Financial Aid | Columbia Law School

Need Access Application

Entering first-year J.D. students applying for Columbia University institutional aid (need-based grants and institutional loans) and Federal Perkins Loans are required to submit financial information using the Need Access application. To apply online, visit Access Group’s website. If you have questions about completing or submitting the application, you are encouraged to contact Access Group at 800-282-1550, 302-477-4000, or by email at NeedAccess@accessgroup.org. 

Grant Consideration

To be considered for a grant, you must submit information from you, your spouse (if applicable), and both parents, regardless of your age, marital status, or dependency status for tax purposes. If your parents have separate households (separated, divorced, or unmarried), then you must provide complete financial information for each parental household before submitting the information, using passwords for each section if desired. Remember that a grant application cannot be reviewed until all required information has been received. For further information, please see our section on Independence and Dependence.

Suggested Deadline

Applicants for admission who wish to be considered for a grant should submit the Need Access application by the March 1 deadline, even if they have not yet received an offer of admission. While late applications from admitted students will be reviewed once completed, grant funds may be exhausted by that time. In such cases, late applicants who otherwise would be offered a grant will be placed on a grant “waitlist,” and may be offered institutional aid in the form of loans for all three years of the J.D. program.