Financial Aid Portal
Financing Your Education
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Step One: File your Admissions Application
All students who are accepted to Quinnipiac University School of Law are automatically considered for merit scholarships. No separate application is required!
Step Two: File your FAFSA
Because you are a graduate student, you are considered INDEPENDENT for purposes of the FAFSA. That means that parental data is not required. However, if you are married and did not file jointly with your spouse, they will be asked to submit data and be a "contributor" to your FAFSA.
Students and their contributors are required to give consent to have their federal tax information (FTI) transferred from the IRS. Consent authorizes direct access and disclosure of IRS data to be provided to us. If the student (or their contributor, if you have one), refuses to give consent, the student will be ineligible for federal, state, and institutional need-based financial aid. (This is a federal rule).
Filing the FAFSA will qualify you to borrow a federal direct unsubsidized loan, which is discussed in more detail below.
How do I pay for law school?
Federal Loan Options
The federal direct unsubsidized loan is available to students who meet the FAFSA criteria, which include: being a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or eligible noncitizen; being accepted into a degree-seeking program, and enrolled at least half-time (6 credits in total) for each semester seeking assistance. Financial need is not required. Unsubsidized means that interest is accruing while you are in school.
Students will generally be eligible for a federal unsubsidized loan in the amount of $50,000. There is an aggregate cap on this loan of $200,000 for professional (law) students as well as a lifetime borrowing limit of $257,500 of all federal loans. Students are also capped by the Cost of Attendance. Federal loans are reduced for students who are attending less-than-half-time based on the number of credits a student is taking vs. that of a full time student.
The financial aid office will work with you to make sure you understand how much you qualify for.
Private Loans
Another option for funding is private loans. To learn about private loans and view our preferred lender list, click here.
Scholarships
As noted above, the Office of Admission has scholarships for entering students whose admissions qualifications demonstrate a potential for superior academic performance. No separate application is required. If you are awarded a scholarship, you will receive notification directly from the Office of Admission with your acceptance. This scholarship is coordinated with other financial assistance to ensure that your total award does not exceed your cost of attendance.
Another option is scholarships outside of Quinnipiac Law. Many organizations have funds available for law students! You can search for outside scholarships through sites like those listed on the AccessLex Law School Scholarship Databank. You can also check LSAC.org and local organizations such as Bar Associations as they may list some scholarship opportunities. When you become a student here, we also post scholarship opportunities in The Docket, our weekly law school newsletter.
If you have more questions about scholarships, check out the Top Scholarship Questions.
Payment Plans
Quinnipiac offers payment plans, which allow you to register for courses and pay in installments. A nominal installment fee is charged. Go to qu.edu/onestop for more information. (The plans are not available to students during the summer term.)
What will my financial aid offer letter include?
Generally, if you qualify for federal aid (see the Department of Education website for information on eligibility), have not defaulted previously on student loans, and have not exceeded your $200,000 aggregate cap on professional unsubsidized loans and $257,500 lifetime cap on federal loans, your financial aid offer letter will include the following:
- Your merit scholarship, if you received one from Quinnipiac Law Admissions.
- The federal unsubsidized loan of no more than $50,000 (the maximum you are allowed to borrow on this type of loan per year). As noted above, your loan amount may be less if it is reduced for being less-than-full-time, reaching the cost of attendance, or reaching your personal borrowing limits.
If you need to do additional borrowing and still have room in your budget (the cost of attendance), you can work with our office to obtain a private loan.
