First..!!!

Second !
And cool ! FA 09-10 has finally arrived.. Thanks Daniel.. checked the old website at least a billion times for an update..

is admissions need-based for internationals?

@ Daniel

1. When we send our Parents' income tax return or wage statement, would we put all the values in dollars?

Since the economy in many countries isn't stable, the exchange rate varies often, how do we know which value to use to convert to dollar? (Do we take the most recent currency and specify on the financial form what value we used to convert?)

2. In some countries, the tax income is not out by February 15, do we send last year's tax income or would we wait until the tax income is available and then send it to Student Financial Services? (This may take up to late April in my country, Brazil)

Thanks in advance

@deng Admissions for internationals to MIT is need-blind and does not depend on need.

@Ivan Send income tax returns translated, but with values in original currency.

Send last year's returns

I get that US citizens' income / asset information can be verified indirectly through their tax returns, which I suppose can be considered to be at least somewhat reliable because of the penalties for false returns. How do you audit/verify non-US income or assets for internationals? Producing a letter from a foreign employer (or a US employer for that matter) doesnt seem like much. And, even in those other countries which have income or like taxes, the reliability / compliance levels are frequently very low since many countries do not have anything like the enforcement that exists in the US. just wondering.

The Green Line is awesome. ...If only other bloggers can be as cool as you!

Prospective students please print this blog and provide it to your parents. Mr. Barkowitz's information is very valuable. You are responsible for completing each of these (applicable)steps in order to obtain financial aid. The process is aggravating and tedious but, if your are admitted, so worth it!

Mom of an '09

Here are my replies:

Dhvanit, me too! So glad the update is out! Let us know if you see anything else incorrect... :)

deng, at MIT all admission is need-blind, for international students and for domestic students.

Ivan, here are your answers. On number 1, please write the answers in US$ and on the application form (question # 18) disclose the currency rate which you used to make the conversion. We know that currency risk is an issue, and we typically use currency rates as of a date in January as our standard rate for the year (we pull all rates at once). If the rate changes dramatically, you can appeal, but typically we state the currency risk is not an issue we at MIT can protect you against... As for 2, send in your last year's tax return now and then send us your current return when it is available.

Fiona, thanks for answering these... :)

Fidel, we have our ways... :) No, seriously, we do... I could tell you but then I'd have to audit you... Actually, we do use certification of finances, review of tax returns and employers' statements and other sources. We also know (generally) which countries have generally less enforcement and we look into these cases carefully. Additionally, students are warned that fraud is punishable under law and would revoke admission (among other nasty things). Last, we try to have faith and trust (until we are proven wrong)...

Ehsan, I bow to your awesomeness... and I dream of the day I can be as cool as Snively...

intleyes, thank you... and welcome back!

hey, yippeeee. at last.

Oh man, it's so long that I'm going to have to study the process.

I know we did it with our older brother, and I think it was filled out incorrectly which resulted in my brother not getting any money.

But since all this info is in one place, I think I can do it!

so, your bro is an MIT grad?

@Eric,
WE LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES.
sorry, the above one is me. hehe :) very happy today.

How does student income affect financial aid? Is it only my parent's income that is reported?

For International Students:
If you wish to apply for scholarship, loan and job assistance from MIT, we must receive the following documents no later than February 15, 2009 for both ""EARLY-ACTION"" and regular-action admissions applicants.

EARLY ACTION for international students....are u trying to make fun of us..lol

the comment above is so true and that joke is more frustrating than funny...

Good day. My name is Joanna Marie. However,
the name registered in my SAT account is only Joanna. 1) What must I do? 2) What are the
consequences that I would probably face? Thank you very much.

@daniel
Hi. I am an international student living in the US for the past two years. Since my dad works here, should I submit the CSS form or the International Student Financial Aid application?

@Dan

My younger brother is applying for regular decision, as an international applicant. As we came to know that MIT is needblind for all, I want to know that how many int'l applicants got scholarships last year and upto how much amount. Please also let us know that what was thier per annum income. Since our income is well below all marks assigned to categorise. Roughly around $3,650/- p.a. It'll be very useful for us to have a general idea, about our capacity to tread further.

@International Applicants - yes (contrary to popular belief) SFS has a sense of humor too! The webpage for international applicants has been corrected. (Whoops!)

Eric, be in touch with us if anything doesn't make sense. It is actually easier than it appears... I mean, after all, if you are hoping to pass 8.01 at MIT, you should be able to figure out a financial aid application... (smiles)

Bridger, generally we look at parent income more closely than student income and since we have a minimum student contribution ($1900 for Freshmen), we cover their income expectation there. There are some (extremely rare) occasions where a student income is so high that it does have an impact on financial aid, but in those situations an appeal to explain whether the income is one-time or continual usually solves the problem (and I am talking about students earning more than $10,000).

International Applicant, trying to make fun of you? No... Making sure you read the list above (and trying to see if you could catch our error!), yes! Seriously, though, thanks for catching it. We've fixed it on our web page and here... Knew I could rely on you MIT prospectives as proofreaders...

Joanna, use your full name on all correspondance with us, and just check with us when you send items in to make sure we have them (look at my.mit as a way to check in).

Raveena, if you do not have US Citizenship (and do not have permanent resident status), then you must apply as an International student (even if you live in the US). The applications follow your citizenship. So, conversely, if you were a US citizen living abroad, you would file the FAFSA and Profile.

Badrinath, more information than I can post right here. Suffice it to say that in the past, international students have received more aid on average than their US counterparts. Why? There are no federal or state programs for international students, so MIT bears the only responsibility for their aid. But we have had students from foreign countries receiving their entire cost in grant (as is true for some domestic students as well). So, in short, if you feel you need the assistance, apply. The income you are quoting will probably garner significant support (assuming assets are low as well).

Sheepish Webmaster, keep up the good work!

Correct me if I'm wrong somewhere, statistically or otherwise; around 1600 or 1700 int'l applicants apply every year, approximately 100 are offered admission. As per MIT policy and actions, everyone is offered some type of aid. Now, as my assumption goes, quite a few would be awarded with full scholarship form this pool, from the income range from $_______ to $_______. An instance is Abhinav Kumar, class of 02. Now an asst. prof. of Mathematics at MIT.

Considering us, not an exceptional case, we just want to weigh our chances on appropriate stats. And there are ample reasons for this. 1) A lot of brilliant int'l applicants, due to little space, do not get admitted. 2) If the financial scenario is not in our favour, then we would try for the bank loan. 3) Most Important: Visa officers almost everytime demand rigorous financial backup proofs, irrespective of financial aid written on I-20. 4) Postal correspondence is pretty costily.

I'm asking this, because I've been through all this, and I do not have a quite memorable experience, notabily of the I-20.

On the personal note, given the demographic overview of socio-economic spectra of our family, these counter arguements hardly justify the 'required stats' in question. But as we are feeling it, not only the college education, but applying to the colleges can be expensive too. And yes, the assets can be considered almost negligible.

I am an international student hoping to study in the MIT college...so pls I would like to know if you offer student visas to international prospective students...

THANKS

@Daniel T. Barkowitz

Thank you sir :)

Sir,

Please advise when we should start applying for Financial Aid. Can we fill the CSS form now and the FAFSA form in Jan 09. Haven't completely understood the procedure.

Thank you,

Frittos

thank you for the information.

I am Karthik from India I wanna do engineering under graduation program in MIT what are exams I have to get through and scores can please give info and the fees in university please sir

@ Karthik
friend, i also am from India, i have also applied for under-grad studies, the website www.mitadmissions.org serves the purpose of answering every question. if you still have any doubts, then mail me at hiralpatel42@yahoo.com.
and yes, do not panic regarding anything, if you have a doubt, just call at the admissions, MIT. they are extremely supportive. i cleared all my doubts by phoning them, they just fulfill the purpose like an angel for a person like me, i too did not know anything just like you, you can start from the above site, just mail me and we could talk about stuff. don't worry, be happy. :)

@ Karthik
friend, i also am from India, i have also applied for under-grad studies, the website www.mitadmissions.org serves the purpose of answering every question. if you still have any doubts, then mail me at hiralpatel42@yahoo.com.
and yes, do not panic regarding anything, if you have a doubt, just call at the admissions, MIT. they are extremely supportive. i cleared all my doubts by phoning them, they just fulfill the purpose like an angel for a person like me, i too did not know anything just like you, you can start from the above site, just mail me and we could talk about stuff. don't worry, be happy. :)

Mr.Barkowitz, my Dad works for the merchant navy. I'm an international student. In the last year, due to certain circumstances, my Dad did not go out to sea. In the financial aid form, do I attach the last salary amount or do I just put down "NIL" for earnings. That might make things look really bad, but actually it isn't. It's not like he is out of work, as a ship-master, he works on-and-off, and he just stayed home for 2008 due to various reasons.

As a person who earns money outside the nation, the laws of my country(India) exempts people like my Dad from paying income tax. Plus, my Dad's annual salary is reported( per sailing period) in US dollars. So, is there any additional material I might need to send?

My father is self employed, he teaches and does consultancy on his own, how should I show his income? I don't need to fill out the CSS form, do I?

how about for graduate international, where can i find it?

Can we, international students, send the financial aid forms along with all the others like school forms, etc in one big envelope with the individual components in separate envelopes inside the big one? International mail costs huge and it's pretty difficult to send the separate things in separate mail packages. Do you think the main admission office will branch out the individual components to the respective offices as stated in the envelopes?

i am a international student and i wish to know :
1.how much is the math degree per year at MIT.

Can we gouge the MIT students some more?

I am an MIT alum and a 32 year Education Council member.

From the FinAID site:
MIT MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN
The MIT Monthly Payment Plan is an installment arrangement that allows you to pay your bill in four monthly installments each for the fall and spring terms and three monthly installments for the summer term. A finance charge of 0.667% per month (8% annual percentage rate) is assessed on the unpaid account balance after each semester’s payment due date (August 1 for fall semester and January 1 for spring), excluding extended student health insurance.

Let me get this straight: The fees fund 4 months of what MIT provides, but you want the student to pay it all up front? Does mIT pay its staff on Sept 1st for all the work they will do through Dec 31st? Does MIT pay its electric and water bills four months in advance? When I rent an appartment, I pay one month's rent at the beginning of the month, Period.

How about 40% by Sept 1, and then 20% by 10/1, 11/1 and 12/1 with NO FINANCE Charge?

Please take this under advisement. Also, could you please answer the other financial quesitons I have posed to you over the last Two Years? I don't find this amusing at all.....

First of all, the MIT Monthly plan is an OPTION for families and students, not a requirement. Remember that tuition is billed by semester (as it is at every other college) and families are asked to pay one semester at a time for costs for tuition and housing. I understand your analogy to electricity, rent and water costs (and staffing costs), but I would point out that college tuition is not like these. In fact, the way we bill college tuition is more akin to costs like a purchase of a good which requires that you pay up front for a benefit which you will receive over the course of time (an air conditioner, an automobile, a television, or a house). Families can opt to pay or finance this up front cost, but there are costs which must be paid up front by some source (including financial aid).

As a further reminder, we do not bill for a year at a time, we bill by semester, so a student only accrues costs as they pursue each semester.

The payment plan you reference (which does charge a minimal fee on the outstanding balance) allows families who cannot afford the entire cost up-front, but who also want the flexibility of spreading their payments out over time rather than taking out a loan, to pay for their costs by month rather than by semester.

MIT does have an opportunity cost for allowing these fees to be paid "late" since this money is not received in accordance with our due dates. Part of this cost is made up by what families pay in the finance charge, but again it is a minimal charge. If you pay for your television or your air conditioner with a credit card, you would face a much higher finance charge than what MIT is asking.

Is this gouging MIT students? I think not.

Hi dis is SAURAV from India..

I opted for a fee waiver in my REGULAR ACTION application form..Now i'm confused about the form which the mit people want me to send them...is it the same form mentioned below??? plz help !!

2009-2010 International Student Financial Aid Application