This post applies to continuing JD students only.

On Monday, April 23, 2012, many of you received an email notifying you that your 2012-13 financial aid offer is now available on MyFinAid, with instructions on how to access the information.

Unfortunately, the campus released this information in error earlier than scheduled. For many, merit or gift aid has not yet been calculated and the offers on MyFinAid are incomplete.

The law school financial aid office is working to repackage financial aid offers to include the missing awards. The updates will be made over the next week to two weeks. If your financial aid offer is adjusted, you will receive an email from the campus letting you know a change has been made to your financial aid package and to review your offer online at MyFinAid.

In addition, all students receiving a message that they are missing the “Grad/Professional Status Certification” in the “missing documents” section of their MyFinAid should ignore the message. This is an error the campus financial aid office is working to correct.

Entering first year students should be able to see their initial financial aid offer for the 2012-13 academic year starting in early April. All initial offers will contain eligibility for federal student loans. Students who have completed all requirements for Berkeley Law’s need-based grant will also see any grant eligibility. Please note: Scholarship information will, for the most part, not be available at the time of initial offers. If you are offered a scholarship, you will be notified by e-mail and your financial aid offer will subsequently be modified to reflect the new award.

Continuing students will have initial financial aid offers for 2012-13 available to them at the beginning of May. As with entering students, initial offers will contain loan eligibility and any need-based grant eligibility. Please note: If you haven’t already completed Expected Summer Earnings (ESE) form, you must do so by April 15 to be considered for the need-based grant.

The priority filing deadline for the 2012-13 FAFSA and Supplemental Application for Need-based Grants is March 2, 2012.

Students who will be 2Ls or 3Ls next year who are applying for Need-Based Grants will also need to submit their Expected Summer Earnings Statement to the Financial Aid Office by April 15, 2012 (and later the Confirmed Summer Earnings Statement). Entering 1Ls do not need to complete these two forms this year.

For more info, see the grant instructions.

The law school’s Financial Aid staff is currently in the process of posting awards (tuition offsets) in the amount of $1,068 to the records of all JD students who will be enrolled this fall. If you do not see the award on your MyFinAid record, please be patient as this is a manual process which we expect to complete by August 5 or early in the following week at the latest.

We have been told that Billing & Payment Services (BPS) made an error and sent e-mail to students telling them that their financial aid refunds are now available. If you received the message, please disregard it. Fall 2011 financial aid refunds are scheduled to be disbursed on August 18.

The application for Berkeley Law scholarships for continuing students for the 2011-12 academic year is now available. This year we are offering over $75,000 in scholarships for continuing students, with individual awards ranging from $700 to $20,000.

You can download the application here (PDF) or find it on our Forms page. The form is no longer available.

The deadline to submit your application and supporting documents is Wednesday, June 29, 2011.

Best wishes!

The Justice Pauline Davis Hanson Scholarship is an annual award to be presented to a current female law student for the following academic year in the amount of $2,000. Each candidate must be a female law student who has successfully completed at least one year of law school and has not graduated. Preference will be given to current or former residents of Fresno, Kings, Madera or Tulare Counties, especially if they intend to practice law in these counties.Completed applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on May 30, 2011. Applications may be sent via email to nstegall@cv-familylaw.com , via fax to (559) 237-6807, or by mail.

Visit our scholarships page for more information and the application.

The Filipino Bar Association of Northern California is offering scholarships to current law students in good standing for the 2011-12 academic year. FBANC historically has granted two scholarships, the FBANC Scholarship and the Raymond L. Ocampo, Jr. Scholarship. Last year, each scholarship was awarded in the amount of $2,500.Candidates will be judged on their application, their demonstrated interest in serving the Filipino-American Community, their persuasiveness, and their desire to serve the Filipino-American Community as an FBANC attorney.

Application materials are available here. Applications must be received by April 9, 2011.

Direct questions to Robert Uy at uyrobert@gmail.com.

Entering first year students should be able to see their initial financial aid offer for the 2011-12 academic year in early April. All initial offers will contain eligibility for federal student loans. Students who have completed all requirements for Berkeley Law’s need-based grant will also see any grant eligibility. Please note: Scholarship information will, for the most part, not be available at the time of initial offers. If you are offered a scholarship, you will be notified by e-mail and your financial aid offer will subsequently be modified to reflect the new award.
Continuing students will have initial financial aid offers for 2011-12 available to them at the beginning of May. As with entering students, initial offers will contain loan eligibility and any need-based grant eligibility. Please note: If you haven’t already completed the Supplemental Application which includes your expected summer earnings, you must do so by April 15 to be considered for the need-based grant.

Students in either group who are unsure of whether they have met the requirements should:
a) check their FAFSA Student Aid Report to ensure that the FAFSA information has been sent to Berkeley and that the information was accurate and complete;
b) correct and resubmit the FAFSA info if any financial information has changed or more accurate information is now available; and
c) e-mail us to correct the information submitted on the Supplemental Application if necessary.

Starting with the 2011-2012 academic year we ask that students submit student and parent information on the FAFSA instead of the Need Access application. Because the FAFSA does not include a question on home value and debt we also ask that you submit the Supplemental Application for Need-Based Grants to provide us with this information. You must submit complete parental information on both the FAFSA and Supplemental Application unless you will be 30 years old by December 31, 2011 or meet Berkeley Law Financial Aid’s criteria for financial independence.

Note: Please be sure to include parental information on the FAFSA even if the FAFSA classifies you as an “independent” student. FAFSA’s dependency classification does not apply to Berkeley Law’s gift aid.

The Supplemental Application for Need-Based Grants also includes the Expected Summer Earnings information. As a continuing student, you are required to provide this information before an estimate of your grant eligibility can be calculated. Both the FAFSA and the Supplemental Application have a priority deadline of March 2, 2011.

If your applications are received by the deadline, your estimated grant eligibility will be included in your MyFinAid financial aid offer for 2011-2012 which will become available in late April or early May for continuing students.

To determine your actual Need-Based Grant eligibility, you will need to submit the Statement of Confirmed Summer Earnings by July 15, 2011. This form will be available in early summer.

Key Points:

• Include parental info on the FAFSA instead of the Need Access Application
• The priority deadline of March 2, 2011 is the same as last year’s
• Berkeley Law’s definition of “independent” is different from FAFSA’s
• Continuing students should include their Expected Summer Earnings info on the Supplemental Application
• Offer letters for continuing students are expected to be available by early May
• The Confirmed Summer Earnings Statement must be submitted by July 15, 2011
• Both the priority and Confirmed Summer Earnings Statement deadlines are important because the limited need-based grant funds are awarded on a first-come first-served basis

See our Need-Based Grants page for details on the application process and eligibility policy.