Student Stories
Bonnie Shum ’08
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Major: Chemical engineering
My college application process was complicated by the fact that my parents had to quit their jobs and move from Florida back to Hong Kong during my senior year of high school to take care of my grandmother (we emigrated to the U.S. when I was nine). My father used to work for the government in Hong Kong but couldn’t work full-time in America because of health issues, and my mother worked in a factory before returning to Hong Kong. I stayed in the U.S. and lived with my older sister, but I had to redo all my financial aid applications since my family’s situation had changed so drastically. My sister is supporting me now, but she’s married with children, so it’s good that I’m not creating more of a burden for my family.
Out of all the schools I got acceptances from, MIT actually offered me the best financial aid package. I worked six to eight hours a week during the school year while at MIT and I’m going to graduate with only about $6,000 in loans. My high school guidance counselor also explained that it was important to find a school that would maintain the same level of financial support for all four years, and MIT has done that. Last year I studied in England as part of the Cambridge-MIT Exchange. Most schools’ study-abroad programs require you to put up a lot of money, but with MIT’s financial aid system, that was all taken care of.
| Financial aid package (2007-08) | |
| MIT scholarship and Pell Match | $36,440 |
| Federal grants | $12,310 |
| Total aid package | $48,750 |
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