How A Law School Financial Aid Policy Has Some Students Crying Foul

Surviving the pandemic has been stressful for Harvard Law School student Stacey Menjivar and her family. Her parents suffered a major financial blow when everything shut down last year.

Both of your parents lost their jobs in March 2020. Her father worked in construction and her mother works in a school canteen.

“My mother went back to work, but she’s still getting the wages people who don’t graduate from high school get,” she said.

Menjivar thought that this summer she would finally be able to help her parents financially after all the sacrifices they made to get them into law school. She took on a summer internship, a lucrative law student job that can pay more than $ 30,000 per season.

But then she remembered that thanks to the rules of their on-demand grant package, Harvard would be number one for much of that salary.

“None of this was easy,” said Menjivar. “And to tell me now that if my parents need most of the help, I can’t help them because you need my money and you need this income?”

This policy is known as the “Summer Contribution” and is not new. It is common practice at several US law schools that offer financial assistance as needed. As you amassed more fortune from your high-paying summer job, the policy allows you to contribute more to your education. Policies vary, but at Harvard Law School, summer dues typically require students to contribute approximately 90% of their after-tax summer salary, and a living allowance of $ 8,200 is deducted.

While Menjivar said she got the reasoning, it still feels harsh during the pandemic, especially for low-income and first-generation students.

“It’s insensitive and unfair,” added Menjivar.

Harvard Law School officials said they were unable to comment specifically on Menjivar’s case. However, an email stated that they are again paying attention to how they support low-income and first-generation students. They also said a new scholarship program aims to help students with the highest financial needs following the pandemic.

None of this was easy. And to tell me now that when my parents need most of the help, I can’t help them because you need my money and you need this income?

Stacy Menjivar

Experts familiar with the legal education industry say summer posts have been a pain point for a while. But schools are starting to respond.

“We have seen law schools, especially over the last year, make sure they are trying to do whatever it takes to meet the requirements,” said LeAndra Ross, regional director at AccessLex, a dedicated nonprofit to make legal education more accessible.

Unless students have friends or family with experience of law school or general financial aid, they likely won’t know that their financial aid package isn’t set in stone, Ross said. You can request an adjustment or an appeal if your financial situation changes.

“They don’t know what they don’t know,” she said. “All they know is that you are going to take this money I make and use it to calculate my grant for the next year and there is nothing I can do about it. Because you detailed it on the website and.” that signals to me that it is what it is. “

Harvard Law School is one of only two institutions that exclusively offers needs-based financing packages. According to Ross, most law schools offer a significant amount of performance-based help that takes into account other factors such as test scores and grades and doesn’t require a summer contribution. While there are humanistic reasons for offering performance grants, their purpose has much more to do with attracting the most competitive students.

“I think it’s no secret that law schools naturally want to recruit and attract the best of the best,” she said.

Menjivar said she asked for an adjustment that would allow her to send some money home to her parents but was turned down. So she used Twitter to vent her frustration. And her story seemed to hit a nerve. Thousands of people attended from different points of view.

Executives at nonprofit AccesLex add that while this debate is not new, the pandemic has brought it into very sharp focus.

“We have had a deeply challenging and painful time,” said Derek Brainard, National Director of Financial Education for AccessLex. “And deeply challenging and painful times tend to highlight systems and processes that just need some attention. And at the end of the day, I think that’s exactly what is happening here. “

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/how-a-law-school-financial-aid-policy-has-some-students-crying-foul/