Your eligibility for types of aid is determined by comparing your FAFSA determined expected family contribution (EFC) with your cost of attendance (COA). Financial aid “need” is the difference between your COA and your EFC. Due to program and funding limits, non-need types of aid may be offered in place of need-based aid. The total of all types of financial aid you receive cannot be more than your cost of attendance.
Mitchell Hamline Scholarships
Scholarships are awarded at the time of admission based on a variety of factors including previous academic excellence, professional experience, service and leadership experience, personal experience, and interest in specific areas of law. Scholarships range in value from 10 percent of tuition to 100 percent of tuition. Students retain their scholarships as long as they remain in good academic standing (cumulative GPA of 2.00 or better). As the school does not award conditional scholarships, we do not publish conditional scholarship retention data that would otherwise be required by ABA Standard 509.
North Star Scholarships
North Star Scholarships provide annual assistance to students who enroll in the law school’s blended-learning enrollment option. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must intend to practice law in an area of the country currently underserved by local lawyers, including a rural area, a reservation, or a small town or city.
Native Justice Scholarships
Mitchell Hamline’s Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute emphasizes practical legal education and offers a certificate to law students within the J.D. program. The Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute is unique as a legal program at the law school. The institute has dual purposes of furthering legal education in the field of Native American law and of recruiting, supporting, retaining, and graduating Native American law students. Further, we maintain a strong connection to the Indigenous peoples of this region and the sovereign Tribal Nations in Minnesota. Contributing to the strength of the law school in a variety of ways, the Institute is also engaged in highlighting and supporting the cultural and traditional Indigenous legal principles our Native faculty and students bring to the law school.
Tribal sovereignty and self-determination are goals served by the Institute as stated in the current era of U.S. Indian policy as Indian self-determination. In furthering, tribal self-government and strengthening tribal law, courts, and governance, the law school offers a scholarship in line with the guarantee of educational support found in many of the four hundred treaties entered into by the U.S. with Tribal Nations. The Native American Law and Sovereignty (NALS) Scholarship is based on these important federal objectives.
Eligibility:
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must demonstrate an interest in Native American Law and Sovereignty in their law school application or by addendum upon request, and provide sufficient documentation to establish that they are either:
– an enrolled member of a federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native Tribal Nation, or have ancestry from the original Native Hawaiian families;
– or recognized by their American Indian or Alaska Native Tribal Nation community of residence or origin as being American Indian or Alaska Native;
– or demonstrate an ongoing experience working in and with Native American communities and a commitment to using their legal education to continue to do so.
Scholarship applicants are required to provide documentation on their enrollment number or other Native community authority confirming their status of eligibility as stated above.
All other applicants may be eligible for the NALS Scholarship by providing documentation to demonstrate an ongoing experience working in and with Native American communities as a career and the intention to use their JD degree in the field of Native American law
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must pursue the Indian Law track and provide sufficient documentation to establish that he or she is either an enrolled member of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native entity or recognized by his or her American Indian or Alaska Native community of residence or origin as being American Indian; or demonstrate in his or her application a strong interest in practicing Indian Law.
Veterans Benefits
Mitchell Hamline is a designated Military Friendly School. We participate in the VA Yellow Ribbon Program, a provision of the Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance act of 2008. We administer all veteran’s benefit programs including Chapter 33, 30, 35, 1607, 1606, and the Minnesota GI program. Contact the financial aid office to get the eligibility process started.
Federal Work Study
Need-based. Mitchell students work on- or off-campus to earn part of the cost of attending Mitchell Hamline. Off-campus employment, typically with legal services employers, provides valuable experience and community networking opportunities. On-campus employment is available as department clerks, research assistants, and library staff. Work-study eligibility, like federal loans, requires a FAFSA application.
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
Non-need based. Up to $20,500 annually is available from this loan program. See loan terms and details at studentloans.gov.
Federal Direct PLUS Loan
Non-need based. After other aid is in place, Federal Grad PLUS Loans fund up to the maximum cost of the program including tuition and living expenses. This federal loan is credit based. Terms and details are available at studentloans.gov. Contact the financial aid office with any questions or concerns you may have about credit worthiness for the Grad PLUS Loan.
Private Non-Federal Loans
Commercial banks and credit unions provide non-federal student loans. Loan amounts are counted in the financial aid total, and funds are disbursed through your student account. The loans are credit based, with varying terms. Be sure to understand the interest rate, fees, and repayment terms of any loan you are considering.
Other Sources of Financial Assistance
Off-campus based tuition assistance includes scholarships, employer tuition assistance, and Americorps funding. Free scholarship search services include FastWeb and Scholarships.com. Begin your searches early, and be persistent! Don’t forget employer associations and unions, community resources, and fraternal organizations in your search for funding.
Loan Repayment Options
Federal loan repayment options include payments scaled to your income, Income Based Repayment (IBR), and a loan forgiveness program based on public service employment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). The Minnesota Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) provides repayment assistance for both federal and non-federal loans to legal aid attorneys.