Financial Aid FAQ
1. What kinds of financial aid are available?
There are three general categories of aid:
"Financial aid" is the sum of scholarship (from any source), educational loans (both federal and private), federal work-study eligibility and a few other miscellaneous things (vocational rehabilitation benefits, veteran educational benefits and Americorps benefits, to name a few).
Financial aid at Loyola is defined as any combination of educational loans, scholarship, and/or Federal Work-Study eligibility. Financial aid packages may include loans of various kinds, work-study funding and, when possible, gift aid.
2. How do I apply for financial aid?
Filing a FAFSA is required in order to receive federal financial aid, which include Direct Stafford Loans, Grad PLUS loans and need-based institutional aid. The FAFSA, available at fafsa.gov, should be filed as soon as possible after January 1 of the year you plan to enroll in law school. It normally takes 4 to 6 weeks for Loyola University Chicago to receive the processed data. If you have not yet completed your federal income tax returns for the year prior to entering law school, we recommend that you use estimated figures in the FAFSA so that you may submit the form in a timely manner. It is highly recommended that incoming students complete the FAFSA by February 15 and the deadline for upper-class law students is April 1.
The School of Law awards merit-based scholarships which are made on the basis of the admission application. No other form or application is required.
School of Law scholarships which do require an application are listed on the supplemental form of our application for admission.
3. How do I apply for a scholarship award from Loyola University Chicago School of Law?
Merit scholarship determinations are made in conjunction with the admission decision, on the basis of the contents of the application file. No other form is required to apply for merit-based scholarship. A merit-based scholarship constitutes the entire scholarship portion of a financial aid package. Additional scholarship funds will not be awarded.
Need-based grants are made ONLY to a small number of accepted candidates who were not offered merit-based scholarships and who turned in the needs-based scholarship application and filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA can be filed online at fafsa.gov.
Most scholarships at Loyola University Chicago are awarded to JD candidates on the basis of the information presented in the admission file. These awards are generally described as "merit-based," although most of the recipients also demonstrate financial need. Grants are offered only after these awards are made, and they are distributed to entering candidates who demonstrate financial need and who were not awarded scholarships at the point of admission.
4. How do I apply for a scholarship awarded by an entity other than Loyola University Chicago?
Scholarships or grants may also be available from some state governments, community agencies, private foundations, corporations, religious organizations, and civic and cultural groups. Such sources include many minority organizations, as well as state and local bar associations and the American Bar Association.
When programs like these come to our attention, we publicize them to eligible students. However, we do not always learn about such programs in a timely manner, so students are encouraged to research such possibilities on their own. Research might begin on the Internet through online search engines. Please notify us at law-financial-aid@luc.edu if you are awarded any outside scholarship money.
Visit our outside scholarship resource page.
5. How do I apply for federal work-study?
Federal Work Study (FWS) is a federally sponsored part-time employment program. Positions are usually on campus in one of the university's many departments, but may also be in the nearby community. Most students work about 10 to 15 hours a week. Students are paid by check biweekly and are paid for the number of hours worked. Your work schedule can vary from free periods during the day to night or weekend work. While job placement is likely, FWS certification does not guarantee a job or total earnings.
Federal Work Study eligibility for law students is determined upon student request and is usually $2,000 for the year (but can be more or less, depending on the hours the student plans to work).
Many law students work in jobs not requiring Federal Work Study eligibility (such as private law firm clerking jobs).
6. What is the cost of attendance?
Click here for tuition and fees.
Additionally, Loyola sets a budgeted amount for living and book expenses for all law students.
Tuition for the 2011-2012 academic year was $38,780 for the full-time division and $29,110 for the part-time divisions. For the total cost of attending law school, click here.
7. Can I borrow more than the cost of attendance through a private educational loan?
The short answer is "no." The standard budget detailed above includes a per month budget (over 9 months) for rent, food, utilities, miscellaneous expenses (such as optional study aids), medical insurance and other health expenses (such as aspirin) and all travel. This budget contemplates a frugal student lifestyle. Any expenses beyond those in the cost of attendance budget must be paid with funds outside of your financial aid package. The sum of financial aid is limited to the total Cost of Attendance.
Your financial aid package (whether scholarships or loans) is not intended to cover such items as those listed below. You must have another source of funds to cover these items, which are not considered a part of the cost of attendance.
If actual living expenses exceed the amount budgeted by the office of financial aid for living expenses, the excess cannot be covered with additional educational borrowing or other types of financial aid.
8. What is the tuition if I am not a resident of Illinois?
Because Loyola University Chicago is a private institution there is no difference in tuition for residents and non-residents.
9. I was selected for verification. Did I do something wrong?
The Department of Education randomly selects a portion of all Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applicants for verification. You did nothing wrong. You will need to turn in a signed worksheet (including a statement of household size and untaxed income) and a copy of your signed federal income tax return.
FAFSA processing results are sent electronically to the school and a copy (called a Student Aid Report, or SAR) to the applicant. The SAR indicates selection for verification if the applicant has been selected for verification.
10. What else can I do in preparing for applying for financial aid, specifically student loans?
You will want to order a free credit report, as soon as possible, from www.annualcreditreport.com. You want to do this to check your credit history and take care of any issues or inconsistencies that may exist.
Issues with your credit can take a while to get cleared up, so it is in your best interest to request the reports and start working on any problems as soon as possible.
Also, you may want to start keeping track of what you are spending on a monthly basis to see how much you are living on, and if there are things you may be able to do without as a law student.
