Financial Aid

Georgetown University Law Center provides, insofar as possible, financial assistance to students whose personal and parental resources are insufficient to meet the cost of law school.

The Law Center's financial aid funds are allocated to students solely on the basis of demonstrated financial need. There are no "merit" or "no-need" scholarships offered through the GULC financial aid program. The financial aid awarded to GULC students consists of grants, low-interest loans, and work-study jobs. The Financial Aid Committee determines, by an analysis of the student's and parents' resources, which students have the highest need.

Approximately 30% of full-time JD students qualify for direct GULC aid as a supplement to the federal government aid programs. Students who receive GULC grants and loans are expected to first take full advantage of the Federal Stafford and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan programs. Eligible students may also participate in the Federal Work- Study (FWS) Program to help cover their expenses. A FWS allocation is included in all upperclass financial aid awards and may be available to first-year students upon request.

Application Procedures

All financial aid applicants are required to complete a 1997/98 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and send it to the federal processor in Iowa City, Iowa for processing by no later than March 1, 1997. Prospective students wishing to apply for GULC aid (grant and loans) must also complete the College Scholarship Services (CSS) Aid Profile and send it to:

CSS
P.O. Box 6930
Princeton, N.J., 08541-6930

for processing by no later than March 1, 1997. Students should not wait to be accepted for admission before filing the FAFSA and Aid Profile. Because of fund limitations, the Law Center cannot guarantee that financial aid funds will be available to all eligible students who are accepted into the JD program. Students may be turned down because all Law Center aid funds have been previously allocated to earlier applicants.

The FAFSA, which is the federally approved "needs analysis" system, is the application that students must use when applying for the Federal Stafford Loan, Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan, and Federal Work Study (FWS) program. The Aid Profile serves as the application for GULC Loan and Grant and the Federal Perkins Student Loan program.

Eligibility

To receive direct aid from the Law Center, students must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens and enrolled on a full-time basis in the JD, JD/MSFS, JD/MBA, JD/MPH, or JD/Philosophy program. Part-time students are assumed to be working full-time and rarely qualify as aid-eligible students. Part-time students are eligible to receive assistance through the Federal Stafford Student Loan, Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan, commercial student loan programs, and the University's deferred payment program.

Each student is responsible for notifying the Financial Aid Office in writing of any changes (within one month of their occurrence) that may have an effect on their financial aid eligibility. Changes in marital status, employment, or wages for the student, parents, and/or spouse (or spouse-to- be) must be reported promptly.

The following information provides a brief summary of the financial aid programs and policies administered by the Georgetown University Law Center.

Scholarships

The Law Center awards scholarships and grants from a General Fund supported by the Law Center and by contributions from firms, foundations, and Law Center friends. Recipients are selected on the basis of demonstrated financial need as determined by the Aid Profile.

Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP)

The Law Center's Loan Repayment Assistance Program is available to students who enter low-paying legal jobs with non-profit organizations within two years after graduation. The program lends the graduates part or all of the money necessary to make payments on their qualifying loans (including the Federal Stafford/ Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Student Loan, the FSLS that was formerly known as the ALAS/ PLUS, the Federal Perkins National Direct Student Loan, and the Law Center's own loans). Commercial loans including Law Access, Law Loans, Gradshare, and GradExcel currently qualify for this program. The inclusion of commercial loans is dependent upon the LRAP budget available in a given year.

While the graduate is in the program, the Law Center requires no repayment and charges no interest on the funds that it has advanced to pay off these debts. Furthermore, for each year completed in the program 10% of the total funds lent to the graduate is forgiven and converted into a grant. Types of employment that qualify for the program include legal services providers, public defender programs, civil rights, civil liberties, environmental, and consumer organizations, and virtually all other non-profit groups offering legal assistance or law reform services. However, government service (including judicial clerkships and military service) does not qualify, with the exception of public defender positions which are covered by the program.

For a graduate earning less than $29,175 in qualifying em- ployment, the Law Center will advance the full amount of payments due for an eligible loan to the borrower. An additional 8% cost of living adjustment is added to the $29,175 income cap for applicants residing in the six high cost areas of Los Angeles-Anaheim-Riverside, New York- Northern New Jersey, Long Island-Connecticut, San Francisco- Oakland-San Jose, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. For those earning more, the amount of money advanced (and eligible for conversion to a grant) depends on the amount of indebtedness and the graduate's family size and total income. However, as an example, a graduate with no dependents and $6,000 in annual qualifying debt repayment could earn more than $36,000 and still qualify for some assistance through the program.

Please note, in order to participate in this program students must enter into a federal loan consolidation program and extend repayment from ten years to a minimum of 15 years. For more details about potential eligibility contact the Office of Financial Aid.

Financial Aid Requirements

For additional information on financial aid application procedures, please contact:

The Financial Aid Office
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001-2075
(202) 662-9210

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Updated February 7, 1996