Your Financial Aid Award
Section 4
Official Financial Aid Notice
Financial aid eligibility is determined by using the FAFSA. We begin mailing Official Financial Aid Notices to newly matriculating students soon after we are able to load the FAFSA data from the Department of Education. Loan eligibility cannot be determined until this electronic transmission has been received by the Office of Financial Aid. Second and third-year students will receive award notices in late spring, provided that their FAFSA has been completed and our office has received the need analysis information. Students who are late in completing their FAFSA may not have their financial aid funding available at the beginning of the semester.
The Official Aid Notice is based on the final Student Expense Budget approved by the Law School. Students use this form to select a lender, loan types, and loan amounts that they are accepting, declining, or modifying.
This form is also used to report any awards the student will receive from sources outside the Law School (i.e. Americorps, CLEO, community organizations). As per federal regulations, students are required to provide this information to the Office of Financial Aid even if the the award is paid directly to them. If the student has already used all financial aid eligibility outlined under the Student Expense Budget, the award will replace an equal amount of loan funds. These funds will be returned to the lender and subtracted from the student’s outstanding loan debt.
Required Documentation
The Department of Education requires the Office of Financial Aid to verify documentation for a select number of applicants. If you are selected for verification, we will contact you.
The Office of Financial Aid will also notify you of required documentation via email. You must make sure that we receive the required documentation as soon as possible to avoid delays in processing loan applications. We are unable to process federal loan applications until we have received all requested documents.
Satisfactory Progress Requirement
All students at Duke Law School who receive financial aid must meet certain academic standards to continue receiving financial aid each semester. Regulations require the Law School to certify that each financial aid recipient is making “satisfactory progress.” Satisfactory progress means being in good academic standing, as defined by Faculty Rules 3-3 through 3-5. Students who are on academic probation (usually triggered when one’s semester GPA falls below 2.3) may receive financial aid during one semester of the probation period but will be ineligible to receive further aid if they do not earn a 2.3 GPA or better during that one term. Any student who is on academic probation receives formal notification of that fact from the Dean’s Office.