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 at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov, 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 expected family contribution and the estimated cost of attendance 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 http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.

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 frequently asked questions about the IRS DRT returning for the 2021-2022 FAFSA.

Get an FSA ID–fsaid.ed.gov A FSA ID is a username and password that you must use to log in, sign, and make corrections to your FAFSA. You and at least one of your parents will each need an FSA ID. 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.

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/ or visit  www.cuny.edu/veterans and choose, Financing Your Education.

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 dishonorable. 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, 2023, you are considered a veteran for FAFSA purposes.

The IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) allows students and parents who filed a U.S. tax return with the IRS to access the IRS tax return information needed to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form and to transfer the data directly into their FAFSA form.

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.

A few days after you complete the FAFSA, you will receive an email with a link to your Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR contains a summary of your FAFSA information and a calculation of your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) – the number used to determine your federal student aid eligibility. Review your SAR to see if additional information or corrections are needed. You can also access your SAR at www.fafsa.gov.

If you are still waiting to receive your SAR Acknowledgement within two weeks or SAR within four weeks after submitting your application, 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 SAR here https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. If you apply for FAFSA on the Web, you will get a confirmation notice after clicking Submit My FAFSA.

If you need to make corrections to the SAR, you can make them online at www.fafsa.gov. You can create a few SAR information changes by calling 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 said.

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.

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.

• 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 EFC is determined, the amount of federal and need-based institutional aid you are eligible to receive is calculated using this equation:
  • Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
  • Other Financial Resources (private scholarships, etc.)
  • Eligibility for Need-Based Aid

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://studentloans.gov 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 StudentAid.gov.

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.