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UW Law School

Financial Aid

Financial Aid at the UW Law School

There are two sources for financial assistance for students at the UW Law School. First, the University's financial aid office (The Office of Student Financial Aid- OSFA) awards all federal Stafford loans and federal work-study funds. The Law School itself then awards private merit-based and need-based scholarship dollars based on a variety of criteria. Thus, to complete the financial aid application process, students are required to apply to both the Law School and the OSFA.

Neither the Law School nor the OSFA requires parent financial data when applying, as you are considered an independent student, and generally you will be eligible for more aid than you may have had access to as an undergraduate. Even if you are working full-time prior to enrolling in law school, we encourage you to apply for federal aid, as most students will resign their full-time positions and thus will have very different financial situations once the school year begins. Most applicants will find themselves eligible for at least unsubsidized Stafford loans, despite their prior income history.

How to Apply For Federal Aid

The OSFA requires two forms in order to complete your application for federal aid:

  • The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We strongly encourage you to complete this form on-line, and it can be found at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You must specify the University of Wisconsin Law School as one of the schools that has access to your data. To do so, you must enter our school code: 003895
  • The Tax Cover Sheet Form, which is available to download or complete online at www.finaid.wisc.edu

How to Apply For Private Need and Merit-Based Scholarships

Continuing students should submit an updated scholarship request by the summer prior to the coming academic year. The reapplication should take the format of a formal, written letter submitted to the Law School Financial Aid Office, Rm. 4314. Scholarship awards are made on a rolling basis.

Award Letters and Processing of Financial Aid

Once your financial aid application is complete, the OSFA will generate a financial aid award letter for you. This award letter will reflect any private need or merit-based scholarship awarded by the Law School, any subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford loan eligibility, and any federal work-study grant. You should consider this award letter an offer of the maximum amount of federal aid you are eligible for. Once you receive it, you can do one of three things with it; (1) accept all of it (meaning all the loan eligibility); (2) accept part of it (i.e. you may not need all the federal loans you are eligible for); (3) accept none of it. Remember that you retain this maximum eligibility throughout the academic year up until roughly a month before the end of the spring term. This is why it is important to calculate and compare your personal student expense budget to the estimated one generated by the OSFA.

Once you receive your award letter, you must sign it and indicate how much aid you wish to accept and then return it to the OSFA or do so on-line. You will then be sent loan papers, instructing you to select a lender (a bank or financial institution), which will process your loans, and indicate the amount of aid you wish to take. This process should be completed by early summer prior to your fall enrollment.

Attention Incoming 1Ls: It is important to note that you will not receive loan funds from the Bursar's Office until the week before classes begin, at the earliest. Therefore, you need to plan ahead and have your finances in order to pay bills, rent, etc. You cannot depend on your upcoming financial aid to cover expenses prior to that time. However, if your loan funds have been disbursed and you have not yet received the check, you may be eligible for a Short Term Loan. Please contact the Law School Admissions & Financial Aid Office (608) 262-5914.

Calculating Your Personal Expense Budget

In order to determine how much financial aid you will need to take (i.e. how much in loan and scholarship funds), you need to compare your personal nine-month school year budget to the estimated student expense budget created by the OSFA. For instance in 2002, using the estimated figures supplied by the OSFA, they estimate the average law student living in Madison will need $1322 per month to sustain him/her. This figure is obtained by adding the food/housing, miscellaneous and books/supplies figures together and dividing by 9 (i.e. the number of months in the 9-month academic school year). Each student then needs to determine whether her/his expenses total more or less than this budgeted figure. If your expenses are less than $1332/month, then you may not need to take all the loans that you are eligible for. If you expenses are more than $1332/month, you may need to see the OSFA and complete the Budget Adjustment Process.

Please note: The federal financial aid guidelines do not allow schools to incorporate expenses such as car payments or commercial credit debt into your estimated budget of expenses. If you will carry such expenses into law school, you will need to make other arrangements to have those costs covered, or reduce your expenses in another area to compensate.

Ensuring Sufficient Financial Aid

In some instances, students' financial aid award letters are not sufficient to cover their tuition/fees and living expenses. This generally occurs in three situations in particular; (1) students who worked full-time during the calendar year preceding the year they enroll in law school; (2) students who experience unexpected expenses during the academic year; and (3) students with expenses beyond the usual full-time graduate student budget.

Students who worked full-time during the year preceding law school.If you worked full-time during the calendar year preceding the year you enroll in law school, the FAFSA data used to complete your federal award letter is based on the preceding calendar year's income. Generally, when students return to law school they resign their full-time position, and thus are in significantly different financial circumstances once they get to school, than when they completed the FAFSA. Students in this situation should complete the "Special Circumstances" section on the Student Federal Tax Return Cover or submit a written letter to the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) indicating that they have a special circumstance that may alter the student's need for financial aid for the upcoming term. This letter may be emailed, faxed or dropped off in person at the OSFA which is located at 333 East Campus Mall #9701, Madison, WI 53715. If additional assistance is needed, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with an adviser at OSFA by calling (608) 262-3060.

Students who experience unexpected expenses during academic year. In some instances, your unexpected expenses (such as medical or dental bills) can be used by the OSFA to expand your federal aid eligibility. Please consult the OSFA about whether it would be helpful to you to complete a Budget Adjustment Form

Students with expenses beyond the traditional full-time graduate student budget.In some instances, for example costs associated with being a parent, can be incorporated into your budget. Please consult the OSFA about whether it would be helpful to you to complete a Budget Adjustment Form.

What to do if you are experiencing financial difficulties. If you find that you are having significant difficulty meeting your expenses with your financial aid funds, you should first consult the OSFA to see if your situation warrants completion of a Budget Adjustment Form. In some cases, completing the form will increase your federal loan eligibility, thus solving your problem. If you have already taken the maximum amount of federal Stafford loans and federal work-study forms, and are still having very significant difficulty, you should consult the Law School Financial Aid Office. Before you can engage this office, you must have completed the Budget Adjustment Process.

Reapplication Process For Continuing Students

As a continuing student, you must reapply for aid for the coming fall at the beginning of the Spring term each year. To reapply, you must follow the same steps detailed above. You can complete your FAFSA as soon after January 1st as you can complete your federal income taxes. Continuing students should also submit an updated scholarship request by the summer prior to the coming academic year. The reapplication should take the format of a formal, written letter submitted to the Law School Financial Aid Office. Scholarship awards are made on a rolling basis. Students intending to study abroad on another law school's program should consult the law school's financial aid office for a list of the additional information you will need to submit with your financial aid application.

Managing Student Loans During School and Upon Graduation

Over 90% of all law students have students loans. And because student loan debt can work to limit your career choices upon graduation, it is essential that you manage your student loan portfolio both during law school and after graduation. We encourage you to manage your financial aid actively and intentionally, and not to avoid dealing with the realities of repayment until graduation. Remember, at any time, you can contact your lender and they can provide you with a tentative repayment schedule and can estimate the size of your payment at any time. We have provided links below to good financial aid Web sites that contain loan payment calculators and other helpful information to assist you in navigating repayment. Student Loan Calculators:

How do I prepare for graduation?

As you prepare for graduation, you should ensure that you have a firm command of all of your student loan data. Make sure you have a comprehensive list of all your loans (from both undergraduate and graduate studies), as well as who the lender was for each, each account number and the type of loan you have. Generally, your federal Stafford loans will have a six-month grace period for repayment after graduation. You should ensure that you know when your first payment is due for each loan. If you are not contacted around graduation time regarding repayment, you should contact your lender(s). You should always ensure that you provide current address and phone information to your lender(s) as well. Not receiving the bill is not a valid defense against defaulting on your loans. You can contact either your lender or the OSFA for a full accounting of all of your borrowing.

What should I do if I have difficulty making my payment or am going to take a low paying job?

Remember that you have several tools at your disposal to assist you in managing your student loan debt. All federal loan payments are calculated over a 10-year repayment schedule. Should you have difficulty making your payments once your post-graduation grace periods have ended, you should speak to your lender about the following options:

Forbearance. Students generally have access to up to 36 months of forbearance during the life of your loans. A forbearance means that you are temporarily forbearing/putting off your payment obligation for a period of time. These are generally granted in 6-month increments, and you usually need to provide some sort of documentation of your difficult financial circumstances. Remember however, that interest on the loan continues to accrue during the time of forbearance.

Graduated repayment. Payments are lower at the beginning of repayment and step up at specified periods and in specified amounts over the term of the loan.

Income-sensitive repayment. Monthly payments are based on a percentage of your monthly income for Stafford, PLUS and federal consolidation loans.

Extended repayment. Eligible borrowers can receive payment relief through lengthening your repayment term up to 25 years. Remember however, that you usually end up paying significantly more interest over the life of the loan.

Consolidation. Federal consolidation loans allow borrowers to refinance one or more federal education loans and significantly lower their monthly payment by extending the payback period. The original loans are paid-in-full, and a new loan for the combined balances is issued with new terms, etc.

Serialization. Your lender may purchase a borrower's loans held by other Federal Family Education Loan Program lenders or institutions and service them in one account, allowing the borrow to make one monthly payment and retain the original terms and interest rates on their loans.

For any other questions you have about financial aid during your career here at the University of Wisconsin Law School, please call our office at (608) 262-5914.