neuron39

Can anyone explain how one loads/adds money (online) onto the MIT ID card (apparently to be received during Orientation)? I understand my son can use his ID card to pay for food at campus and off-campus restaurants, to operate washers/dryers, at the Student Center, etc.Thanks in advance!

pbleic

I puzzled about this one for a bit, as well. Your son can transfer money from the same account you used to pay his tuition. You put the funds in by bank transfer, then he can access them through the TechCash site and transfer from to his card.

PS - make sure he knows when you are funding his next tuition, otherwise he might inadvertently transfer your next tuition payment to his card ;-)

molliebatmit

You can also pay by credit card at https://techcash.mit.edu/ (certificates required).

If you don't have certificates on your computer, you can get them at the IS&T webpage.

pbleic

I thought that only the MIT student was eligible to get a certificate, which requires an MIT ID number and Kerberos username and password. So, this would only work if your son puts in the credit card info, as I understand it.

rainynightstarz

Any tips on what is a good amount to put in? (I think there is a fee for adding money)
Do they roll over from semester to semester?

pbleic

I am pretty sure they roll over, which is a great advantage over other schools. I believe they estimate about $2,200 per semester for food. $500 for books. And, if you are contributing spending money, I have seen estimates from $150 to $250 per month. There was a really good article in the WSJ recently: How Much Pocket Money Does a Freshman Need? - WSJ.com

Note the above changes if you are S/D is buying groceries at a supermarket and cooking and/or buying books at Amazon. Even with the $1.50 charge, it might make sense to fund this monthly rather than all at once.

molliebatmit

I actually always put money in myself -- I would tell my dad how much I was putting in from the bursar's account, but I did it myself each semester. But if it's easiest to use the web form, you could ask your kid to put a certificate on the family computer. I put one on because I trusted my parents not to go poking through other certificate-requiring websites.

Techcash does roll over from semester to semester, so if you put too much on this semester, you can always use it in the future. And of course amount for food varies from person to person -- I reliably spent $800 per semester on Techcash eating breakfast, lunch, the occasional dinner, and snacks on campus. But I'm a girl with a fairly light appetite.

And as a piece of unsolicited advice, I would not have a freshman buy all of his/her books at the Coop -- books will be a lot less than $500 a semester if you buy from upperclassmen, or from one of the used book websites, or share books with a friend. There's no reason to buy all new books from the Coop every semester, or even all used books from the Coop.

kryptonsa36

Also, I believe if you have more than $10 in Techcash when you graduate, the remaining money is returned to you.

As for my personal Techcash practices, I add $500 by going to Card Services in the student center basement (this becomes charged to the bursar's account) whenever I fall down to around $50. Over the past year, I think I've only had to do that three times.