Educational Loan Plan

MIT offers loans to eligible employees to help offset the financial burden of providing an undergraduate or graduate college education to eligible dependent children.

You are eligible to apply for a loan for your dependent child under the Educational Loan Plan if you work at least 50% of the normal full-time work schedule in your department, laboratory, or center; are appointed to work at MIT and have been employed for at least one year; and are paid by MIT.

How the plan works

  • If you work full time, the maximum amount you may borrow for the 12-month period beginning July 1 and ending June 30 is:
    $10,000—if you have one child enrolled in a college or university
    $15,000—if you have more than one child enrolled in a college or university
  • Your outstanding balance may not total more than $50,000 at any one time. If you work part time, both the amount you can borrow and your maximum outstanding balance are prorated.
  • The loan rate is reviewed four times a year — January, April, July, and October. When the interest rate goes up or down by .5%, the new rate will apply to any outstanding loan balance.
  • Changes in the interest rate will apply to any loan balance outstanding at the time the rates are adjusted.
  • The interest rate is intended to equal the cost to MIT to borrow the necessary funds to support this plan.
  • Repayment begins immediately and are made by payroll deductions. Payment terms and amounts are based on the amount you borrow. 
  • If you terminate from MIT, the full remaining loan balance is due in full upon exiting MIT. 
  • If you retire from MIT, you may either remit payment for the full remaining balance or retain the continued benefit of making your monthly payments towards the loan balance until paid in full. 
  • MIT makes the funds available to you under this program. It is your responsibility to repay any amount you borrow plus interest.

Who is eligible

  • To qualify, your child must be your tax dependent, attend a 2 to 4-year eligible degree granting program, and attend school full-time. If your child is not your tax dependent, you must provide an explanation along with your application.
  • You must work at least 50% of the normal full-time work schedule in your department, laboratory, or center. If you work less than 100% of the normal full-time work schedule, your eligibility will be prorated according to the percentage of time that you work. 
  • If you terminate from MIT and later return, the one-year minimum of employment requirement will be based on your most recent date of hire, not your original date of hire. 

Who is not eligible

Your dependent children are not eligible to take advantage of this plan if you fall into one of these employment categories:

  • visitor
  • contractor
  • fellow
  • affiliate
  • teaching or research assistant
  • honorary lecturer
  • post-doctoral trainee
  • consultant
  • paid by MITemps
  • member of the armed services assigned to MIT

How to apply

Please follow the steps below to apply:

  1. Download an application.
  2. Email both the completed application and a copy of the student's official billing statement to getaloan@mit.edu.
    • Omit the Social Security Number (SSN) in the electronic/scanned copy.
    • Note that we cannot use the financial aid letter, and will need the official billing statement in order to move forward with processing your application.
    • If this is your first time borrowing with this program, we will call you to confirm your SSN.
  3. Mail the original completed application with wet signature to the address located on the bottom of the form.
  4. If you are a first time borrower of an MIT Education Loan, after review of your application, you will receive a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and the first set of disclosures.
    • Sign and email an electronic/scanned copy of the MPN to getaloan@mit.edu.
    • Mail the original completed MPN with wet signature.

Contact getaloan@mit.edu or 617-258-8600 for help or more information.

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