Financial Aid Award Significantly More Than Net Price Calculator

I was admitted into MIT the other day.

I am a bit disappointed because I just received my financial aid offer and it is 15K more than what the MIT Net Price Calculator estimated.

I went and rechecked what I entered in the calculator and also had another eye check for me to ensure that I entered the right numbers.

Do you think the FA office would be likely to adjust my financial aid package? At this point, I can’t afford it.

Ask the financial aid office.

There is definitely an appeals process. If you go to CPW, and I recommend you do, set up an appointment to discuss your package. Take all the information you’ll need.

Definitely. The ethos of the financial aid office is to ensure that nobody has to turn down MIT because they cannot afford to attend (note that ability to pay and willingness are different). If you cannot afford it and there is a significant difference between the NPC and the award, then you are in an excellent position to mount an appeal. I have seen several successful appeals on these grounds. Note that your first port of call will be your assigned Student Financial Services (SFS) counselor, who are assigned based on the first letter of your surname (see https://sfs.mit.edu/contact to get the name of your counselor). Reach out to them in the first instance.