Registering for a light load may impact your eligibility for financial aid.
Registering for less than a full-time course load is called a light load. With the approval of a faculty advisor, undergraduates may carry a light load and are charged per unit of registration, including those taken as a listener. Financial aid eligibility is automatically updated based on your registration status.
How tuition and financial aid are impacted if you register for 18–35 units
Students enrolled at half-time or three-quarters time will notice the following adjustments:
- The Registrar’s Office is responsible for all tuition adjustments. You are charged full tuition when you register for 32 units or more (including listener and ROTC subjects) in a term. You are charged per unit of registration (including listener and ROTC subjects) when you register for less than 32 units.
- The tuition in the cost of attendance is adjusted to reflect the amount charged by the Registrar’s Office. Your MIT Scholarship is automatically reduced by the same amount, but this generally does not result in any new balance on MITPay. Your MIT Scholarship is adjusted any time tuition is adjusted during the semester.
- When you are registered for a light load, financial aid cannot cover the cost of listener units—only for-credit units. We recommend that students do not register for any listener units in this case.
- If you receive a Federal Pell Grant and are registered for less than 36 credits, the grant will be reduced based on the number of units in which you are enrolled. However, if you are already an MIT Scholarship recipient, these federal funds will be replaced with MIT funds. These adjustments are made based on your registration status at add date.
- If you do not have an MIT Scholarship, but do have loans, your loans may need to be reduced by the same amount of the tuition reduction, depending on your other financial aid. If you have any questions about your specific loan eligibility, please contact us at getaloan@mit.edu.
How tuition and financial aid are impacted if you register for 17 units or fewer
Students enrolled at less than half-time will notice the adjustments listed in the section above, as well as those below.
The following additional adjustments are made based on registration status at add date:
- The personal expenses in your financial aid cost of attendance are removed for the applicable term. Your MIT Scholarship is automatically reduced by the same amount. This may result in a new balance due on MITPay.
- The housing and food in your financial aid cost of attendance is removed for the applicable term if you have registered for less than half-time for two consecutive terms or if you have registered for less than half-time for more than three total terms at MIT. Your MIT Scholarship is reduced by the same amount for the applicable term. This may also result in a balance due on MITPay.
- Federal loans are not available to students registered less than half-time. They will automatically be cancelled if applicable.
- If you have taken out a loan in any previous term, it will enter into the grace period and/or repayment.
If you do not receive financial aid, a reduction to tuition by the Registrar’s Office will result in a reduction to the amount billed to MITPay.
Please contact us at sfs@mit.edu if you have specific questions or concerns about the effect of your enrollment level on your financial aid.