International Students
The JD financial aid program is designed to help students from across the economic spectrum and from around the world meet the expense of a law school education while preserving career choice options in the broadest range of law-related and public service fields. International students are eligible to apply for HLS need-based grant and loan assistance and financial aid awards are determined using the same need-based approach that applies to students who are U.S. citizens. Harvard Law School provides institutional loans in place of U.S. Federal Direct Stafford & Perkins Loans in need-based aid packages for international students.
International students at Harvard University can readily obtain loans to finance the entire annual cost of education if necessary. For optional borrowing beyond the need-based loans described above, the Citibank Law Loan (see Supplemental Loan Comparison for more information) was developed with Harvard international students in mind. Harvard students are guaranteed approval for a Citibank Law Loan within the constraints of the standard student budget, regardless of credit worthiness or citizenship status, and a co-signer is not required.
Student Budget
International students have the same standard student budget total of $65,200, but there is a slight difference in two budget categories for international students. Because international students are not eligible for U.S. Federal Loan Programs and therefore do not pay the $102 federal loan fee, the mandatory fee line item of the international student budget is reduced to reflect this fact. However, since international students usually have higher travel costs, the $102 subtracted from mandatory fees is added to the travel line item of the international student budget.
Note: If during the process you have any questions, we have created a email account to address international student financial aid questions. finaidintl@law.harvard.edu