Law School Grants
Grants Dept.
There are many law school grants available for law students seeking financial aid while attending law school. A large percentage of students attending or planning to attend law school really need the assistance of a free grant to help offset the - sometimes prohibitive - costs of an education in law. There are both private and public sources of grants available, depending on your situation, you should and can apply to both. If you a minority law student, your chances are even better, we'll discuss that a bit later on.
As with all grants, they are based on your financial need for them, law school grants are no exception, so the first step is to apply for financial aid as early on as possible. The results from your FAFSA application will be used to determine your initial need for a law student grant from the government's point of view, but these results will also be used to qualify you for many other private and public grants. Law schools differ a bit from other schools in this regard, so be sure to speak to your student counselor about any other forms or applications you may need to fill out.
A good number of the law school grants available are through private organizations run by past alumni of the school. These organizations (companies or law firms in many cases ) are looking to get first dibs on best of the graduating class students. If you can qualify and be approved for such grants, it's in your best interest as they'll be keeping a close eye on you and may offer you a job as a result.
Many of the private grants offered are directly through the school since they are from past alumni, so it is also a good idea to look into the types of private law school grants available on a school by school basis before you even decide which law school you want to attend. Considering the fact that the expense of law school is going to be a limiting and sometimes determining factor, it's best to choose a law school that offers the grants you are most likely to qualify for and be awarded. This brings us back to women and minorities. Many schools are willingly (being forced) to diversify their student body to include more women students and minorities. If you fall into this very broad category, find the schools that offer the best minority law school grants and apply for them all. They are the easiest to qualify for and award some of the highest payouts.
The American Bar Association is very pro-active when it comes to helping law students in need of financial aid get it. The ABA is a good staring point and they can point you in the right direction when it comes to finding the right school offering the right combination of loans and grants you need to pay for tuition and housing costs. As with any higher level education, all the major players apply as well, such as Pell Grants and federal student loans which you can also apply for and use towards these costs. By filling out the FAFSA form you are automatically applying for the Pell grant, and you will be notified based on the results if you qualify for any other loans and grants as well, so you do not need to worry about them, but you should still ask your financial advisor what's available and keep on top of it.
Some notable institutions and grants to look out for are: the Columbia School of Law, this is one of the largest law schools and has new money available every year for students attending full time, the American Bar Association which is always interested in the support and advancement of the law profession specifically through the support and aid of new law students, for minority students the University of Michigan and Cornell University are very pro-minority and offer an array of both private and public law school grants, if you are of Puerto Rican decent the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund supports Latino law students who are enrolled in a JD program at an ABA affiliated law school through it's initiative called "Lawbound" whose aim is to increase the number of Latinos who successfully stay on the path to law school.
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