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Tuition and fees for the 2o13–2o14academic year are $27,357 per semester,including mandatory health, studentgovernment, and activity fees. Residentand non-resident students pay the sametuition. Rates for tuition and fees are setannually and are subject to change.All applicants who are offered admission willautomatically be considered for a USC LawSchool Scholarship award. With the exceptionof the Frank Rothman Scholarship Program,no separate application is required forscholarship consideration. Scholarshipdecisions are typically made shortlyfollowing receipt of an admission decision.All scholarships awarded to incomingfirst-year students are guaranteed for threeyears. Assuming full-time enrollmentcontinues, you can expect the same level ofscholarship assistance for three consecutiveyears regardless of law school grades.Scholarships are awarded in amounts rangingup to full tuition and they are awarded onlyin the incoming first year. Scholarship fundsare not available to transfer applicants, nordo we make new awards or increase awardsin the 2nd or 3rd year. At USC, scholarshipsare awarded based upon the strength of theadmission application and all factors that areconsidered for admission are also consideredfor scholarship decisions. Undergraduate GPAand LSAT score are two of these factors, butother strengths of the admission applicationare also taken into account.USC Law does not award any need-basedgrants, and therefore, once you receive yourscholarship decision you will know the fullextent of your financial aid package since allother financial aid would be in the form ofstudent loans. There are no federal grantfunds available to graduate-level students,so any scholarship/grant funds must comefrom the institution’s resources or fromexternal sources that you might identify onyour own. To the extent that we may learnabout any external scholarship opportunitieswe will make every effort to pass the wordalong to our applicants, but generallyspeaking, the vast majority of law studentswill have a financial aid package that consistssolely of student loans, and perhaps ascholarship award offered by USC Law School.Frank Rothman Scholarship ProgramUSC Law recruits and supportsexceptionally qualified law studentsthrough the Frank Rothman ScholarsProgram. One student is selected fromeach incoming class to receive a fulltuitionscholarship for three years atUSC Law. Recipients also receive aSummer Fellowship that providesa guaranteed job in the law firm ofSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &Flom, following the first year oflaw school.The admissions office invites topadmitted applicants to apply for theRothman scholarship; to be consideredfor an invitation, you should submityour admissions application early.Frank Rothman Scholars are selectedentirely on the basis of merit. Criteriainclude strong undergraduate record,LSAT score, and additionalaccomplishments, such as publishingbooks and articles, running a business,inventing useful devices, and othersimilar, highly significant achievements.Finalists are provided with airfare andlodging in order to participate ininterviews and meetings at USC Law.Final selections are made in the spring.Student Loan Programs: Applicants with anyinterest in receiving student loans to assist infinancing law school are encouraged to filethe 2014–15 Free Application for FederalStudent Aid (FAFSA) soon after January 1,2014. Do not wait for an admission decisionbefore submitting your FAFSA. List USC(Federal Code 001328) as a school designatedto receive your FAFSA report.The Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loanis available to all graduate students,regardless of financial need, and with nocredit check required, up to an annualmaximum of $20,500.The Federal Graduate PLUS loan is availableto all graduate students, regardless of need,upon successfully passing a credit check,up to the full cost of attendance as set bythe school. The school-established “cost ofattendance” includes tuition, fees and books,as well as living expenses for the periodof attendance.Private educational loans are also availableas an alternative to the federal loan options.As with the Graduate PLUS loan these loansare also available without regard to financialneed, require credit approval (a morestringent credit check than is required forthe Graduate PLUS loan) and are limited tothe cost of attendance as established by theschool. Occasionally a student might opt fora private loan after considering all of thedifferences, due to more favorable terms.Most students will not likely qualify for aninterest rate which is lower than the federalloan options, however, and there are alsoother important differences which, more oftenthan not, make the federal loans the morefavorable options. Nevertheless,for some students, a private loan can bea viable option.Additional details about all of these loanoptions may be found on USC’s financial aidwebsite at www.usc.edu/finaid.Other Resources: Many USC Law studentsalso help finance their education throughpart time work during the summers or duringthe second and third years of law school.Students working in public service legal jobsfor the summer may be able to receive a grantfor their volunteer experience through theUSC Law Public Interest Law Foundation.Veterans Education Benefits/Yellow Ribbon Program:The Veterans Affairs Office on campus(www.usc.edu/va) can assist veteransin receiving educational allowances.The Law School is proud to participate inthe Yellow Ribbon GI Education EnhancementProgram (Yellow Ribbon Program), whichis a provision of the Post-9/11 VeteransEducational Assistance Act of 2008. Studentswho meet the specified criteria may be ableto earn tuition awards of $20,000 througha matched scholarship program with theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Studentsmay also wish to visit www.gibill.va.govfor more information regarding the GI BillEducational Assistance.Loan Repayment Assistance Program:The USC Law Loan Repayment AssistanceProgram (LRAP) provides assistance inrepaying loans to graduates who acceptemployment with low-paying public-interestorganizations. If you work for a qualifyingorganization after graduating, you may applya specified percentage of your earnings toyour annual loan repayment obligations;USC Law will advance LRAP funds to coverthe remainder. All LRAP assistance will beforgiven if you remain in qualifyingemployment for five years.Public Service Loan Forgiveness: Thisfederal program cancels some federalstudent loan debt for borrowers employedby non-profit or government employers.Borrowers must make 120 on-time monthlypayments while working full-time in aqualifying public service job. Any remainingdebt is cancelled after 10 years of eligibleemployment and qualifying loan payments.For more information, please visitwww.studentloans.gov.70 law.usc.eduUSC Gould School of Law71