<p>[Student</a> Financial Aid Budget](<a href=“http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/policy/budget.html]Student”>http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/policy/budget.html)</p>
<p>2008-09, approximately 52% of J.D. student aid applicants qualified for Law School grant assistance and a “base loan package” (explained below) of $32,700 in loans, while the remaining 48% received assistance in the form of loans only (Federal Stafford and Supplemental Loans). </p>
<p>Although financial aid packages vary in composition from one year to the next, some basic guidelines are followed each year. Student need is calculated by subtracting the available resources from a standard budget, which was set at $65,200 for 2008–09.</p>
<p>If a student’s need is less than the base loan ($32,700 for 2008–09), the student is eligible for Federal Stafford Loans (or the equivalent in Harvard Loans for international students) and may obtain supplemental loans, outside aid or part-time employment for additional funding. This student is not eligible for HLS grant aid, or Perkins Loans.</p>
<p>If need exceeds the base loan ($32,700 for 2008-09), the student is eligible for grant aid and a base loan package.</p>
<p>For grant recipients, the first portion of need is always met with a base loan package. The base loan may consist of a combination of Federal Stafford, Perkins, Harvard, and supplemental loan funds. For international students (those who are not eligible for U.S Federal Loans), the federal Stafford and Perkins loans will be replaced with Harvard institutional loans. Both the overall amount of the base loan and its exact composition changes each academic year in response to the availability of grant and loan funding. The composition of the base loan funds may also change during a given academic year if a particular loan fund is exhausted. The base loan usually rises in relation to annual increases in education costs.</p>
<p>Any remaining need beyond the base loan amount is met with institutional grant aid. Grant eligibility is always capped at the rate of tuition, or $41,500 for 2008–09. Students with dependent children whose expenses create a grant need in excess of the rate of tuition will receive a subsidized HLS loan to meet that amount of additional need.</p>