MIT Students Will Be Able to Study Without Tuition

One of the most prestigious universities in the US – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston – just made an announcement on November 20, 20024, that the university  will offer a significant number of its undergraduate students the opportunity to study tuition-free.

This amazing opportunity will be available for all students whose family incomes are below $200,000, reports ABC News. In addition, students whose family incomes are below $100,000 will get a free ride that includes tuition, room and board, as well as an allowance for books and personal needs.

Why is this important?
MIT, America’s top engineering university comes at a steep price with tuition costing $57,986 for the 2022-2023 school year. Now, the undefined that is set to begin in the fall of 2025 for approximately 80 percent of the students will have a profound effect on successful applicants’ being able to attend the university.

While MIT is only one of nine colleges in the US that doesn’t consider an applicant’s ability to pay during the admission process, according to a press release from university, this doesn’t mean that everyone who is accepted can afford to attend even with a generous financial aid package.

“The cost of college is a real concern for families across the board,” MIT president Sally Kornbluth said in the press release; “and we’re determined to make this transformative educational experience available to the most talented students, whatever their financial circumstances. So, to every student out there who dreams of coming to MIT: Don’t let concerns about cost stand in your way.”

To accomplish this, MIT has earmarked $167.3 million in need-based financial aid. This is up 70 percent from what it was a decade ago. MIT’s endowment – made up of alumni gifts and friends of the university –  allows the institute to offer this amazing level of aid.

“In effect, our endowment is an inter-generational gift from past MIT students to the students of today and tomorrow,” Kornbluth said.

MIT is not the only university to offer free tuition, in July 2024 Johns Hopkins medical school offered a similar opportunity and a few months before New York City’s prestigious Albert Einstein College of Medicine announced a free tuition initiative that was made possible by a generous donation from Ruth Gottesman, Ed.D., a former professor and the widow of a Wall Street investor.

What to expect in 2025

Beginning in the fall semester of 2025, families with lower incomes can expect to pay nothing. Families with incomes of $100,000 to $200,000, with typical assets like a home and cars can expect to contribute much less than the annual average cost for in-state students. And families whose income is higher may still be able to receive need-based aid depending on circumstances.

Over the summer of 2024, MIT’s faculty-led Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid was charged to review the university’s financial aid policies to ensure that MIT remains accessible to students who do not have the ability to pay. The recent announcement is the first step for these recommendations to be adopted for next fall.

“We believe MIT should be the preeminent destination for the most talented students in the country interested in an education centered on science and technology, and accessible to the best students regardless of their financial circumstances,” said Stu Schmill, MIT’s dean of admissions and student financial services. 

This initiative can be duplicated by many prestigious universities with a large donor base. Free tuition could help many students’ dreams of a first-rate education come true.