Financial Aid at MIT vs. state colleges... advice?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>So I got my acceptance letter from MIT. After jumping around and celebrating for a while, I took a good, hard look at the financial aid offer I was given. And all but cried. </p>

<p>Maybe it's the economy, and their endowment took a hit, or something, I dunno. But as a kid from a frugal middle-class (on the upper side of middle class, I guess) family, it would be a very serious stretch for me and my family if I attended MIT. 50k a year? Haha, yeah, funny joke. I effectively got nothing in the way of aid (student job and some low-interest loans! Yay!)</p>

<p>On the other hand, I've got a scholarship offer for full room and board, a study abroad experience, and some some stipend at my local state college. And priority in everything, from dorm room choice to undergraduate research. And it's not the best school ever, but it has an okay honors program. </p>

<p>So here's the question. I plan to go to grad school after undergrad, and don't really have any desire to be in a cesspool of debt after my education. Is MIT worth it? How big a difference is it going to make...?</p>

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<p>You answered your own question in your post. MIT is a serious financial stretch for your family. No certainty your family would even qualify for a loan. You have lots of company-kids that got into their dream schools but no family savings to pay for it. Go to the state school and enjoy the opportunities you've been given.</p>

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<p>Wow, that was exceedingly helpful. I actually meant to ask how comparable the academics are, because I <em>do</em> care a lot about the quality of my education. Starting life with a giant hole of debt is not on my top 10 list of things to do, but hey, I would do it if it were worthwhile. Money is an issue, but so is the quality of education I would be receiving.</p>

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<p>Also something that you might consider is the fact that where you went to grade school is VASTLY more important than where you go for undergrad. I don't know what your aspirations are but if it is in a science and engineering then grad school actually pays you a stipend of about 20K a year and with no debt for undergrad it makes life ALOT easier to live and leaves a huge amount of options for life.</p>

<p>Since you are smart enough to get into MIT you are smart enough to accomplish anything regardless of which school you attend.</p>

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Also something that you might consider is the fact that where you went to grade school is VASTLY more important than where you go for undergrad.

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<p>This is true - however, going to a good undergraduate school gives you a better chance at going to a good graduate school.</p>

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Since you are smart enough to get into MIT you are smart enough to accomplish anything regardless of which school you attend.

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<p>This is certainly true. An MIT education is worth a lot, but the type of people who get accepted into MIT are the type who can do amazing things without it.</p>

<p>As for the original post, there's no easy or right answer. It depends on what you're willing to give up and your situation. I was given a full ride to WPI (#9 in engineering) and chose to go to MIT where finances were definitely much harder. Was it the right decision? I think so. At times the finances are stressful, but this experience has been amazing and I think it's hard to duplicate somewhere else. But if I had gone to WPI, I think I certainly would've been happy and successful. This is really up to you and how important MIT's culture is for you.</p>

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<p>I guess I'll see -- I'm going to CPW in April -- but I think I already have a pretty good feel for MIT's culture. I have three friends who attend (one a PhD student, two undergrads), and all three of them tell me repeatedly that it's awesome and that I ought to come. Also, maybe I should have said this earlier, my situation is kind of unusual in that I've already attended a lot of classes at my state university and am more than a bit disenchanted with it. It's a <em>decent</em> school, but it is not and will not ever be amazing. </p>

<p>Quote from an earlier post (don't feel like retyping) that I think sums up my problem with my state college...</p>

<p>"At UNR, it feels to me that no one really cares about the material being taught. The professors sometimes do, but the students don't, so while the professors adore the kids who <em>do</em> care (eg, me), the class dynamics are really slow and apathetic. UNR doesn't have an academic/intellectual atmosphere at all. The kids are there to get their degree, then go out and join the workforce. They're not there to discover, or learn, or care. Maybe things are different within the Honors College, but it seems to me (possibly from an uneducated perspective) that the majority of the kids who are at the Honors College are there because they're too lazy or too undermotivated to apply anywhere else. There are some exceptions to that (eg, some of my fellow graduating seniors at the Academy, and probably some others), but I don't know if the dynamic would really be that much better even within the college. And I'm at a point in my life where the trauma of my early education (read: seven schools in eight years! And I was the "nerd" at all of them) is finally starting to wear off, and the academic curiosity I thought had been crushed early on in my school career is starting to bloom again. I want to go to school. I want to learn things. Or at least, I've become quite good at convincing myself that I do. And I'm afraid that UNR's apathetic environment might crush that."</p>

<p>("the Academy" = my tiny little high school located on UNR's campus. It's pretty selective, and works like a charter school...)</p>

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<p>I don't know about your personality but my D would be extremely depressed at a school such as the one you describe and she would probably end up dropping out or needing expensive psychiatric care. (we went through this sort of experience already when she was in middle school) Would you be able to stay motivated? </p>

<p>Do you have any other choices? Something in between "state school" and MIT? </p>

<p>I know of a few students going to MIT now who are taking out big loans. Their plan is that they are studying engineering so will be making a high salary and will be able to pay off their loans. Are you planning to go into research or academia and if so what would your projected salary be?</p>

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<p>The message from my parents to me was "Go to a great school or a state school." Their take on it was that a world class university was worth the considerable sacrifice, and my school loans took about 12 years to pay off. That being said, FOR ME, MIT was wonderful and worth it. Everyone's position and circumstances are different.</p>

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<p>My daughter was accepted early into the class of 2013. She isn't getting any money. I always felt that she needed to pay for part of her college education so that she'll appreciate it more. I had to.</p>

<p>I graduated from MIT in 1979 and it was worth it. (Although it was the hardest thing I ever did in my life so far). I learned how to think and problem solve. The women I lived with were almost all class valedictorians who were great musicians and athletes. We all stayed up well into the night doing our problem sets. I loved walking into and around Boston and Cambridge. I got a great job after graduation. I’ve been to many Alumni functions and sat through maybe a hundred MIT-Stanford New Enterprise forums on everything about starting, funding, running, and selling companies. </p>

<p>My daughter could go to a Berkeley or UCLA for half the cost, but I think that MIT is worth the extra money.</p>

<p>Parents don’t have to pay it all. The cost should be split between the student and parent. The student can take out loans, work during the summer and school year, and appy for outside merit scholarships. I did.</p>

<p>I’m expecting my daughter to get/earn/sign for:
$6,000 in merit scholarships (she will apply for 12-15 from lists our high school put together as well as from web searches)
$8,000 - $10,000 total in summer and semester jobs (probably UROP)
$8,000 - $10,000 in loans per year (less if she earns more)</p>

<p>Which makes her portion $26,000 (50% of $52,000)</p>

<p>This makes the parent portion $26,000. If the parents of the student who is not given any financial aid can’t or won’t pay at least this amount, then maybe the student should go elsewhere. However, the following few paragraphs explain how I came up with these numbers.</p>

<p>This is what I had to do in today’s dollars (just divide by 7 to get 1975 dollars)
Loans: $8,750 (then:was $1,250, so ended up with $5,000 in loans)
Summer Work: $7,000
School Year Work: $7,000 (which would be $14,000 for the total for summer and school year. Back then it was $1,000, but I made $2,000 during the summer so I didn't need to work, but I held lots of little jobs)
Parent's Contribution: $7,000
MIT Grant: $21,000
Total: $50,750 </p>

<p>I was concerned the most about how much she could make during the school year and summer. For her to make the equivalent of what I made 30 years ago, she would have to make $14,000 total per year combining both summer and school year income. </p>

<p>The coach of the team she is going to join wrote to her saying that one student made $13,000 per semester doing UROP. Another student made $30,00 during the summer doing computer work. So now I’m thinking that making the $8,000 - $10,000 total in my budget above is doable and reasonable.</p>

<p>I’m also not worried about her paying back the loans. When I graduated in 1979, I had $5,000 in student loans and made $16,000/yr, so my loans were about 30% of my first yearly income. Within two years of graduating, I was making $24,000/yr. Within 4 years of graduating, I was making $48,000. I paid off my loans in 10 years and it never felt like a burden.</p>

<p>I don't think $32,000 - $40,000 is too much for her to borrow when she may be making quite a bit (maybe close to $100K plus or minus $15,000) when she graduates and her income will go up quite a bit over the first few years of her working life.</p>

<p>Scholarships are so much easier to apply for now with the internet. So it would be a shame not to apply for a bunch.</p>

<p>So I always assumed that my daughter would work, take out loans and apply for scholarships and my husband and I would pay the rest.</p>

<p>I had to work and take out loans and so can she.</p>

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So I always assumed that my daughter would work, take out loans and apply for scholarships and my husband and I would pay the rest.

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<p>That all sounds perfectly reasonable - however, I'd suggest not demanding that she get a UROP sooner than spring term or the summer after freshman year to give her time to adjust to MIT. That's my $.02.</p>

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<p>I agree. She won't look for UROP until spring semester at the earliest. I understand the adjustment. I had to go through it and I was actually very homesick my first semester, but fine my second.</p>

<p>She really wants to do UROP, so I actually have to hold her back from doing it.</p>

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<p>8000-10000 from the summer? That seems like a lot. I didn’t go to MIT for undergrad, but did REU and REU-like programs with a set salary and grossed about $4000 each summer I worked (before housing and food). I know UROP has hourly pay- how much does a typical full-time UROP average?</p>

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<p>I’m expecting my daughter to earn $8-10,000 total from the summer and both semesters. Maybe it will only be $4,000 during the summer and $2,000 each semester. If she makes more then she can take out less in loans or not apply for scholarships (or we pay less? ;-))</p>

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<p>^^ I believe that to earn $2,000 per semester she will need to work 11-14 hours per week, which is rather a lot given the MIT workload. UROPs available to freshmen at MIT pay between $9.25 and $12.00 per hour.</p>

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<p>Nah, 12 hours is pretty standard for a UROP – that’s how much you’d have to work per week during term if you wanted 12 units of credit, anyway. </p>

<p>And higher-paying UROPs are definitely available, particularly if you’re in a generally lucrative field. My husband got $14/hour at his aerospace engineering UROP, then took an internship at Draper Labs that paid $20/hour.</p>

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<p>Okay, so let me rephrase this. Last year, when she was a freshman looking for work, my daughter was unable to find a UROP that paid more than $12 per hour. She came in with strong skills in C, C++, Java, and in graphic design/multimedia software.</p>

<p>I think that taking a 12-hour per week UROP for credit, when that 12 hours forms part of the course load, is a bit different than taking on 12-14 hours of UROP in addition to one’s regular course load. On the other hand, after the first semester, when freshmen are limited to 4 courses, my daughter always enrolled in a higher course load, so perhaps it would be easier to take on more hours of work with a load of 4 courses. </p>

<p>As for summer employment, this year she applied and was admitted to MIT’s UPOP program, which allows sophomores to take occasional workshops throughout the year in preparation for a summer internship. But what I’ve heard is that this year, it isn’t that easy to land internships. </p>

<p>This is just one other family’s perspective of course, and not a generalization about the experience of every MIT student. It may vary by the field of the student as well. My daughter isn’t in Astro/Aero; she’s taking the regular Course 8 major (physics) and trying to add enough Course 6 units to double major in computer science.</p>