MIT Announces It Will Match Pell Grants

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced on March 7 that it will match the amount of aid provided by Federal Pell Grants to eligible MIT students, beginning in the fall of 2006.

The program will in effect double the amount of aid that qualifying MIT students can receive through the Pell Grants program. Need-based scholarships will continue to be available to MIT students as well.

MIT President Susan Hockfield said the Pell Grant matching initiative reflects the Institute's commitment to recruiting outstanding students, regardless of their financial need. "Adequate need-based student aid, especially in the form of scholarships, is essential if this country is to develop the talents of our young people to the fullest," she said in an MIT press release. "The new MIT Pell Grant match reaffirms our commitment to families who are losing their faith in the American dream of sending their children to college."

Over 90 per cent of MIT students will receive some form of need-based or merit-based financial aid in 2006-2007. Those funds include over $60 million in scholarships from MIT.

Tuition, fees, housing and meals at MIT will cost approximately $43,500 for the 2006-2007 academic year. MIT says that a typical financial aid package for a student who is eligible for the maximum Pell Grant and a need-based MIT scholarship would cover all expenses through a combination of the scholarship, Pell and MIT grants, and part-time on-campus employment.