For those applying for financial aid, information from the student and his or her family determines the family's contribution toward the cost of education. If this contribution falls short of the estimated cost, Middlebury offers an aid package, based on the individual family's financial circumstances, to provide the remaining funds needed. If the student's financial situation remains the same, he or she receives a similar package each year at Middlebury. Many families combine one of the college payment plans, outlined below, with the aid package to finance their part of the family's responsibility. A financial aid package combines a grant, student loan, and campus job.
Grant aid is an outright gift.
Student loans are low-interest educational loans to be repaid after graduation. Campus jobs, which are not restricted to financial aid recipients, enable students to earn money for books and personal expenses. Some off-campus jobs at nonprofit municipal and social service agencies are available to students who are offered Federal Work Study funds as part of their aid package. The amount of aid offered is based on each family's financial circumstances. Students who enter Middlebury directly after graduation from secondary school are rarely considered self-supporting.