Financial Aid Introduction

Law school is a costly endeavor. For most students, it requires a “downsizing” of their lifestyles to simpler levels. Preparing for law school should include undertaking a number of steps such as paying off credit cards and other consumer debt, putting away some savings, and paring down living expenses. If you have existing educational loans, ask your loan servicer(s) about deferment options and obtain loan deferment forms before you enroll in school.

Financial assistance at UDC Law is available from a variety of sources, including Federal Direct Loans (Unsubsidized and Graduate PLUS), need-based and merit scholarships, and work-study. These sources of financial aid are discussed in detail in Chapter III of our annual Financing Your Legal Education Handbook.

Financial aid packaging puts great emphasis on loans because by “recycling” money the greatest number of students can be helped. If you rely only on the resources available through UDC Law’s Office of Financial Aid, you can plan on incurring educational debts.

We encourage students to do further research and to take advantage of financial aid search and information services available free of charge on the internet at FastWeb, Scholarship Search by Sallie Mae, and AccessLex Law School Scholarship Databank. The Office of Financial Aid has also compiled a list of Outside Scholarship Resources.

Be sure to notify the Office of Financial Aid of special circumstances such as expenses not covered by the UDC Law Cost of Attendance Budget or changes in your financial situation. The Office of Financial Aid is here to help you – and you may become eligible for further aid.

The UDC Law Office of Financial Aid is open weekdays from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions or concerns about financial aid.