Financial Aid FAQ
General Questions
Please visit the Tuition page for more information about the cost of attendance at UC Law SF.
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Students use federal loans, private loans, UC Law SF scholarships and grants, and outside scholarships to fund their education. The majority of UC Law SF students take out federal loans to cover at least part of the cost of tuition and living expenses. Please follow these links to learn more about federal loans, scholarships, veterans programs, work study, summer study, Bar study support, and the PICAP loan repayment assistance program.
Entering students are automatically considered for institutional scholarships based on outstanding academic performance. Applicants for federal loans and need-based grants must submit two forms: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the UC Law SF Financial Aid Supplement. Students are encouraged to complete the financial aid application process as soon as possible to ensure that funds will be available in a timely manner to pay for tuition, fees and living expenses. Students who complete the FAFSA online and submit the UC Law SF Financial Aid Supplement by the deadline (March 2) receive priority consideration for UC Law SF need-based grants. Students who miss this priority deadline will be given the best financial aid package available depending upon remaining funds.
You will receive your living expenses refund on the last business day before the first day of school. You refund will be sent to you via direct deposit through the Fiscal Office.
Please use Self-Service.
To contact Financial Aid, please call 415-565-4624 or email FinancialAid@uclawsf.edu. To make a a virtual appointment with a Financial Aid advisor, please visit this page.
The potential elimination of the Department of Education has generated many questions. Please see these frequently asked questions and answers compiled by NASFAA (National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators).
FAFSA & UC Law SF Supplement Form
The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The UC Law SF Federal School Code is G03947
The first batch of Financial Aid offer letters is scheduled to be sent via email by the end of March to applicants who have completed both FAFSA and Financial Aid Supplement forms. Starting in April, offer letters will be sent on an on-going weekly process.
Federal Loan Entrance Counseling is an on-line session to inform you of your rights and responsibilities when you enter the program and is required by your lender, the Department of Education. The Federal Loan Exit Counseling is required every time you cease to enroll at least half-time.
Each year, the U.S. Department of Education selects a number of students for a process called Verification. The FAFSA Submission Summary you receive after submitting your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will indicate whether you have been selected for Verification. Verification means that the information on your FAFSA must be verified by comparing it to the tax information you provided to the IRS.
Using the FA-DDX Tool – The FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX) is a tool that allows the IRS to securely transfer federal tax information (FTI) to the FAFSA.
After you (and your spouse if married) provide consent to the FA-DDX, the Federal Tax Information (FTI) will be linked to the application contributor. Federal Student Aid (FSA) will now directly transfer Federal Tax Information (FTI) from the IRS into the FAFSA form as long as the user has provided FSA with consent to do so.
If your application is selected, you will be contacted by our office via email. You must submit the requested documentation to the Financial Aid office as soon as possible. If you are married, you must also submit all requested information for both you and your spouse. No financial aid award can be finalized until the verification process is complete.
For more information, you can visit this page.
Self-Service
Incoming/Prospective Students: Please create your account in a timely manner when notified to do so. You will receive notice once your account is set up and will then go to: https://www.uclawsf.edu/selfservice.
Continuing Students: Please login using your Sharknet credentials at https://www.uclawsf.edu/selfservice. You may contact Helpdesk@uclawsf.edu for assistance on accessing the Self-Service portal.
All prospective and continuing students applying for financial aid and wishing to receive an offer letter must submit:
- A) 2026-2027 FAFSA
- B) The UC Law SF Supplement Form
Incoming/Prospective Student Form – coming soon!
*Note: The above two forms are required each year you plan to apply for federal funding
Please allow 3 to 5 business days after submission of your documents due to processing time. You may contact us directly to follow up on the status of your documents as well.
For incoming students: We recommend no later than June 1st, 2026, to provide you with enough time to complete additional required documents and for our office to process your federal loan disbursements. For continuing students: We advise submitting no later than July 31st, 2026, to prevent any delays in the disbursing of aid.
Students who do not wish to apply or are not eligible to apply for federal funding must contact the Office of Financial Aid at FinancialAid@uclawsf.edu to request their offer letter/financial aid package. Please do note that students not applying for federal funding will only see any institutional scholarships/grants offered by the university on the Financial Aid module of Self-Service. This would be information a student would already have from Letters of Admission or future scholarship notices from the college.
The Office of Financial Aid must review your declined or reduced loan figures to internally. An email notifying you that revised figures on Self-Service (reflecting your changes) and a revised offer letter is now available will be sent to you following our review. Once you receive the email, you may re-accept funds and sign your offer letter.
All scholarships/grants are auto-accepted and will post towards your tuition/fees. If you have a need-based scholarship/grant, you must meet all conditions of that award (as specified on your Letter of Admission) before the Office of Financial Aid will post it to your account.
Please email us directly at financialaid@uclawsf.edu to make changes to a previously accepted financial aid package and signed offer letter.
Please email us directly at financialaid@uclawsf.edu with your request so we may calculate this outcome and send you a revised offer to review/accept.
All students must complete one Master Promissory Note per loan they plan to borrow (note that this will only be required once during your academic program) along with Federal Loan Entrance Counseling (this counseling is required even if it was previously completed for an undergraduate or graduate/professional program at another university). These requirements will reflect accordingly on your financial aid checklist.
After logging into Self-Service portal, click on the blue “Financial Aid” link to open the drop-down menu then click on “Request a New Loan”. Enter your desired amount, select the semester(s)you’d like the funding to be applied to, then review/submit your request.
Please contact the Office of Financial Aid at financialaid@uclawsf.edu to review potential options for increasing your student budget.
Budget or a Cost of Attendance is an aggregate breakdown of all expenses the university will charge you (Tuition/Fees) along with a blanket allocation calculated for living expenses that students can expect to incur. The budget or cost of attendance is not “one size fits all” and some students may have fewer or greater expenses. The budget on your offer letter will reflect a line-by-line breakdown of both total tuition/fees and living expenses by category.
Direct Costs: All expenses that students will be directly charged while enrolled (items such as Tuition, Activity Fee, MBE Support Fee, Health Services Fee, and the UC SHIP Premium).
Indirect Costs: Expenses which students may expect to incur as a result of attending the institution. Think Books/Supplies and Transportation but also living expenses such as housing, utilities, and groceries.
The above categories of funds are all self-reported by the student on the UC Law SF Supplement Form.
Expected Assistance: Cash assistance to be applied to tuition or living expenses and provided by a student’s parent, relative, significant other, or third-party organization.
Outside Personal Loan: A loan to be applied to tuition or living expenses and provided by a student’s parent, relative, significant other, or third-party organization. This is a personal loan between the student and the sponsor.
Private Loan: A loan a student will borrow from a bank, private loan lender, or other financial institution. These loans are provided as an alternative to federal loans backed by the U.S. Department of Education. Students apply directly with the lender for these credit-based loans. We advise you to consult with the Office of Financial Aid if you are considering borrowing a private loan in lieu of a federal loan. Outside Scholarship/Grant: A grant/scholarship that a student expects to receive from a third-party organization. This type of fund will often be sent to the institution to credit towards a student’s tuition.
Please email us at FinancialAid@uclawsf.edu so we may process your amendment.
Scholarships, Grants & Loans
Applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or other eligible non-citizens who are making satisfactory academic progress toward their degree. Eligibility for different categories of aid is based on the determination established by the financial aid system developed by the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). To receive a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, applicants cannot be in default on a federal student loan or owe a federal student aid repayment.
Student Borrowers After July 1, 2026
If you must borrow federal loans, we advise you to borrow your first $50,000 (JD students only) or $20,500 (graduate students only) from the Federal Unsubsidized Loan. You may only borrow half of your total unsubsidized loan amount during the fall semester.
If you need additional funds, you may then apply for private loans.
Important: We always encourage students to accept the full amount of federal loan funds they are eligible for before borrowing from private lenders.
The Direct Stafford Unsubsidized Loan rate is 7.94% and the Direct Graduate PLUS Loan is 8.94%. These rates are after July 1, 2025 and before July 1, 2026.
Yes, the Department of Education imposes a Loan Origination Fee for each loan disbursement. Origination fees will be as follows through October 1st, 2026:
Direct Stafford Unsubsidized Loan: 1.057%
Direct Graduate PLUS Loan: 4.228%
When you take out federal loans, the amount of loan money you receive is the amount you are approved to borrow, minus the Loan Original Fee. For example, if you borrow $10,000 of Graduate PLUS Loans, you will be charged a 4.228 percent Loan Origination Fee of $422. This Loan Origination Fee will be subtracted from the $10,000 you are borrowing, and you will receive $9,578 to your student account. Please note that the Department of Education requires you to pay back the full $10,000.
It depends on your own expected available financial resources and awarded scholarships/grants. You should borrow at least enough to pay for tuition and fees not covered by aforementioned funds (in addition to the need for living expenses).
Yes, you may borrow solely in Fall or solely in Spring. You may even borrow differing amounts per semester. Please note that accepted loan amounts for the Fall semester may not exceed 50% of your original offer. E.g.: A student may not accept more than 50% of their Direct Stafford Unsubsidized Loan Offer to be applied towards Fall (No more than $10,250).
Yes, however please contact the Financial Aid Office to determine semester or academic year-based deadlines. Please also note: Not borrowing in one academic year does not reduce your loan offers or eligibility in a future academic year.
If you would like to cancel your loans before the start of a semester, please notify the Office of Financial Aid by early August for Fall 2026 or early December for Spring 2027. If your loan has disbursed, please contact the Office of Financial Aid directly for information on how to return/cancel your loan.
Federal Loans will first arrive from the Department of Education to UC Law SF. UC Law SF will then credit your loans against all remaining tuition/fees. Any remaining excess funds will be available via direct deposit the Friday before the first day of instruction for Fall or Spring semester. We encourage you to complete all federal loan paperwork and enroll in Direct Deposit as soon as possible to prevent a delay in receiving your living expense funds. Instructions for enrolling in direct deposit may be obtained by contacting Fiscal Services at Fiscal@uclawsf.edu.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA), if you are a new federal student loan borrower in your current program, beginning July 1, 2026:
- Incoming (new) Graduate students (i.e., MLS, LLM, and HPL students) will be eligible to borrow Direct Unsubsidized Loans up to $20,500 annually.
- Incoming (new) JD students who qualify for Federal Direct Loans may borrow Direct Unsubsidized Loans up to $50,000 annually.
Not right away. The bill makes an exception for students who are already enrolled in a program before July 1, 2026. This means you can finish your current program using the old loan limits. If you received a Federal Direct Loan before July 1, 2026, while in your program, you can keep borrowing through the Graduate PLUS Program for up to three more academic years, or until you finish your degree, whichever comes first. Please note that this information is based on current guidance and may be subject to change as new regulations or updates are released.
The lifetime borrowing limit will be $257,500 for all federal student loans combined. This total includes up to $57,500 for undergraduate study and $200,000 for graduate and professional degrees. These limits are only for new student loan borrowers beginning July 1, 2026.
Students who borrowed Federal Student Loans before July 1, 2026 should visit this link (Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans | Federal Student Aid) for your loan limits.
This is based on the guidance under the OBBA and may be subject to change.
For the official updates and announcements about this bill, see: One Big Beautiful Bill Act Updates – Federal Student Aid Federal Student Aid
Withdrawal and tuition refunds information are available from the UC Law SF Office of Fiscal Services.
Payments are due six months after you cease to attend school at least halftime for any reason.
A loan calculator is available here.
Yes, here is more information about the UC Law SF Public Interest Career Assistance Program.
About two weeks after your first day of school, the UC Law SF Registrar’s Office will report your enrollment status to the National Student Clearinghouse. Your federal student loan servicer(s) will use the reported information to defer your loan payments. If you have private student loans, you may need to bring in a loan deferment request form from your lender to the Records Office for certification.
Work-Study & Working
Because of the intensive nature of the first year of law school, first year students must seek Dean of Students approval to work during the first year.
The Federal Work-Study program is a federal program that provides funds to assist students who are working while pursuing their education. These funds can be used for on-campus employment as well as off-campus jobs with qualifying employers (typically, non-profits and government agencies). Current students should refer to Sharknet for more information.