Applying for Financial Aid

On-campus students are awarded Merit Scholarships once they are accepted and are notified by Admissions of their Merit award. All students interested in using federal student loans through the Direct Loan program, and/or applying for a work study position, will be required to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). For on-campus students interested in applying for a VLS Need-Based Grant, they will need to complete a separate application at CSS Profile. See below for additional information about the financial aid application process and the Federal Student Aid programs available to VLS students.

FAFSA Requirements

  • Must be a US Citizen or eligible non-citizen
  • Have a valid social security number
  • If you are a male you must be registered with the Selective Service
  • Must not be in default on a federal student loan
  • A list of all requirements can be found on the Federal Student Aid website

Css Profile Requirements (On-campus)

  • You must provide parental information unless you support dependents other than a spouse for more than 50% of the year, you are a Veteran, your parents are deceased, or you have documentation that you were given a dependency override while pursuing your undergraduate degree.
  • Either the student or the parent can choose to complete the entire application, or you can assign multiple users to the application so that you don't have to share financial information with one another.
  • You can report up to 8 schools to receive the application information, with the first school fee at $25 and additional schools at $16 each.

Federal Work Study

VLS policy does not allow first year JD students to do work study for their first two semesters per ABA recommendations. Students wishing to apply for Federal Work Study each year should do so no later than March 1st, as funding and positions are limited. Students who do not complete a FAFSA prior to the priority deadline cannot be guaranteed work study funds if eligible.

Direct Loan Programs

  • All students who are eligible for federal student aid and have completed a FAFSA will qualify for a Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan.
    • Students can take out up to $10,250 each semester (cap is $20,500 per borrower academic year).
    • The Unsubsidized student loan has a fixed interest rate of 6% and a loan origination fee of 1.069% ($109 per semester)
  • Students needing more than the $10,250 semester maximum can borrow a Graduate PLUS loan up to the Cost of Attendance for cost of living expenses.
    • The Grad PLUS loan has an interest rate of 6.41%* and a loan origination fee of 4.276%
    • The Grad PLUS loan requires that you do not have adverse credit
    • If denied, you have the option of obtaining an endorser to co-sign the loan for you

*The interest rate is set annually. These rates are effective as of October 1, 2016 and set through September 30, 2017.