<p>I do agree with you, AMWMIT79, that it's often good for students to contribute to their own educational expenses. I had paying jobs all four years at MIT, and all four summers, so I paid for my food and living expenses and took out loans in my name to cover some of my tuition. </p>
<p>I graduated with about $20,000 in loans, which I will have paid off in full by the time I finish graduate school in ~three years. A great education is a great investment, and paying back educational loans on time helps your credit score. :)</p>
<p>@Millerl1te - Try local scholarships. Scour every resource you have. Those $100, $1000 can add up. And I would say there must be at least SOME scholarships for students of Latino origin that aren't entirely need-based. The deadlines may have passed though</p>
<p>MIT's packet will take about two weeks for us to receive. Is anyone willing to give me an idea of what kind of financial aid they got compared to family financial situation? I got a ridiculous number from the FAFSA form when I submitted it. More than half of my income. Single parent teacher, own a home (but does equity count as an asset for the home you live in?), and a rental property with some equity, but the house payment is more than I get for rent. I cannot sell it at any price in the FL market, so I probably should have listed its value at what the payoff is, instead of what the last house in the neighborhood sold for last year. </p>
<p>Anyway, I am very anxious, as is daughter, to try to figure out whether we can possibly afford this wonderful opportunity for her. </p>
<p>If you are willing, you could pm me, or post for others to see.</p>
<p>I understand that last year home equity was included but only for incomes in excess of 75k. The logic of that escapes me since 75k was the cutoff for free tuition and a de facto cutoff for a major award. But it might come into play more frequently this year since MIT is allocating another $1-2 million in finaid [I forget the exact number in the anouncement] for 75-100k incomes. No relief yet for incomes in excess of 100k.</p>
<p>I also have heard that second home / rental properties have posed finaid problems for some, but dont know the nature of the computation. </p>
<p>I also understand that Congress has doubled the amount of Pell grants. Mit had a unique policy of doubling these for the Pell grant eligible, resulting in a further subsidy over and above a full award. Does anyone know if that is going to continue now that the Pell grants themselves have been increased?</p>