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I luckily did not have to take out loans for undergrad, so I'm new to this whole process. If I will not need assistance for my first year of law school do I still need to fill out a FAFSA form? I will need aid for my 2L and 3L but not next year. I also don't have all of my tax information back yet.

amorfati42 wrote:I luckily did not have to take out loans for undergrad, so I'm new to this whole process. If I will not need assistance for my first year of law school do I still need to fill out a FAFSA form? I will need aid for my 2L and 3L but not next year. I also don't have all of my tax information back yet.

Does "assistance" include federal loans? If you do not need any financial aid (including loans), no need to fill out a FAFSA (unless your school states otherwise). Federal loans require a FAFSA, even if you're not requesting grants/scholarships.

As far as I know I wont need any assistance for my first year. I may attend a school that I've been offered scholarship money at, so would I need to fill out a FAFSA to receive my scholarship money?

As I understand the process, you won't need to fill out a FAFSA for your first year and will only do so for the school years that you'll need aid for.

Your second questions about needing to fill out FAFSA to get scholarship money from your school, I'm pretty sure you definitely do not need to do that. Double check with your school's financial aid, they'll know everything. I know I'll be bugging them constantly when I decide where to go haha.

Check with your school. Some schools make it very difficult for you to get any aid after your first year. Most schools like to give a three year finaid award when you're a 0L.

It is probably safer to apply this year and get your three year award. if you do not want/need the loans, then simply do not take them. It is safer to have the award waiting though. What if your source of financing dries up? People die, investments are lost, people are laid off, and the like. I would feel safer knowing that I have a backup source of financing just in case the one I am counting on disappears.

swc65 wrote:Check with your school. Some schools make it very difficult for you to get any aid after your first year. Most schools like to give a three year finaid award when you're a 0L.

It is probably safer to apply this year and get your three year award. if you do not want/need the loans, then simply do not take them. It is safer to have the award waiting though. What if your source of financing dries up? People die, investments are lost, people are laid off, and the like. I would feel safer knowing that I have a backup source of financing just in case the one I am counting on disappears.

That's true. Schools will often give you a scholarship/grant award for all three years. But I think OP can apply for federal loans in 2L and 3L even without an "award" from the school--it's a federal program. The only question would be if the school's finaid office requires a FAFSA in 1L for their own purposes--seems unlikely, but possible (remember, OP is going to submit another FAFSA in 2L & 3L years).

It doesnt take very long to complete the form. I would just do it anyway.

You don't need your taxes to be done. You can just fill it out as close as you can with guesses and then turn in a corrected form later. It is all online and uber easy.