MIT To Be Tuition-Free for 30% Students
By ET
Just received an email from MIT alumni office. MIT will be tuition-free for nearly 30% students.
From the email:
MIT has long been a proponent of need-blind admissions and need-based
aid and this additional investment in our brilliant student body continues
to award aid based solely on need.
I’m very proud with this move. I somehow have the impression that schools like Yale and Harvard are for rich kids. As a consequence, it means that some brilliant students can not go to those places due to financial constraints. This artificial financial divide creates a feedback loop to discriminate kids from poorer families. The free-tuition move at MIT will definitely help those smart and poor kids to fulfill their dreams, and more importantly help the society to benefit from better matching good education with smart kids.
I’m grateful to MIT for the support during my PhD study. In addition to tuition waiver, I also got stipend to pay my rents, etc. In return, I don’t know how to pay back this generosity. Should I send my daughter to MIT in the future? One thing for sure, her dad is richer than her dad’s dad. If she needs to pay some tuition, I’d be happy to contribute. The question is “Is MIT a good place for her?”
Back in Boston, we had some guests visiting, one of them (G) asked Alantha (A),
G: Hey, Alantha, do you want to go to MIT or Harvard?
A: Hmm, I don’t want to go to either.
G: Oh, so where do you want to go?
A: Disneyland… (a sheepish smile)
Everyone else: (speechless)
