'Life Changing to Many': MIT Makes Tuition Free For Families Making Less than $200,000 The sticker price for a year at MIT without aid is $85,960.
By Sherin Shibu
Key Takeaways
- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is changing its financial aid policies next year.
- MIT is making tuition free for students whose families make up to $200,000.
- Students with a family income below $100,000 will attend completely free, with housing, dining, tuition, and other fees covered.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced on Wednesday that it will make tuition free for undergraduates with a family income below $200,000 starting next fall, making college more affordable for more students. The school's current bar for tuition-free attendance rests at $140,000.
MIT also stated that it would waive the full cost of education, including housing, dining, tuition, and other fees, for students with a family income below $100,000 beginning fall 2025 — up from its current level of $75,000 this year.
U.S. News ranked MIT the second-best global university for the 2024 to 2025 school year. The average cost to attend the school per year without aid is $85,960, with tuition accounting for $61,990 of that amount. MIT estimates that an undergrad receiving financial aid paid a median cost of $12,938 per year and that 87% of the Class of 2024 graduated debt-free.
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Social media users have responded positively to the news of MIT's expanded aid. One former MIT undergrad, Michael Daugherty, stated that the new policy was "great news" and "life-changing to many." He wrote that he has "always been grateful" for the financial aid he had access to while at the institution.
This is great news - I've always been grateful for the financial aid I had access to as an undergrad at MIT. Talent is not distributed by wealth, so keeping great education affordable will be life changing to many.
— Michael Daugherty ? (@mpdaugherty) November 20, 2024
MIT isn't the only school that recently changed its financial aid policies. On Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) also raised the maximum income for full-tuition scholarships from $140,000 to $200,000 for the 2025 to 2026 school year.
UPenn will also stop considering a family's home equity for their primary residence in its financial aid calculations.
The changes will cost UPenn about $6 million per year.
Related: Which Ivy Colleges' Former Students Earn the Highest Salaries? — And No, It Isn't Harvard
