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Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD)

Financial Information

Private Loans

If you have exhausted your eligibility for Federal Direct loans or are ineligible for a Grad PLUS loan and need supplemental funding, a private educational loan program may be available to you to help finance your education. These private loans are offered by banks or other financial institutions, and the rates are slightly higher than those for the Federal Direct and Grad PLUS programs and are variable, but are still much lower than credit card rates. Private educational loan programs have a separate application process but must be certified by Indiana Law’s financial aid officer.

Securing a private education loan or a Grad PLUS Loan is a function of a good credit rating. A poor credit history could result in not being able to obtain one of these loans.

If you anticipate needing to borrow more than the $20,500 available in Federal Direct Loans, be sure to obtain a copy of your credit report to make sure all of the information recorded is accurate and identify items that might need resolution before you apply for a Federal Direct Grad PLUS or private educational loan.

You can obtain a free annual credit report from any of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. We encourage you to order a free annual credit report for the following reasons:

• To pass a credit check, which is necessary to receive a private educational loan.
• To prevent a possible identity theft problem.

If your ability to attend law school is contingent upon borrowing a private loan or a Grad PLUS Loan—or if you will need more than $20,500 plus other aid, such as scholarships, for any future academic year before starting the program—it is critical that you find out whether you are able to borrow ahead of time.

There are various private educational loan programs available to law students, but we encourage you to apply through the Sallie Mae Law Loan Program. The terms are very competitive and your Private Educational Loans would be through the same entity as your Federal Stafford Loans (meaning a single repayment source).

If you are initially denied a private education loan or the Grad PLUS loan for credit reasons, you are encouraged to speak with jischutt [at] indiana [dot] edu (Jim Schutter), our financial aid director, for other possible private educational loan programs that might have less stringent credit criteria.