Financing Your Legal Education at W&L

Washington and Lee assists students in financing their legal education through University merit scholarships, educational loans from state, federal and private lenders, and participation in federally-sponsored work and loan programs (Title IV).  There are no need-based grants or scholarships available for law students.

Estimated Expenses

Each year the Office of Financial Aid projects expenditures for law students at Washington and Lee School of Law.  Figures for the 2010 - 2011 academic year will be published after our Board of Trustees meets in January.  The costs for the 2009-2010 academic year were:

For first-year students, qualification for a merit scholarship is based on undergraduate academic records, Law School Admission Test scores, probability of superior scholarship in the School of Law and potential for leadership in the legal profession. Scholarship assistance in a student's second and third year will continue in the amount originally awarded, contingent upon satisfactory academic performance.  We expect to make our first round of merit scholarship awards by mid-January.  Thereafter, awards are made periodically throughout the remainder of the admissions cycle.

Applicants whose files are completed by December 31 will receive full consideration for merit-based scholarships.  Application files completed after December 31 will be considered for merit-based scholarship assistance to the extent funds remain available.  After the first round of scholarship awards, which occurs around mid-January, scholarship notification can be expected two to three weeks after admission. 

While we do encourage applicants to complete their applications by December 31 in order to be eligible for merit scholarship consideration, this is not a hard deadline.  We make scholarship awards throughout the entire admissions cycle, but have less money with which to work with each successive month. Consequently, though the chances of you receiving a scholarship award are much better the earlier you complete your application, it is nevertheless possible to receive a scholarship even if you do not complete your application until after December 31st. As with many other aspects of the law school application process, the sooner you can complete your application the better.

Educational Loans 

Educational loans are our only form of financial assistance other than merit scholarships.  Students who wish to finance their legal education with educational loans must complete a FAFSA and direct that it be sent to Washington and Lee; the University's Office of Financial Aid will not begin work on your file until your FAFSA has been received.  Loan packages are typically mailed in mid-March.  Absent unique circumstances, admitted students are offered loans to meet the total cost of attendance at W&L Law.  Qualification for state and federal educational loans is determined by applicable regulations and by the availability of funds. 

For more specific information regarding the multiple steps in the educational loan application process, please consult the Financial Aid loan website. If you have additional questions not addressed by the web resources, please contact Cynthia Hintze, Senior Assistant Director of Financial Aid, at (540) 458-8032 or chintze@wlu.edu.

Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

Graduates of the School of Law working in the public interest may qualify for financial assistance from the Shepherd Loan Assistance Program.  A summary of the Program is available here.

The American Bar Association summarizes other sources of loan repayment assistance (states, the federal government, employers) here.