN MORE}There are hundreds of outside private scholarships for every type of student.
