Need-Based Grants
Boalt Hall and UC Berkeley provide need-based grants to ensure that Boalt Hall remains financially accessible to all students, irrespective of familial wealth, prior earnings or assets, or summer employment choices.
The Law School provides need-based grant assistance in the form of Boalt Hall Grants. Boalt Hall's Financial Aid Office determines each student's eligibility for a grant by utilizing the information that students submit for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The Financial Aid Office also relies on a supplemental Boalt Hall Financial Aid Application, as well as a Need Access Application which must be submitted if the student does not meet the requirements for financial independence for the academic year.
UC Berkeley's Grants-in-Aid for Boalt Hall students provides Parent Grants that are provided to students with dependent children. Eligibility is determined by the information submitted in the FAFSA. The campus Financial Aid Office administers the grant program and requires each prospective recipient to go through the federal verification process.
Determining Grant Eligibility
The Boalt Hall Financial Aid Office will determine a student's grant eligibility by taking the cost of attendance for the academic year and subtracting a base loan amount, parent contribution (for students who do not demonstrate financial independence), student contribution from summer earnings, and student contribution from available assets. The difference will be the student's Boalt Hall Grant eligibility for the academic year.
Cost of Attendance
The cost of attendance includes expenses for fees and tuition, rent and utilities, food, books and supplies, personal, transportation, and student loan fees. The estimated costs of attendance for resident and nonresident students for 2008-09 are as follows:
| Resident | Non-Resident | |
|
Fees & Tuition |
$30,944 | $43,189 |
|
Rent & Utilities |
$10,240 | $10,240 |
|
Food |
$5,130 | $5,130 |
|
Books & Supplies |
$1,495 | $1,495 |
|
Personal |
$2,338 | $2,338 |
|
Transportation |
$2,680 | $2,680 |
|
Loan Fees |
$292 | $292 |
| Total | $53,119 | $65,364 |
Nonresident Tuition
Nonresidents will be charged $12,245 in nonresident tuition during the 2008-09 academic year. At least 90 percent of nonresident Boalt Hall students are able to establish California residency for tuition purposes during their first year of law school.
In order to assist first-year nonresident students with the $12,245 nonresident tuition, Boalt Hall will add one-half of the tuition or $6,122.50 to the student's cost of attendance when determining his or her Boalt Hall Grant eligibility. With the exception of an international student who cannot establish California residency for tuition purposes, the inclusion of one-half of the nonresident tuition will occur only during the student's first year. The Law School expects all eligible students to establish California residency during their first year at Boalt Hall.
Base Loan
Boalt Hall Grant recipients are expected to borrow the first increment of their need. The base loan amount is $30,500 for the 2008-09 academic year.
The loans may be obtained through Stafford subsidized (maximum of $8,500), Stafford unsubsidized (maximum of $20,500 less subsidized loan), and Graduate PLUS Loan or private educational loan. Some nonresident students with a high degree of financial need are offered a $6,000 federal Perkins Loan to help them with the cost of nonresident tuition during their first year. The Stafford and Graduate PLUS Loans are also federal student loans and provided by the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program.
Detailed information about the student loan programs is located on the loans page.
Parent Contribution
The imputed parent contribution from parents' income and assets is calculated and provided by Need Access. This information is not used to determine student loan eligibility. For student loans, all law students are considered to be independent and their eligibility for educational loans is based upon their FAFSA information.
Student Contribution from Assets
Contributions from student assets as calculated by Need Access will be pro-rated over three years. The Financial Aid Office will deem at least this amount to be available for each academic year. Need Access methodology will also apply in calculating contributions expected from assets acquired during law school, and may result in a higher contribution in the second and/or third years of law school.
The Need Access information will be compared with an alternative method of determining the asset contribution for students with an adjusted gross income (reported in the FAFSA) greater than $40,000 during the tax year before entering law school. Twenty percent of the gross income over $40,000 will be treated as an asset and prorated over three years. Whichever of the two values is higher will be used to determine Boalt Hall Grant eligibility.
Student Contribution from Summer Earnings
Boalt Hall presumes that students will work in the summers before and during law school. Entering students will be expected to contribute $2,000 toward the first year of their legal education.
During law school summers, students will be expected to contribute 60 percent of their gross summer income after deducting a "summer living allowance." The allowance for summer 2008 is $7,000.
During law school summers, the Financial Aid Office expects all students to work or to participate in a law-related internship for at least eight weeks. Students who do neither in a given summer nevertheless will be expected to contribute $2,000 toward their legal education from imputed summer income.
By way of example, if a student works at a large law firm for 10 weeks during the summer, he or she might earn $30,000. Subtracting $7,000 from the amount leaves $23,000, of which the student would be expected to contribute 60 percent or $13,800 to his or her education.
Continuing students who wish to be considered for Boalt Hall Grant eligibility must report their summer positions and anticipated income to the Boalt Hall Financial Aid Office by April 15 of the preceding year. By the following August 1, they must submit either the Statement of Confirmed Summer Earnings or a letter from the employer indicating their gross earnings during the summer. Students' tentative Boalt Hall Grant eligibility will be based upon the estimated summer income they report by April 15. Their actual grant eligibility will not be determined and disbursed to them unless they provide the letter from their employer by August 1.
The Statement of Confirmed Summer Earnings can be downloaded here.
Spouse's Contribution
If the student is married, the spouse's income and assets must be reported in the FAFSA and Need Access Application. The spouse must also provide an estimate and confirmation of summer earnings. If the spouse will also be at least a half-time student in a degree or certificate program during the academic year, only one-half of the student and spouse's combined contribution from income and assets will be used to determine the student's Boalt Hall Grant eligibility.
Boalt Hall and Outside Awards
Boalt Hall encourages students to obtain scholarships, fellowships, and fee remissions from the Law School and outside organizations including the University. Therefore, these awards will not affect the amount of the Boalt Hall Grant unless the total amount of awards and Boalt Hall Grant exceeds the cost of attendance. In that rare instance, the amount of the grant will be adjusted downward.
Note, however, that when the Boalt Hall Financial Aid Office determines student loan eligibility, the entire amount of grants and scholarships from Boalt Hall and outside sources must be considered.
Determining Financial Independence
A student is considered to be financially independent based either upon the student's age or demonstrated financial independence from his or her parents.
If the student will be at least 30-years-old by December 31 of the fall semester of the academic year for which grant eligibility is being determined, he or she will be considered to be financially independent.
Students who do not meet the age requirement for financial independence will be treated as financially independent if they demonstrate the following:
1. that they have not received more than $10,000 total from their parents in the prior five years; and
2. that they have not lived more than six cumulative calendar months with their parents in the prior five years; and
3. that they have not been claimed as a dependent by their parents on any of their prior five federal tax returns.
You may obtain the Statement of Independence by sending a request to financial-aid@law.berkeley.edu. Please note that along with the statement you must submit a photocopy of the first two pages of your parents' federal tax return for each of the five years you were not claimed as an exemption.