The AUWCL Office of Financial Aid offers a limited number of need-based grants to qualifying full-time JD students who plan to utilize federal loans to pay for law school. Grants are available to U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens as defined by federal criteria. Full-tuition scholarship recipients are not eligible to apply. 

Eligibility for the need-based grant is determined by analyzing data from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA - March 1 deadline), along with other institutional financial aid and/or external resources. While we do not expect parents to contribute to law school, historical financial aid information from the FAFSA is reviewed for all applicants regardless of age, marital status or dependents in order to gain a sense of the socioeconomic background the student is coming from and to gauge systemic need. This is most commonly demonstrated by receipt of a full federal Pell Grant during undergraduate studies.

Supplemental information will be requested of prospective AUWCL students who meet initial need-based criteria (see How to Apply for more information).

Grant recipients must maintain full-time enrollment (12 credits per fall/spring semester), comply with program rules, and are limited to three years of support. Recipients must utilize their full Direct Stafford Loan eligibility ($20,500) each year to be considered for the need-based grant, and the AUWCL Financial Aid Office will revoke grants for students who do not exhaust their full Direct Stafford Loan eligibility. For those who qualify, the annual award typically ranges from $10,000 to $15,000.

Currently enrolled 1L and 2L full-time JD students should submit the FAFSA prior to the March 1 deadline. Additional information will be emailed directly from our office to those who may qualify for assistance.

The deadline to complete the FAFSA for need-based grant consideration is March 1. The FAFSA can be submitted prior to an admissions decision in order to meet the application deadline, however need-based funding is limited and priority is given to students admitted on or before March 1. Students admitted after the March 1 deadilne will only be reviewed at a later date should funding become available.

IMPORTANT: The following application steps are for prospective (incoming) full-time JD students only.

Step One: Before the March 1 deadline, the student applicant is required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online and select American University title IV code 001434. Parent information is not required on the FAFSA; however, you may wish to include this data if there has been a significant change in parental income since your undergraduate studies. Applicants with circumstances that are not represented on their FAFSA and/or by their financial aid history must email finaid@wcl.american.edu prior to the March 1 deadline for information regarding the appeals process. 

Step Two: The AUWCL Financial Aid Office reviews the FAFSA applications and will request supplemental applicant information from those meeting initial need-based criteria. The request will be sent via email in early March with a mid-March deadline to return the form.

Step Three: Incoming JD grant recipients are notified via email in late March.