Law Financial Aid

The Office of Law Financial Aid is committed to providing all law students financial aid assistance to keep you informed and explore all funding opportunities and resources.  

USF ID Number

In order to better assist law students and reply to your financial aid inquiries in a timely manner, please be sure to include your USF ID Number in any email inquiries to the Law Financial Aid Office.  In addition, any requests to update your financial aid record should come directly from your USF email account. We cannot process any requests for assistance sent from your personal email accounts.

Law Financial Aid Walk-in, Appointments (In-Person, Virtual)

The Law School’s Financial Aid Office is taking the necessary measures to implement and improve our customer service strategies. We want you to have the best experience with our office so we would like to provide information on new changes to our customer service support methods. 

Our office will be available for in-person visits and appointments as well as virtual appointments. Getting in-person assistance is easy.

You can schedule an appointment on the following methods below:

1.    Text USFDonsLAW to 415-914-9982 then text the code for the type of service you wish to receive help with.
2.    Day-to-day appointment. Make an appointment online through the Home Kiosk.   Enter your Name and phone number.
3.    Future virtual appointments (24 hours and later).

Summer 2026 Financial Aid

Information on applying for Summer 2026 Financial Aid can be found online.  Once your registered for Summer 2026 class (registration begins on late-March 2026), submit a Summer 2026 Intent to Enroll (ITE) online form to notify Law Financial Aid of your intent to apply for summer aid. You can obtain the form ONLINE. The Summer 2026 ITE online form will be due on April 15.  The Summer ITE online form can still be submitted after April 15 and will be processed and monitored accordingly. However, we cannot guarantee that any forms submitted after April 15 will be processed in time to meet the May 1 Summer tuition payment deadline but we will do our best.  Please note that students on Academic Probation are ineligible to receive Summer financial aid until Spring grades are all posted in mid-June and you regain good academic standing.  We cannot process ITE online forms for students on probation until you return to good standing.

Applying for Financial/FAFSA for Fall 2026/Spring 2027

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, for the Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 academic year has been available online since October 1.  The FAFSA can be filed at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. Our Title IV code is 001325 and must be included in your FAFSA application.  

Applying for Financial Aid/FAFSA Application for Fall 2025/Spring 2026

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, for the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 academic year is now available online at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.  All students who seek to receive federal financial aid for the 2025-26 academic year are required to complete the new 2025-26 FAFSA at www.studentaid.gov.  Our Title IV code is 001325 and must be included in your FAFSA application.  

Financial Aid award notification for the Fall 2025/Spring 2026 will begin in early April for current students who have completed a 2025-26 FAFSA as long as the 2025-26 FAFSA is completed and USF receives your FAFSA information by the priority date March 1, 2025. Award information will be available to view online via your myUSF student portal. You will be sent an email notification at that time by the Law Financial Aid Office indicating that you can review your financial aid award online via your myUSF online student portal.

IMPORTANT: The 2025-26 FAFSA can be completed after March 1 priority deadline, and you will still be able to receive federal educational loan aid for this year. However, delaying completing your FAFSA will affect when you receive your award notice.  The FAFSA should be completed as soon as possible in order to receive the maximum financial aid consideration for 2025-26.

The FAFSA should be completed as soon as possible but no later than the priority date was March 1, 2025 in order to receive the maximum financial aid consideration for 2025-26 (this date is especially important for those continuing students who wish to be considered for the Federal Work Study award).

NOTE: It is not too late to apply for federal loan aid for the 2025-26 academic year.  The priority deadline to apply for a 2025-26 FAFSA is April 1, 2026.   

Bar Loan Information 

Spring 2026 graduating students may consider applying for a private bar examination loan to help cover living expenses during the July 2026 bar preparation period. These are private educational loans offered by individual lenders and are subject to credit approval.

Please be aware that in recent years, fewer lenders have continued offering dedicated bar examination loans, and availability may be limited. Students are encouraged to research options early and review lender terms carefully.

Information may be obtained through the USF Private Loan website or by visiting lenders’ websites directly.

Disclaimer: The University of San Francisco School of Law does not recommend, endorse, or promote any specific lender. Any lender information provided represents companies that have previously offered bar examination loans to USF law students. It is your responsibility to evaluate and select the lender that best meets your needs.
For complete and up-to-date details, including eligibility criteria, interest rates, fees, and repayment terms, please visit the individual lender websites.

Important: Compare lenders carefully to evaluate interest rates, fees, and repayment options.  

Upcoming Private Scholarship Deadlines   

Citywide Law Group Scholarship
Citywide Law Group is proud to offer a $1,500 scholarship to a current or aspiring law student. Los Angeles personal injury attorney Sherwin Arzani is a graduate of University of Michigan School of Law and has dedicated his career to helping accident victims.
Amount: $1,500
Deadline: March 1, 2026

Wind Law Scholarship
Wind Law, LLC is excited to announce its annual scholarship for students planning to attend school in the fall of 2024 as either a pre-law undergraduate or a first-year law student. The $1,000 scholarship aims to assist with expenses for students accepted into a school anywhere in the United States.
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: March 15, 2026

Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholars Program (NEW Incoming Fall 2026 Student)
The Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholar Program, the Foundation’s Flagship DEI Initiative, Assists STEM-Educated Individuals seeking admission to an ABA-accredited law school with an interest in the advancement of racial or ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the patent law profession in the United States. The Scholar Program Offers Selected Scholars $30,000 Law School Tuition Grant Awards And Provides Financial And Non-Financial Assistance To Scholars During The Law School Admissions Process And Throughout Law School.
Amount: up to $30,000
Deadline: March 31, 2026

Sarita and Claire Wright Lucas Foundation Scholarship (Bar Takers)
Law school debt is well documented. What’s not so well known is the need for additional funds to prepare for the Bar exam. In addition to the cost of a prep course – at about $5,000 – many recent graduates must take out personal loans to cover living expenses as they take on the full-time, unpaid work of preparing for the exam. Unlike many law graduates who head to a private practice, those who choose to work for public agencies are on their own financially to prep for the Bar exam.  Those upfront initial costs are steep enough to steer people away from public sector legal work.
Amount: $5,000
Deadline: March 31, 2026

Earl Warren Shearman & Sterling Scholarship
Earl Warren Shearman & Sterling Scholarships are two special stipends for African-American law students. The scholarship is sponsored by Shearman & Sterling, a large commercial law firm with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and several foreign locations. Recipients are assigned attorney-mentors from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) and from Shearman & Sterling, and gain experience working with LDF on issues related to civil rights and public interest law.
Amount: $15,000
Deadline: May 1, 2026

NW Corporate Law Scholarship
NW Corporate Law scholarship will be awarded to one second or third year law student who is in financial need and who is actively enrolled in an ABA-approved law school.
Amount: $1,500
Deadline: May 1, 2026

BAY Area Underserved Law Student Scholarship
The scholarship program was established in 1998 to support underserved and underrepresented law students who have been admitted to Bay Area Law Schools. In twenty six years, we have awarded over 2 million dollars in scholarships to 110 students with scholarships that are generally $10,000 per year.
Amount: $10,000
Deadline: May 31, 2026

Schaefer Halleen Social Equity Scholarship
Larry and Toni have dedicated their careers to empowering clients and seeking justice in response to illegal workplace conduct, such as discrimination based on race, religion, gender and other areas. They look forward to seeing the next generation of students studying advocacy and anti-discrimination meet future challenges in their own unique ways. By offering a scholarship to students pursuing a career supporting the advancement of justice, Larry and Toni hope to support the leaders of tomorrow.
Amount: $15,000
Deadline: June 30, 2026