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financialaid

Loans

For most students the major portion of law school costs are met through the Federal Stafford Loan, Federal Graduate PLUS Loan, and alternative educational loan programs.

General Eligibility Requirments

Generally, to be considered for an educational loan as a law student, you must:

  • Be a U.S. Citizen, permanent resident, or other eligible non-citizen
  • Enrolled at least half-time in a degree program
  • Registered with the Selective Service, if required
  • Not owe a refund on a federal grant or be in default on a prior federal loan.

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Applying for Student Loans

The first step in applying for student loans is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA can be completed on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The University of Pittsburgh School of Law school code for the FAFSA is 008815. Law students do not need to complete the parental information requested on the FAFSA form.

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Federal Stafford Loan

The Federal Stafford Loan program is the most widely used loan program and is regulated by the U.S. Department of Education. The Federal Stafford Loan is a guaranteed student loan and is NOT based on credit.

Features of the Federal Stafford Loan:

  • Subsidized Stafford Loans are loans for which the federal government pays the interest while the student is in school and through the six month grace period. Eligibility for the subsidized loan is based on the information provided on the FAFSA.
  • Unsubsidized Stafford Loans are loans for which the interest subsidy is not available and the student is responsible for the interest on the loan from the time the loan is disbursed until it is completely repaid. Students have the option to either pay the interest on a monthly/quarterly basis or to capitalize the interest. It is strongly recommended that a student pay the interest on the loan whenever possible.
  • Interest rates is fixed at 6.8% for all loans disbursed after July 1, 2006.
  • Fees are deducted from the guaranteed loan amount. The Guarantee Fee is charged to insure/guarantee a student loan and the maximum fee for this insurance for federal loans is 1% set by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). The Origination Fee is the fee that the lender deducts from the loan proceeds to help cover the cost of making the loan. The maximum charge for this fee is 3% for federal loans, set by the DOE.
  • Loan Limits for graduate students are $20,500 annually. Up to $8,500 can be subsidized funds. The maximum aggregate loan limit is $65,500 subsidized and $138,500 total subsidized and unsubsidized combined for graduate students.
  • Repayment of the Federal Stafford Loan begins 6 months after students cease to enroll at least half-time or graduation. Students can take up to 10 years to repay the loan and alternate repayment options are available that may extend your repayment term. Deferment and forbearance options are available for special circumstances.

At the University of Pittsburgh, American Education Services (AES) is the primary guarantor for the Federal Stafford Loan. For this reason, admitted students will automatically receive a pre-certified Master Promissory Note (MPN) from AES. Included with the MPN will be a list of all available lenders for students to choose from before returning the MPN to AES for processing. Students may also choose to complete the MPN on-line at AES. If a student does NOT want to use AES as the guarantor or if your lender does not participate with AES, please contact the Law School Financial Aid Office so that the loan can be processed manaully.

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Federal Graduate PLUS Loan

The Federal Graduate PLUS Loan program is a federal loan program available to graduate students. This is a federally backed loan that is based on a simplified credit check criteria. This loan will have a fixed interest rate of 8.5% for the life of the loan. There is a loan fee of 3% charged on this loan at the time of disbursement. Many lenders offer interest rate discounts and/or loan fee rebates. This loan goes into immediate repayment after the loan funds have been disbursed; however, this loan is eligible for an in-school deferment and many lenders may offer a 6 month grace period after you have graduated or dropped below half time enrollment. You shoudl check with the lender to determine if additional paperwork is required for payment deferments. Interest on this loan will accrue while in-school. The credit analysis is less stringent on this loan and there is no debt to income consideration as opposed to alternative educational loans. If denied there is the opportunity to have an endorser (co-signer) apply. Since this is a federal loan, this loan can be consolidated with your Stafford Loans during your grace period or repayment.

Pre-approval and application for this loan is available online at through the various educational lender websites or through AES. The application for this loan will have a section for parent/borrower, YOU, the student, are considered the borrower so complete this section with your information. DO NOT SUBMIT PARENTAL INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION.

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Alternative loans

Various agencies offer alternative educational loan programs to law students. These programs are often offered by commercial banks and other lenders and are not funded by state or federal financial aid funds. The terms of lending, maximum loan amounts, schedules for repayment, interest rates, fees and qualifications are determined by each organization.

Alternative loans are available in the amount of the difference between financial aid awarded ($20,500 through the Stafford loan and any scholarships you may have been awarded) and the Law School's cost of attendance. Approval of these types of loans are based on a credit check, therefore, we recommend checking on your credit status by obtaining your credit report before applying.

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Bar Exam Loans

Bar exam loan programs are available to graduating law students and recent law school graduates to assist with the expenses related to the bar examination process.

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Student Loan Counseling

Before federal loan funds can be released, all incoming students must complete a Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling session, regardless of whether they have borrowed in the past. This counseling session is a federal requirement for all students to insure that they understand their rights and responsibilities as a borrower. Click here to complete this session on-line.

All students who have borrowed through the Stafford Loan Program are required to attend a Stafford Loan Exit Counseling session before they graduate or drop below half time. The counseling sessions will be schedule in April for all third year students. All third year students will receive notification of the time of the counseling sessions. The counseling sessions informs students of their rights and responsibilities as a borrower as well as giving students information on their repayment options.