Scholarships
Every student admitted to the University of Chicago Law School is automatically considered for scholarships. Applicants who would like their financial need to be considered must complete the Need Access candidate and parent questionnaire (and if applicable the spouse questionnaire). The Need Access form should be completed at the Need Access Website and is due February 15. Students must complete the parental questionnaire even if parents will not be contributing financially to law school education. Need Access reports received after February 15 will not be considered unless approval from the Director of Financial Aid has been received. Filing tax forms early is unnecessary, previous year tax information can be used to populate the form.
Determination of Need: Financial need is determined on the basis of data provided by the Need Access Form. Scholarship awards are made after separately evaluating the Need Access data and the candidate application. The Need Access formula assumes that certain levels of income and assets are required to provide for a family's economic needs and that a portion of income above those levels is available to meet educational costs. Factors such as income, home equity, assets, family size, and number of family members in college are used in making this determination.
For students interested in pursuing additional scholarship funds, outside scholarships are available. For example:
JD/PhD Fellowships
The University of Chicago Law School has established a special and generous fellowship program to support students pursuing a joint JD/PhD at the University of Chicago.
David M. Rubenstein Scholars Program
The David M. Rubenstein Scholars Program will fund 60 full-tuition scholarships over three years, starting with the Class of 2014.
ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund
The Scholarship Fund is intended to encourage racial and ethnic minority students to apply to law school and to provide financial assistance. The fund awards $5,000 annually to each recipient and may be renewable for two additional years. Applications must be received by the ABA no later than March 2. For further information and an application, please visit the ABA website.
Patiño Fellowship
The Tony Patiño Fellowship is a prestigious merit award created to support law students whose personal, educational and professional experiences exemplify leadership, character, academic success, good citizenship and initiative.
Other Outside Scholarships
The University of Chicago would like to encourage you to apply for outside scholarships. To help with your search, we have put together this list of some of the available scholarships for law students. Remember, outside funding reduces your borrowing dollar for dollar. Please note that since the Law School does not administer these outside programs, you will need to contact the agencies directly for questions about applications, deadlines and selection processes.