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I am asking for an international friend who wants to apply to law schools in the US, but she is wondering whether she can get a loan from the law school. She has been in this country for a few years and have a 720+ credit score. She does not want someone to co-sign a loan, this is why she wants to get a loan from law school directly.

I don't know very much about this topic, but I think what your friend is looking for is a Perkins loan. Many (most?) schools do this, but I think each school can set its own standards for who qualifies.

I don't know a lot about this but I've seen it mentioned on the boards before that Harvard is one of the few that offers this to international students (more info here: http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... ional.html). It's very uncommon at most schools.

Swimp - in this case I don't think her friend is eligible for any federal loans and she's looking to avoid private student loans because they would require a co-signer (in addition to being evil).

your friend will probably have to go private

ricking1288 wrote:your friend will probably have to go private

yes, public or private does not make a difference for her, because she will have to pay out-of-state tuition for public schools anyway, and the price is no less than private. So private schools more likely offer loan to international students? Harvard? I think she can only dream about it .... lol thanks guys

naillsat wrote:

ricking1288 wrote:your friend will probably have to go private

yes, public or private does not make a difference for her, because she will have to pay out-of-state tuition for public schools anyway, and the price is no less than private. So private schools more likely offer loan to international students? Harvard? I think she can only dream about it .... lol thanks guys

No, they meant go with a private lender. Someone else who is more in the know needs to answer this, but most American students now are shielded from this process because the Federal government now extends loans up to the total cost of attendance to all students with a pulse and no recent bankruptcies.

As has been mentioned, Harvard and Yale offer loans to international students, and private lenders may be an option as well.

Another option is to try and get a full-ride scholarship somewhere. These are ironically far more common than school-funded loan programs, and all you really need is LSAT/GPA numbers well above the school's median. You will still need enough funding to cover the cost of living, though.