A negative balance indicates that your bill was overpaid and that you may be eligible for a refund. You may only receive your refund after the semester starts and your anticipated credits are disbursed to your student account.
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Paying your bill FAQs
See all Paying your bill questions
- Can I pay my bill with a credit or debit card?
- I forgot my MITPay authorized payer username and/or password. How do I retrieve them?
- I plan to waive health insurance. Do I need to pay for it until the waiver is processed?
- When will my loans be reflected on my account?
- I thought I already signed up for direct deposit. Why do I have to do it again?
- When will my bill be updated to show my recent payment?
- Who do I contact about one of the charges on my bill?
- Why is my preferred name not used on my bill, financial aid letters or other SFS-related documents?
- How can my family make a payment if we do not have a U.S. bank account?
- Why is my student loan not credited to my account?
MIT does not accept cash, credit card, or debit card payments for student accounts. Learn more about your payment options here.
Unfortunately, we do not have the permission to reset usernames or passwords for authorized users.
If you have forgotten your username, you will need to have your student reset your access to their account.
If you have forgotten your password, you can change it by clicking the “forgot password” link, which will send an email with instructions on how to reset your password. If no email has been received, we advise you to check your spam folder.
As long as you have submitted the health insurance waiver by the deadline, you do not need to pay for health insurance. More information on the Student Health Insurance Plan is available from MIT Health.
After you have completed the necessary loan requirements, your federal loans will disburse to your student account once your term registration becomes official, usually within the first two weeks of the term. Federal loans will be split evenly between all registered terms for the academic year. The amount of your federal loan will always be slightly more than the amount disbursed to your student account due to federal loan origination fees.
Private loan funds are received from your third-party lender and therefore the date the funds are sent to MIT is determined by your lender. Most private lenders will notify you that your funds have been sent to MIT.
If your financial aid exceeds your charges, or your account is overpaid, you may be eligible for a refund, available after registration, which can be used for your out-of-pocket expenses, such as books and supplies. You must sign up for direct deposit in MITPay before requesting these funds.
To be paid for employment at MIT you must also sign up for Payroll Direct Deposit in Atlas.
MITPay and Atlas are two unique systems; you must fill out both direct deposit forms to receive their corresponding services.
Online payments made through MITPay are reflected in your student account immediately. Payments made via check or Flywire, are updated upon receipt. Bills are updated monthly around the 10th of each month.
The charges on your student account originate from different MIT departments. SFS is responsible for billing you for those charges. For a question about a specific charge please contact the MIT department where the charge originated. The department contact information is listed on your MITPay statement on the same line as the charge.
We know this is an important issue for many students, and we are actively working with IS&T and our outside vendors to make this change possible. Once implemented, a student’s preferred name will replace their legal name on items like the bill, financial aid award notices, and email communications. It can not replace the legal name on items like the FAFSA, loan promissory notes, or tax documents.
Most families opt to pay online, but you may also pay by check or Flywire. You can learn more about how to pay internationally here.
If this is the first time you are borrowing from a specific loan program you may need to complete the requirements by signing a promissory note and completing entrance loan counseling. Check with a member of the financial aid delivery team for more information on these requirements.
