Top Law Schools

Being single, my efc is 0 and I will be getting the maximum possible aid from wherever I end up attending (hopefully), however if I get married and my husband is also a graduate student (but earns about 55k a year) will this significantly hurt my need-based aid?

: )

And change you to your, [strike]and possibly consider a different line of study if this is not apparent to you, by now.[/strike]
EDIT: Sorry, in a bad mood from something else. But really, come on man. HA

goosey wrote:Being single, my efc is 0 and I will be getting the maximum possible aid from wherever I end up attending (hopefully), however if I get married and my husband is also a graduate student (but earns about 55k a year) will this significantly hurt my need-based aid?

Financial aid at law schools works a bit different. Just because your FAFSA EFC is zero doesn't mean you'll get maximum aid.

Couple things:

If you got your EFC from the FAFSA, it is always going to be 0 for graduate students, as the FAFSA counts you as independent (your family is not "expected" to pay anything). However, schools often use a different test of independence that is never as generous (they assess a "parent contribution" on a sliding scale from when you were last claimed as a dependent, or how old you are--I think 29 is the cutoff for total independence).

As for the hubby, it depends on the school. Typically, schools seem to count spouses as you, lite. They are expected to contribute a certain percentage of their salary/assets to help you pay, though not as much as you would have to contribute given the same circumstances. As for how much that really comes down to, it depends on the school. Usually you can find a financial aid handbook that will break everything down for you.

Wherever you end up going, call the financial aid department and let them know about your situation. My wife and my annual income has been nearly $80,000, but we are having our first child in July, and I start law school in the fall, obviously the next few years will be very different for us financially. (I know your situation is reverse, but this years financial aid is based on our earnings last year.) I spoke with the financial aid department at the school I will be attending and was told I would no doubt receive the max amount of aid regardless. She said the Stafford (subsidized and unsubsidized) were basically a sure thing and GradPlus loans are based on credit, and that unless you have a TERRIBLE credit history you should be able to have covered whatever needs to be covered. Hope that is somewhat helpful....in a vague...non-helpful way. Call financial aid, they will put your fears to rest.

"If you got your EFC from the FAFSA, it is always going to be 0 for graduate students, as the FAFSA counts you as independent"


Um, no.

I am totally screwed for need aid as a result of being married. I would have a tiny EFC but FAFSA considers your spouse's income and assets as one and the same as your own. As far as I can tell, my spouse's assets are considered to be MY assets.

Not sure how the income works, I guess they just add your two incomes together and divide by two, so if you earn $30,000 and your spouse earns $70,000 your FAFSA EFC would be the same as if you were unmarried and earning $50K?

twopoodles wrote:"If you got your EFC from the FAFSA, it is always going to be 0 for graduate students, as the FAFSA counts you as independent"


Um, no.

+1 This is not true and I am not sure where you got it from. It actually seems pretty rare for an EFC to be 0, even for law students. Some here have incomes below poverty and still have an EFC above 0. I am married, my husband is also a FT student (UG) and makes less than $30k/year. I am unemployed and we have 2 dependents and our EFC is still over $1000.

ETA: over $1000 each