UMass Law offers a number of options to assist students in financing their legal education. Both federal and private educational loans are available for eligible students. The law school also offers scholarships, fellowships, and waivers to those who qualify. Payment Plans are also available.
Following are some facts about these financing choices. Detailed information about each of the programs, including application procedures, is available from the financial aid staff.
Federal Direct Student Loans
The law school participates in the federal Title IV Direct Loan program, offering Unsubsidized and Graduate Plus loans. The Unsubsidized loans have an annual limit of $20,500 and are not credit-based. The Graduate Plus loan requires a credit check and can be used to pay for additional education expenses up to the cost of attendance. Eligibility requirements and details about the Direct Loans may be obtained from the U.S. Department of Education.
Private educational loans
Private student loans from lenders such as MEFA, Citizens Bank, Sallie Mae, etc. are additional funding choices. The law school financial aid staff strongly advises students to borrow through the federal loan program. However, we recognize that under certain exceptional circumstances a private education loan is necessary. Please contact the financial aid staff for information and application details.
Bar Study Loans
Federal student loans are not available for expenses incurred by law students after they graduate, like the expenses associated with study for the bar. A Bar Study Loan helps finance bar exam costs such as bar review course fees and living expenses while you are studying for the bar. There are a limited number of lenders who offer Bar Study Loans. Among them, Sallie Mae, PNC Bank and Discover Student Loans are current providers. Each lender has their individual eligibility requirements, terms and conditions.
IMPORTANT: Please contact the financial aid staff to make sure you have exhausted your maximum annual Federal loan eligibility before applying for a Bar Study Loan. There are many reasons why Federal loans can be a better option.
Scholarships and fellowships
The University of Massachusetts School of Law offers Public Interest Law Fellowships for those interested in working in a public interest field upon graduation. For more information see Public Interest Law Fellowship.
The School of Law also offers academic merit scholarships. The scholarships are based on past academic performance and evidence of exceptional promise in a legal career. All accepted applicants are automatically considered and notified at time of acceptance. There is no separate application. Students are awarded a scholarship, depending on full or part time status, renewed automatically per the conditions stated in the award letter.
Need based scholarships are also available. Selected applicants will be contacted to complete the Needs Access form.
Payment plan
Tuition Management Systems administers a payment plan for the law school. A payment plan enables you to break your educational costs into easy-to-handle monthly payments rather than pay for the entire semester or year in one large sum.
