Congratulations! You are ready to use your MET. No matter if you are planning on attending a Michigan public college or university, attending a Michigan private college, planning to attend an out-of-state school, attending a trade school or not attending college we are here to guide you through the process.
As a MET Beneficiary you have 15 years from your expected high school graduation date to use your MET benefits, transfer unused benefits to an immediate family member or request a refund if not attending college.
Full Benefits plans provide undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees at a Michigan public university. At a Michigan public community college, it provides tuition, fees and mandatory fees (in-state or in-district) *
*MET only pays out-of-district tuition if the student does not qualify for the in-district rate. MET can pay no more than the average tuition of Michigan public four-year universities. Should the out-of-district tuition rate and fees exceed the average tuition, the institution will bill the student directly for the balance.
+ MET benefits will be applied to the number of credit hours taken each semester, as reported by the institution. Institutions which are on a block credit hour system will invoice MET for the block rate, but report the actual number of credits taken by the student. MET will deduct the actual credit hours reported from the student's contract.
Limited Benefits plans provide undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees at Michigan public universities who tuition costs do not exceed 105% of the weighted average tuition cost of Michigan's four-year public institutions. Full tuition benefits are not covered at institutions with tuition costs greater than 105% of the weighted average tuition. A percentage of the tuition benefits are provided for students attending those institutions.
Michigan public universities whose tuition costs exceed 105% of the weighted average tuition for the 2024-25 academic year are the University of Michigan -Ann Arbor (UM-AA) and Michigan Technological University (MTU). For the 2024-25 academic year MET will cover 27 of 30 credit hours at UM-AA and 26of 30 credit hours at MTU.
At a Michigan public community college, it provides tuition, fees and mandatory fees (in-state or in-district) *
*MET only pays out-of-district tuition if the student does not qualify for the in-district rate. MET can pay no more than the average tuition of Michigan public four-year universities. Should the out-of-district tuition rate and fees exceed the average tuition, the institution will bill the student directly for the balance.
+MET benefits will be applied to the number of credit hours taken each semester, as reported by the institution. Institutions which are on a block credit hour system will invoice MET for the block rate but report the actual number of credits taken by the student. MET will deduct the actual credit hours reported from the student's contract.
If you receive partial tuition scholarships, grants or other types of assistance at a Michigan public university/college, you may not need all of the educational benefits provided under your MET contract. In this situation the school you attend may accept funds from both MET and other sources on your behalf. If the funds are in excess of tuition expenses, the school may refund the excess to you. The excess may be subject to income and excise taxes. There is no termination provision under the contract for a partial tuition scholarship.
If you receive a full-tuition scholarship you may terminate the contract for a refund. See Terminating Your MET Contract.
If you are planning on transferring to another Michigan public university or college, attending two different Michigan public institutions at a time or attending classes at a different Michigan public university or college during the summer semester you will need to notify us.
You can notify us online by logging into MET’s Self-Service Customer website or by submitting the Notice to Transfer to Another University or College form.
In order for MET to start paying your tuition, you must notify MET of your intention to use your benefits. This process is called activation. You can activate your MET in one of two ways:
Payment will be sent directly to the school by MET. Credit hours are deducted from your MET based on the number of credit hours taken as reported by the school.
You must submit a Notice to Terminate a MET Educational Benefits Contract form, to direct your MET funds to following institutions:
Michigan Independent Colleges
Out-of-State Colleges and Universities
Attending a Michigan four-year university using a MET Community College plan
If you have a Full Benefits or Community College plan, the dollar value is higher when paid to an institution rather than to the Refund Designee. See the Termination Refund Chart for details. Money paid to out-of-state schools are paid out over four academic years (regardless of how many semesters were purchased).
If you plan to submit the Notice to Terminate form after you have used a portion of your credit hours at a Michigan public university or community college, please call the MET office to speak with someone about your refund "effective date."
You can submit a Notice to Terminate a MET Educational Benefits Contract form online, by fax, mail or email.
Please note the following types of termination requests can only be done through the completion of a paper form 2773 Notice to Terminate a MET Educational Benefits Contract.
Full Tuition Scholarship
Not Attending College
Enrolled in a Non-Degree Granting Higher Education Institution
Enlist in the Military
See the MET Beneficiary Checklist for documents needed to terminate a MET contract.
The circumstances for termination of a MET contact are stated above. If you are planning to pay for your own tuition expenses and not terminate your contract so that the refund amount increases over time, there may be no valid reason in the future under which you will be eligible to terminate your contract and receive a refund. A portion of the refund may constitute taxable income for federal, state and local income tax purposes. The Purchaser may change the person to receive the refund from the individual specified in the contract to the student or another individual by completing the Request to Update a Michigan Education Trust Contract form.
In order for MET to start paying tuition at your Michigan private college or out-of-state school, you must terminate your MET contract. Termination is just the process of turning your credit hours into dollars payable to the private or out-of-state school. You can terminate your MET in one of two ways:
If you do not plan to use all or a portion of the credits on your MET you may transfer your credits to an immediate family member by submitting a Request to Transfer MET Educational Benefits form. The form must be completed and signed by the original Beneficiary, the Purchaser of the contract (1988 contracts only) and the new Beneficiary (or parent/guardian if the new Beneficiary is less than 18 years old). A transfer fee of $25.00 must be submitted along with the completed form, fees may be paid online through our secure pay site or by mail. Make the check or money order payable to "Michigan Education Trust."
Credit hours may only be transferred to an immediate family member as defined in the contract. A Beneficiary must be 18 years old or older or have a high school diploma to transfer credits. Refund installments on terminated contracts cannot be transferred.
Additional information can be found in the MET Student Guidebook.
