<p>Are there horror stories about financial aid at MIT?</p>
<p>For the moment, I have perfectly satisfied with my finaid package (got more than most other top schools), but I was wondering how fickle financial aid can change from year to year.</p>
<p>Has anyone heard of MIT have fickle changes in financial aid grants, even though income doesn't change much? (I think Snively complained a bit, but I don't have pervasive evidence so far). I mean, it's better for me to know 1st year, than to suddenly have to adapt 2nd/3rd year to an added burden which would force me to transfer somewhere else.</p>
<p>I know that your student contribution increases depending on what year you are, so you will receive less financial aid in subsequent years. I can’t imagine that your MIT grant would change if your EFC didn’t change, though - MIT meets 100% of need for all of its students.</p>
<p>Obviously though if you get a summer internship pays $10,000 or whatnot, they’re going to expect you to contribute more.</p>
<p>“so you will receive less financial aid in subsequent years”</p>
<p>Is that because sophomores/juniors can get more easily UROP and get money, so the decrease in finaid generosity is a result of our ability to contribute, not a change in policy toward higher level students? Or is that a systematic thing?</p>
<p>Also, do other universities like Stanford, Harvard and Princeton have such policy? (of decreasing finaid for subsequent years?)</p>
<p>It’s because that’s how MIT’s financial aid works?</p>
<p>I don’t know about any other system, but I assume that the increase in the student contribution is supposed to reflect you taking more responsibility for yourself / becoming an adult / getting jobs etc. etc. You’re going to have to ask the other schools about their policies, I didn’t apply to any of the so I don’t know.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure all of this is outlined in your financial aid booklet if you want it from the official source, though.</p>
<p>MIT has consistently knocked off around $5000 from my EFC from FAFSA every year. </p>
<p>I think the “decreasing finaid” really may just be caused because of your increased earnings. For example, I earned around $3000 for tax year 2008 at MIT, and thus it’s quite possible that my finaid will go down (granted, exchange rate fluctuations have also made my family’s earnings go down by the same amount when converted to US dollars) - so we’ll see about it this year.</p>
<p>MIT is need-based finaid, though. So if you technically don’t “need” as much money since you’re earning money, it may make sense for your finaid to go down.</p>