Student financial aid is money from educational loans, grants or scholarships, or earnings from the Federal Work Study Program. The amount of financial assistance is determined by a student's need and is limited by the approved budget. Please follow these simple steps before the May 3, 2010 deadline:

Step 1: Free Application for Federal Student Aid

File the 2010-2011 Free Application for Federal Student Aid form (FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA), listing:

CUNY School of Law at Queens College
Title IV institution code: G31913

Students who applied for financial aid last year may also be able to complete a Renewal FAFSA application on-line. Renewal FAFSA filers will need to obtain a PIN number first. The PIN is your identifier to let you access personal information in various U.S. Education Department systems. You must have a PIN to file an on-line Renewal FAFSA or to make on-line corrections to your FAFSA. Request a pin here »

The FAFSA form can be obtained from the Office of Financial Aid and will be sent to any student upon request. Or you can file a FAFSA application electronically »

Step 2: Student Aid Report

After the FAFSA is processed, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR). If you provided an e-mail address on your FAFSA, you will receive an electronic SAR. If no e-mail address is provided, you will receive a paper SAR. Review the SAR carefully. There will be a message on your SAR if additional information is needed to complete the process. You may be asked to provide additional information to the Office of Financial Aid, i.e., your 2009 Income Tax Form, citizenship information, etc.

Step 3: Applying for the New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)

Note: This program is for New York State residents only. TAP provides a small grant to students to assist them with paying tuition. When you have completed the FAFSA on the Web, the confirmation page will give you a link to the TAP on the Web application. This on-line form will be pre-filled with some of the information from the FAFSA you just completed. Review this data, supply any missing information, and submit the form.

Step 4: Federal Income Tax Forms

Send to our office a signed copy of your and your spouse's 2009 federal income tax returns (1040, 1040A, 1040EZ or 1040 Telefile) including all schedules and W-2 forms, or a notarized statement indicating that a tax return was not filed. We understand that 2009 tax returns are not required to be completed until later in April, but they are a required part of the financial aid process and completing your taxes early could reduce the stress you would have had to face in April anyway. Please note that even if you or your spouse' do not file an income tax return for 2009, you will still need to report any income earned in that year. Dependent students must also submit a copy of their parents' tax returns.

We will also need a copy of your Social Security card, Permanent Residency card (front/back if you are a first-time borrower), and the required forms. Admitted students can request that a non-binding estimated letter be mailed to them. All you have to do is to make sure that you have a FAFSA form on file. A non-binding form is located in the Forms section of this Web site.

The deadline for filing your financial aid application and submitting all required forms is May 3, 2010.

We are also available, by appointment, to directly assist you with your application for financial aid. To arrange an appointment, please call (718) 340-4284 or e-mail.