Plan your study investment
Build a personalized study budget based on your institution, program, housing, and personal circumstances.
Planning tool only. Does not determine Form I-20 financial requirements or guarantee visa issuance.
Your assumptions
Lifestyle preset
Presets set default values for food, transport, personal spending, health insurance, and books. Adjust any value below.
Program level
Your selection updates the institution's I-20 estimated costs shown in the results panel.
2 semesters = 1 academic year
Intended start term
Use the MIT Living Wage Calculator for your county
The MIT Living Wage Calculator provides authoritative county-level living cost data for Massachusetts. Study Massachusetts links to it as an external resource — we do not reproduce or scrape MIT data.
After checking the MIT calculator, enter the monthly living wage figure for a single adult below. This will update your housing and food sliders as a starting point.
This splits the figure proportionally across housing (60%) and food (40%) as a planning starting point. Adjust the sliders to match your actual circumstances.
Housing type
Annual: $10,800
Display currency
Currency conversion is for planning purposes only. Exchange rates fluctuate, and institutional charges are determined in U.S. dollars. Enter the current rate manually or check a live source such as xe.com.
Your estimated budget
B. Your Estimated Study Budget
Estimated First-Year Budget — breakdown
All figures are planning estimates. Actual costs will vary.
Estimated Total Program Budget
8 semesters (4.0 years) · Planning estimate only
$104,940
All figures in Section B are planning estimates based on your inputs. They are not official financial requirements. Always confirm current financial requirements directly with your institution before submitting financial documentation.
Regional cost context
Living costs vary across Massachusetts
Boston living costs do not apply statewide. For authoritative county and metropolitan area living wage data, use the MIT Living Wage Calculator. Study Massachusetts does not reproduce or scrape MIT data — we link to it as an external planning resource. Study Massachusetts covers more than 10 Massachusetts locations; any direct incorporation of MIT Living Wage data would require a licensed dataset from the Living Wage Institute.
Explore Massachusetts living costs — MIT Living Wage CalculatorThe MIT Living Wage Calculator provides broader geographic cost context. It is not an institution's official international-student budget.
Ready to explore your options?
Browse Study Massachusetts member institutions and view their financial planning information.