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The Financial Aid Office has prepared updated financial aid information for 08-09. An updated application checklist is now available, as well as notes from the student loan Town Hall meeting. The SECOND edition of the Lender Comparison Chart is now available. Please note that the comparison chart, while applicable for all Georgetown Law students, is primarily for students attending summer programs. The priority filing date for summer classes that begin before June 15 is now May 5.
The chart has been altered due to ongoing changes within the student loan market. An updated version will be released before the priority filing date of May 15, 2008 (for summer classes starting after June 15 and fall/spring 2008-09 applications).
The Office will close briefly between 2:00 and 3:00 pm on Tuesday, April 22 to attend the staff awards reception. Congratulations to our Jerome Cobble, who has been selected to receive a Special Merit Award!
The Financial Aid Office will hold two town hall meetings: Tuesday, April 15 at 1:30 in the Hart Auditorium and Thursday, April 17 at 8:00 pm in Room 207, to provide guidance pertaining to current and upcoming student loan concerns. Topics to be covered include:
- A brief overview of student lending and what is causing the uncertainty
- The existence of back up lending options that are available, if necessary
- Status of the lenders that our students most frequently use
- Status of interest rates and borrower benefits
- Application timeframes for the summer and upcoming year
- Student questions and concerns
If you are unable to attend the town hall meeting; you may pick up information in our office starting Wednesday, April 16. The office will be closed from 1:15 to 3:00 pm on Tuesday to accommodate the town hall meeting.
You may have heard recently about the continuing uncertainty in the student loan market.
Although we do not know how long this situation will continue, we are advising students to wait on selecting a lender and applying for loans for the 2008-2009 academic year. As soon as Georgetown Law Financial Aid has additional information and advice concerning this situation, we will contact you about next steps for loan applications for 2008-2009.
Students will have options for funding for this lending season, we just want to be able to give you the best advice and options available. All deadlines to apply for student loans will be flexible.
In many cases, the funds available for federal and private student loans are derived from the sale of bonds by student lending organizations. In short, lenders borrow money from investors to provide loans to students. Student loans, like mortgages, are long-term debts and are “packaged” in the bond markets similarly. With the current unease in the credit markets, the costs for most bond issues have increased and the interest paid by the lending organizations on their current bonds has increased as well.
For the time being, it may be necessary for lenders to halt benefit programs until the markets normalize. The media has started to pick up on the situation and various portions of the federal government are examining options to ensure liquidity in the student loan market.
With the current uncertainty, lenders will likely delay publishing terms for the 2008-09 academic year. The Financial Aid Office will continue to monitor the situation and will provide flexibility with filing deadlines, as appropriate.
To provide GULC alumni the most flexibility regarding the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, the Financial Aid Office schedules spring semester federal and commercial loan disbursements in January. For May 2007 grads that utilized federal or commercial loans, this means that you may be able to claim a tax credit for 2007 even though Student Accounts did not send you a 2007 Form 1098-T. Please see IRS Publication 970 and review this IRS Flowchart for more details.
For All Other Graduates
In addition, graduates that consolidated their federal loans should receive a 1098-E interest statement from the lender indicating the amount of interest that was capitalized when the consolidation occurred. For many graduates, this could represent approximately $2,000 that may be deducted for the 2007 tax year. Please see the Student Loan Interest Deduction section of IRS Publication 970 for more details.
The financial aid application season for continuing students starts after spring break. The priority filing deadline for Summer 2008 financial aid applicants is April 15. All other continuing students should ensure that their applications (and supporting documentation) are complete and submitted to the Financial Aid office no later than May 1, 2008 for priority consideration.
The financial aid application for incoming JD students is available by logging into the Admitted Student web site. If you cannot access the Admitted Student web site, please contact the Office of Admissions by email at OnlineAppHelp@law.georgetown.edu or by phone at 202-662-9010.
As part of the 2008 Early Admitted Student Reception, the Financial Aid Office will present a 45-minute session designed to introduce new students to the ins and outs of financial aid at Georgetown Law. Various topics will be covered, including the 2008-09 cost of attendance, application and award processes, and more. The session will be held on January 25, 2008, from 10a-10:45a.
The LRAP application is now available online. Completed applications are due on November 1st. For more information on the program or how to apply, please visit our LRAP page.
Prospective law change requires that new loans be disbursed prior to Oct 1 to obtain current borrower benefits. Refer to your email from the Financial Aid Office for more information.
Online applications and details will be available shortly. We will email all renewal applicants as well as new graduates from May 2007.
Students receiving financial aid (Law Center grants and scholarships, federal and private loans through the Financial Aid Office) may deduct the approved amounts from their July billing statement. For more info regarding your bill, see the Student Accounts section of our FAQ.
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