Is MIT or Harvard generally more generous with undergraduate financial aid?

There is no reliable overall winner: MIT and Harvard both meet 100% of demonstrated undergraduate financial need with grant-based aid rather than required student loans.

The important differences appear in the details of each school’s need analysis, not in a broad difference in generosity. Household assets, home equity, business ownership, noncustodial-parent information, sibling enrollment, and unusual expenses can make one college’s calculated family contribution lower than the other’s. MIT and Harvard each use their own institutional methodology alongside federal aid information, so identical income alone does not guarantee identical awards.

At higher income levels, both can still offer need-based assistance, especially when circumstances are complicated.

For a family needing substantial aid, applying to both is sensible. Use each school’s official net price calculator with the same current financial information, then compare actual aid offers closely; neither school is automatically more generous for every family.