<p>At every university, a financial aid package is created from several sources: student loans, student employment, scholarship and grant assistance. Need-based loans and work-study are referred to as the self-help component of an aid package. It is called “self-help” because it is the student’s financial contribution toward the cost of attending MIT. </p>
<p>Let’s say the “self help” portion of your son’s financial aid package is $10,000. This means your son will need to work a certain amount while at school and he will also take on a certain amount of debt. Let’s say that he will need to earn $2,000 through work and take on $8,000 of debt.</p>
<p>If he receives an outside scholarship, MIT will reduce the “self-help.” Thus, if he receives a $3,000 outside scholarship, the self-help might be recalculated this way: $2,000 through work and $5,000 of debt. It’s possible MIT eliminates the work first – not sure.</p>
<p>In all these calculations, MIT comes up with a number it believes you – the parents – can pay. That number won’t change as a result of these calculations. But if your son’s outside scholarship reduces his debt from $8,000 to $5,000 and you feel you can’t afford the difference yourself, you and he might sit down and talk about whether he would be willing to take on a higher debt load (through private sources) to reduce the amount you would have to pay.</p>
<p>In our family’s case, I feel MIT calculations were correct. It was painful. We didn’t think we could afford to pay for everything, with no aid. But in the end, MIT was right – we could afford to pay it (even though we still need a new roof!) and the cost was well worth it, in terms of the opportunities available to our daughter. </p>
<p>sbjdorlo, I thought I read in the Parents’ thread that your son had been unable to attend CPW and had elected already to attend Harvey Mudd. If not, and money is the issue, I hope you’ll follow up with MIT’s Financial Aid Office to get official answers to your questions.</p>