ABOUT Loans

If used wisely, loans are an excellent tool for financing your MIT education – see the MIT loan statistics below. Here are a few tips on how to be a smart borrower:

• Make a student budget and stick to it.
• Limit your credit cards to one if possible, and always pay off your entire credit card balance each month.
• If you need more money, take out a student loan instead of using higher-interest-rate credit cards.
• Never borrow any more than you need, because unlike a grant or scholarship, a student loan is money that must be repaid.
• Always ask questions if there is something you don’t understand.
• Never sign a promissory note unless you understand the terms and conditions for the loan.
• Keep a record of how much you’re borrowing and what your expected monthly repayments will be, so you won’t have any surprises when loan repayment begins.
• Make a permanent file for all your loan documents and records.
• Make sure you attend an exit interview before you graduate, transfer, leave school or drop below half-time status.
• Take advantage of the personalized student loan counseling that MIT provides by scheduling an appointment with your specific loan counselor.

Some MIT loan statistics

• Borrowing by undergraduates has decreased significantly since 1998 as result of MIT’s financial aid enhancements – specifically, lower levels of self-help.
• About 37% of undergraduates borrow each year, and their average annual loan is $5,500.
• About 8% of undergraduate parents borrow each year, and their average annual loan is $21,300.
• About 15% of the graduate and professional students enrolled in MIT’s five schools borrow each year. The average annual loan total for graduate students (excluding those at the MIT Sloan School of Management) is $24,000; the average loan total is $50,100 for Sloan School students.
• MIT students have an excellent track record in repaying their loans as demonstrated by low default rates in all the student loan programs.
• Repayment is made easier by the fact that MIT graduates generally make excellent salaries, as reported in a survey of members of the Class of 2007 who went directly into employment after graduation: