FAQ

Most students are eligible to receive some form of financial aid. Each program has different eligibility standards, and you must take responsibility for meeting the criteria for each application. To apply, you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, be enrolled in a degree program, and be making satisfactory academic progress.

All students wishing to receive financial aid must file a FAFSA form, which will help us determine your expected family contribution. We create the family contribution using an analysis of your total annual income, assets, number of dependents, etc. The difference between the Student Aid Index (SAI) and the estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) equals financial need.

You can get a copy of your FAFSA by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID. The online version of the form is available at FAFSA Form.

HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: Go to StudentAid.gov, Federal Student Aid’s primary online portal for students for information about completing the FAFSA, as well as other frequently asked questions.

Get an FSA ID. A FSA ID is a username and password that you must use to log in, sign, and make corrections to your FAFSA. Be sure to save your FSA ID as you will need it to reapply and access your information each year. You can also complete your FAFSA using the myStudentAid Mobile App.

• a U.S. permanent resident who has an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-551);
• a conditional permanent resident (I-551C); or
• a non-citizen with an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services with one of the following designations—“Refugee,” “Asylum Granted,” “Parole,” or “Cuban-Haitian Entrant.”

Family financial information is confidential. Information about your financial aid award is not released outside the law school administration without the student and family’s approval unless required by federal law or subpoenaed by a court of law. If we suspect fraud on an application for federal assistance, the law school is required to report this information to the U.S. Inspector General’s Office. Data from the student’s file will be released to authorities pursuing an investigation.

If you wish to make an appointment to speak with a financial aid advisor please email financialaidoffice@law.cuny.edu.

Yes. You may apply for federal financial aid even if you have not submitted your admissions application. However, you will not receive any funds until you are an enrolled student.

Students can complete the FAFSA beginning October 1st of the year they will enroll in law school. The Office of Financial Aid recommends that students complete the FAFSA as soon as possible once the application is available. Late applicants may not be eligible for Federal Work-Study because these funds are limited to the law school and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

You are still encouraged to apply for aid if you did not complete and send a FAFSA before the May 20XX deadline. However, please note that it may delay your student loan refund by two weeks.

Yes. You must re-apply for financial aid each year by completing the FAFSA or renewal application.

The Veterans Administration administers programs for veterans and service people seeking assistance for education and training. If you are a veteran or dependent on a veteran and plan to receive educational benefits, as determined by the Department of Veteran Affairs, contact the Office of Financial Aid at Financialaidoffice@law.cuny.edu well in advance of enrollment to request certification.

For additional information regarding eligibility for any of the veteran’s educational programs offered, please call the toll-free number 1-888-GI-BILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) to speak with a Veterans Benefits Counselor or access the website at https://www.gibill.va.gov/.

You can also visit http://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/post-9-11/ for more information and also utilize this link https://www.va.gov/education/download-letters/ to obtain your VA Education Letter that you will need to provide to our office.

We also recommend visiting www.cuny.edu/veterans and selecting, Financing Your Education for more information.

You are considered a veteran to fill out the FAFSA if you have engaged in active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard) or are a National Guard or Reserve enlistee. You must not have been dishonorably discharged. If they called you to active duty for other than state or training purposes, you were a cadet or midshipman at one of the service academies. If you are not on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard but will be a veteran by June 30 of the academic year of your attendance, you are considered a veteran for FAFSA purposes.

The Future Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX) replaced the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) in the 2024/25 Academic Year. The FA-DDX is the required process for transferring federal tax information (FTI) directly from the IRS to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This process simplifies the FAFSA by allowing applicants and contributors to securely import their tax data, eliminating the need to manually enter it and providing more accurate information for determining financial aid eligibility. To use FA-DDX, all contributors must provide consent for the data transfer.

While we recommend that you complete your tax return before filling out your FAFSA, it is unnecessary. You can fill out the FAFSA using estimated information from your W-2. Any significant discrepancies between your FAFSA and your tax return may significantly impact any initial financial aid award you receive.

Yes, you should file your FAFSA every year even if you think you won’t qualify. It only takes a small portion of time to file your FAFSA and you don’t know what you could qualify for or not qualify for without doing it. It’s always going to be “No, you don’t qualify for any federal aid” if you don’t file your FAFSA because nothing can be determined without a FAFSA on file for the Financial Aid Office to review.

The FAFSA Submission Summary is a document from the U.S. Department of Education that confirms your FAFSA form was processed and provides estimates of your federal student aid eligibility. It includes an eligibility overview with your Student Aid Index (SAI), a summary of your application answers, information on the schools you listed, and any next steps you need to take. It is not a financial aid offer, and you should review it for accuracy and to make any necessary corrections.
You can obtain your FAFSA Submission Summary by:

1. logging in to your StudentAid.gov account Dashboard,
2. selecting your processed FAFSA submission from the “My Activity” section, and
3. selecting “View FAFSA Submission Summary.”

If you are having issues with locating your FAFSA Submission Summary after submitting your FAFSA we advise call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). You can use the automated system to determine whether your application has been processed or request duplicate report copies. You will need to provide your Social Security Number and the first two letters of your last name. You can also check the status of your FAFSA and print a copy of your FAFSA Submission Summary.  If you apply for FAFSA on the Web, you will get a confirmation notice after clicking Submit My FAFSA.

If you believe there are errors on your FAFSA Submission Summary you will need to make the corrections to your FAFSA so that the FAFSA Submission Summary gets updated. You can make corrections to your FAFSA here, and you can also reach out via phone to the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).

The Federal Processor selects a certain number of applicants for a verification process. Verification is the process the law school uses to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you are chosen (which will be indicated on your SAR), the law school will request additional documentation that supports the information you provided.

Yes. Don’t hesitate to contact us at financialaidoffice@law.cuny.edu to determine how this may affect you.

All students receive federal financial aid with the expectation that they will attend school for your enrollment period. Suppose you withdraw from all of your classes before you have completed the semester. In that case, the law school will determine the portion of your federal awards you are entitled to receive according to a prescribed attendance formula. Any unearned disbursed amount of the aid will need to be repaid to the law school and the U.S. Department of Education.

To qualify for financial aid, you must begin attending your classes. Attendance information is collected from your instructors and used to determine whether you began attending your classes. The credits for unattended courses are not counted when calculating your enrollment status to resolve your financial aid eligibility.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Following federal and state guidelines and CUNY policy, you must be making satisfactory progress in your program of study to remain eligible for federal and state awards. Your academic record will be evaluated at least once each year according to the satisfactory progress standards established for each financial aid program. Please review more detailed information regarding these standards at CUNY Law.

Many factors (e.g., household size, number of family members in college, income, certain assets, etc.) determine your eligibility for financial aid, it is difficult to estimate your eligibility based on income alone. The Office of Financial Aid recommends that every student applies for financial assistance at least once to have their eligibility reviewed. Keep in mind that, in general, any accepted student is eligible for some financial aid regardless of their calculated financial need.

Full -Time Day

The 2025-2026 which will be $47,300 InState and $57,490 for Out of State residents.
Cost of Attendance for 2025-2026
https://www.law.cuny.edu/admissions-and-aid/tuition-financial-aid/student-budget/

Part -Time Evening

The tuition for the 2025-26 academic year
The total Cost of Attendance for the 2025-2026 year, will be $42,244 Instate and $49,264 Out-of State
https://www.law.cuny.edu/admissions-and-aid/tuition-financial-aid/student-budget/

You must process your financial aid and register for classes at least two weeks before the beginning of the semester to opt-in to receive a book advance before the first day of classes. Remember, however, that while every effort is made to issue a book advance, we cannot guarantee that the money will be available when you buy your books. Therefore, you should use other funds to buy your books.

The living expense portion of your student budget at CUNY Law reflects a nine-month award. As a student budget, it is prepared to reflect a student’s lifestyle, not a working professional. The grant includes your basic education-related expenses.

We created the financial aid budget with the idea that the primary responsibility for paying law school costs rests with the student. The amount of aid you are eligible to receive depends on your family’s financial circumstances and resources.

When you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the federal government uses the information you supply to assess your family’s financial situation and calculate a Student Aid Index (SAI) for you.

Your SAI is used to help determine your eligibility for federal and need-based institutional aid.

More about Your SAI

Your Student Aid Index (SAI) consists of the following:

• Student Contribution: an estimate of what you might be able to contribute toward your law degree costs for the year based on your income and a percentage of your savings and other assets.
• Once your SAI is determined, the amount of federal and need-based institutional aid you are eligible to receive is calculated using this equation:
  • Student Aid Index (SAI)
  • Other Financial Resources (private scholarships, etc.)
  • Eligibility for Need-Based Aid

We subtract your SAI and any other financial resources you have to apply toward your college costs from your cost of attendance. These resources include any private scholarships or gifts you’ve received that are not part of your family’s income and assets.

The Federal Work-Study(FWS)
is a federal employment program that subsidizes wages for eligible students to pay for their educational expenses. The Federal work-study program is a campus-based program that the U.S. Department of Education administers. The program provides you with an opportunity to be placed into a part-time job that accommodates your academic schedule.  You can work in an eligible off-campus or on-campus position.

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loan Program)

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program includes the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
and the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS (Grad PLUS) Loan. Matriculated students enrolled at least
half-time (at least 6 credits) may be eligible to apply. Direct Loans are made by the federal government
and are processed through CUNYfirst.

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan

Graduate and professional students may borrow up to $20,500 each academic year through the
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan program.

Federal Direct Subsidized Loans are not available to graduate and professional students, so graduate students
may borrow through the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan and, if eligible, the Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan.

• Interest rate: For loans first disbursed between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, the interest
  rate is 7.94%.
• Loan fee: A loan fee of 1.057% applies to loans first disbursed on or after
  October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2026 (deducted from each disbursement).
• Repayment: Repayment typically begins after a six-month grace period once you graduate, leave
  school, take a leave of absence, or drop below half-time enrollment. Monthly repayment begins after the grace
  period ends.
• Interest while enrolled: Interest accrues from the date of disbursement while you are in school
  and during grace and forbearance periods.
• Disbursement: Loan funds are typically disbursed in at least two installments (for example,
  one per semester), at or near the start of each term. Any amount that exceeds charges on your student account
  is issued to you as a refund.

Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note (MPN)

Before your loan can be disbursed, you must complete Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN).

• Complete Entrance Counseling
• Complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN)

Exit Counseling

You must complete Exit Counseling when you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment. Exit Counseling helps
ensure you understand your student loan responsibilities and are prepared for repayment.

Complete Exit Counseling

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Federal Direct Graduate PLUS (Grad PLUS) Loan

The Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan is a federal loan option for students enrolled at least half-time (at least 6 credits).
A credit check is required, and adverse credit history may result in a denial.

To qualify for a Grad PLUS loan, students must complete the FAFSA and must have borrowed the maximum available in the
Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the academic year.

• How much you can borrow: Eligible students may borrow up to the cost of attendance, minus other
  financial aid.
• Interest rate: For loans first disbursed between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, the interest
  rate is 8.94%.
• Loan fee: A loan fee of 4.228% applies to loans first disbursed on or after
  October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2026 (deducted from each disbursement).
• Interest: Interest accrues from the date of disbursement.
• Repayment: Grad PLUS loans enter repayment once the loan is fully disbursed. Students may request
  deferment while enrolled at least half-time and, in many cases, for six months after leaving school or dropping below
  half-time enrollment.

Grad PLUS application requirements: A Grad PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) is required, and the credit
check is completed online at studentaid.gov/mpn. If you have adverse credit
history, you may still be able to qualify by obtaining an endorser or documenting extenuating circumstances.

Annual updates: Federal student loan interest rates are set each year for new loans beginning July 1.

Once your financial aid application and documents are submitted, and you demonstrate financial need, we will send an award notification to incoming students in June/early July and continuing students in March, for which you qualify.

Admitted students can request a non-binding estimated award letter at financialaidoffice@law.cuny.edu. All you have to do is make sure that you have a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form on file. Your non-binding award will reflect a law school-constructed estimated budget that assumes certain expenses required to support a law student in our area. For example, the estimated budget assumes that the student is sharing an apartment and is responsible for the support of other family members. The Federal Needs Analysis Formula includes offsets for the household size that reduces the family contribution for larger families, thereby increasing the potential financial aid.

All first-time borrowers must complete entrance counseling. To achieve this, you can visit the Direct Loan website at https://studentaid.gov/entrance-counseling/ before registration. A first-time borrower has not previously received a Direct Loan Unsubsidized or Grad Plus Loan at this institution.

The Master Promissory Note (MPN) is your agreement to repay the lender. You must complete the online MPN if this is your first time borrowing a Direct Loan. For your convenience, you may electronically sign and submit the MPN online from https://studentaid.gov/mpn/ .

Generally, grants and scholarships that do not exceed tuition, fees, books, and required supplies are not considered income. Student aid is considered income when it’s taxable for student grants and scholarship aid, such as fellowships and assistantships.