Financial Aid

Educational loans and merit scholarships are the main forms of financial assistance at the School of Law.  Students who wish to finance their legal education with educational loans must complete a FAFSA (W&L school code 003768) and direct that it be sent to Washington and Lee University.  The University's Office of Financial Aid will not begin work on your file until your FAFSA has been received.  Washington and Lee does not require parental information on the FAFSA for law students. Loan packages are typically mailed in mid-March.  Absent unique circumstances, admitted students are offered loans to meet the total cost of attendance at W&L Law.  Qualification for state and federal educational loans is determined by applicable regulations and by the availability of funds.  

For more specific information regarding the multiple steps in the educational loan application process, please consult the Financial Aid loan website. If you have additional questions not addressed by the web resources, please contact Drake Breeden, Senior Assistant Director of Financial Aid, at 540.458.8032 or ebreeden@wlu.edu.

Work Study
Law students may request approval to work on campus through the University's work study program. The work study award is $4,000 and reduces a student's Grad PLUS Loan eligibility by the work study award amount. Please note that if you accept the work study award and a position, the Office of Financial Aid typically does not revise the award later in the year if the student does not earn the full amount that was awarded. Know too that a student must still obtain a work study position. The listing of available work study positions for the upcoming academic year is updated each summer and made available to eligible students. Students interested in participating in work study should contact the Office of Admissions at lawadm@wlu.edu in order to receive school approval.  Due to the rigor of the curriculum, first-year students are strongly encouraged not to be employed outside the law school and to limit their hours to 10 per week.

Veteran's Educational Benefits
If you qualify for any veteran's educational benefits (including Yellow Ribbon), please notify the Office of Financial Aid. You will need to complete W&L specific paperwork and apply for the GI Bill Benefits. More information can be found on W&L's Veteran's Benefits page.

If you qualify for Yellow Ribbon benefits, a separate application will need to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to determine your eligibility. Please follow the steps outlined on the Veteran's Benefits page if you believe you qualify for this program.