Applying for Financial Aid

Students are able to receive aid (scholarships, loans, Veteran’s benefits, etc.) up to their established cost of attendance budget. Each student’s cost of attendance budget accounts for tuition/fees plus a reasonable amount for living expenses for the academic year. The maximum amount allocated for living expenses is $19,250. Review specific information on student cost of attendance budgets below.

For the 2010-2011 school year, per semester tuition is $17,803 for full-time students and $14,304 for students in the part-time program. The annual Student Bar Association fees are $100. 

Forms

• Federal Direct Stafford Loan Request Form
• Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan Request Form
• Need-Based Scholarship Application

Cost of attendance

Students are provided a cost of attendance (COA) budget that governs the amount of total aid (loans, scholarships, veteran's benefits, etc.) available to them for the nine month academic year. There are also COA budgets for Maymester and summer session, including externships if students are enrolled in an externship course. Students are not allowed to exceed their cost of attendance budget. Student budgets are reviewed annually to make adjustments to reflect possible changes in living expenses or school-related expenses.

The Office of Financial Aid realizes that students come to the Law School from various backgrounds, experiences, and lifestyles; however, the student cost of attendance budget allows for a simple lifestyle-that of a graduate student. Federal regulations dictate that only education-related expenses are allowed in the cost of attendance budgets. Items such as tuition and fees, lodging and food, books and supplies, transportation, and personal/miscellaneous are expenses allowed to create a student's budget. Students who want to request a budget adjustment must complete a Request for Budget Increase Form and provide all necessary documentation required for the Office of Financial Aid to render its decision. The required Form and all supporting documentation will become part of the student's financial aid file.

Items the government will NOT allow in the cost of attendance budgets include moving expenses, prior loan debt, credit card debt, car payments, and expenses incurred outside of the student's actual period of enrollment. Budgets may be increased for the following allowable adjustments: students with disabilities to accommodate reasonable needs to attend classes; students paying dependent care or adult care expenses directly related to the student's attendance (not for job purposes); students who have medical/dental expenses not covered by insurance while enrolled; and a student's one time computer/printer purchase expense. All documentation and receipts are required with a student's Request for Budget Increase Form for the appeal to be reviewed. The maximum amount that a student's budget can be increased for computer and printer expenses is $2,000. If approved, a student's budget will be increased by the documented cost of the computer equipment which will allow the student greater loan eligibility for a semester.