In order to be eligible for federal financial aid, your citizenship status must meet one of the following requirements:

• U.S. Citizen
• U.S. permanent resident, with a Permanent Resident Card (formerly known as an Alien Registration Receipt Card or "Green Card")
• Other eligible noncitizen

If you do not hold any of the above statuses, please refer to the “Financial Aid Process (International Students)”  section.

Step 1: File your FAFSA.

• Go to www.fafsa.gov and complete the application. All financial aid applicants are required to complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is utilized to determine eligibility for Federal Aid (Stafford and Graduate PLUS Loans, and Federal Work-Study) and Cardozo's institutional need-based aid.
• Yeshiva University Federal Title IV Code: 002903. Once your FAFSA is officially completed, the federal processor will e-mail you a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is a summary of you FAFSA responses. Please carefully review the SAR for errors and make any corrections. An electronic version of the SAR will also be sent to Cardozo (Yeshiva University: 002903).
• Don’t wait — estimate! Estimate your income and file the FAFSA instead of waiting until you file your tax return. If you wait, you risk missing the school’s deadline. In addition, institutional aid is generally awarded on a first-come first-served basis to eligible students! A new FAFSA is required each academic year: www.fafsa.gov. Annual priority deadline is April 15th. 

• PLEASE NOTE - The US Dept. of Ed will not send 2024-2025 FAFSA applicant information to schools until "the first half of March". Schools usually start receiving FAFSA applicant information after the new year. This 2024-2025 FAFSA holdup may delay Financial Aid Offer emails to new admits for the 2024-2025 academic year. 

Step 2: We will receive your processed FAFSA from the Department of Education shortly after you have filed. Once received, we will review your FAFSA and set up your financial aid package. If you have met all of the federal requirements, you will receive a financial aid offer notification email from Cardozo's Office of Student Finance (OSF), which will outline your eligibility for federal student loans.

• Newly admitted students will receive a financial aid offer notification email containing their financial aid offers for the academic year. 
• Continuing students will receive a financial aid offer notification email directing them to log into their online Student Self-Service Banner account via InsideTrack.

      View Your Cost of Attendance Budget and Financial Aid Offer (Current Students Only)

1. Log into your Inside Track account:  https://insidetrack.oci.yu.edu/
2. On the top left of the page, click on the Main Menu (3 horizontal lines)
3. Click on “Students”
4. Scroll down to the Cardozo Financial Aid card, and click on “Financial Aid Account"
5. A new browser will open, taking you to your Banner account
6. Next to "Aid Year" on the top right, select "Financial Aid 2024-2025"
7. On the top of the page, click on "Offer"
8. Scroll down to view your 2024-2025 Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid

Please Note - newly admitted students will not have access to log into Inside Track, and should refer to their financial aid offer notification email. 

Step 3: Using your financial aid offer notification email, determine how much and the types of financial aid you may require for the upcoming academic year.

• Utilize our Budget Worksheet to help you make the appropriate calculations.
• If you qualify, and if you have determined that you require federal student loan assistance, please review the terms and procedures for the federal Stafford and Graduate PLUS loans by visiting HERE. (Only accept / apply for these loan options if you have already received official financial aid offer notification from our office).
• It is strongly recommended that you thoroughly review Cardozo's Debt Management page officially setting up any student loans. Cardozo's Debt Management website provides details on budgeting, loan repayment (including the federal Income Driven Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs, and Cardozo's Loan Repayment Assistance Program), and default prevention.

Step 4: If you plan on taking out financial aid in order to cover your living expenses (room & board, books, transportation, etc.), please enroll in Cardozo's Direct Deposit for Student Refunds.

Step 5: Generally, financial aid that is set up for the entire academic year will be split and disbursed on a per-semester basis. Financial aid usually starts disbursing to students' accounts right before the start of each semester. Once all of the internal tuition and fee charges have been appropriately covered by financial aid for the semester, a student refund will be generated for any remaining financial aid. This process will repeat at the beginning of each semester.

Step 6: If you determine that you require financial aid for each academic year, you will need to complete an annual FAFSA by April 15th, and repeat the steps outlined above.

Step 7: Prior to graduating, you will be required to complete exit counseling, online with the Department of Education, and with Cardozo's Office of Student Finance.

Do not hesitate to contact the Office of Student Finance at 646-592-6249 or cardozostudentaid@yu.edu if you have any questions.

Students who do not meet the required US citizenship status in order to qualify for federal aid, may review the following financial aid options:

• If you are a J.D. student, you can complete the International JD Student Financial Aid Application on the Cardozo Office of Student Finance Financial Forms website each academic year. Please note - students enrolled in non-JD programs, such as LLM, MSL, or JSD programs, are not eligible to complete this institutional application

• Once the Office of Student Finance receives your International JD Student Financial Aid Application, your application will be reviewed to determine your eligibility for the following:

  • Need- based Cardozo grants and/or

  • Need- based Cardozo loans

• If you are a LLM, MSL, or JSD student, you may want to consider the following options:

  • Financial assistance from your home country

  • A U.S. private loan (which may require you to have a U.S. citizen as a co-signer

  • An institutional tuition payment plan through Cardozo

  • Search for external scholarship and grant opportunities. Here a a few search engines / websites:

    • www.edupass.org/finaid/

    • www.iefa.org/

    • www.careerinfonet.org/scholarshipsearch

    • www.educationusa.state.gov/find-advising-center

    • www.fastweb.com

Students seeking an adjustment to their current cost of attendance budget in order to receive additional financial aid, should carefully read all of the information below and complete all of the necessary steps. Budget adjustments will only be approved for students who have legitimate educationally related expenses that exceed the current academic year COA budget, and who have submitted the appropriate documentation. Please Note: Only educationally related expenses incurred during the current academic year will be considered. Educationally related expenses incurred during previous academic years or that may incur in future academic years will not be considered for a budget adjustment.

STEPS:

1. Do you have legitimate educationally related expenses that exceed Cardozo's Estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) budget? Please review the COA budget, and identify the components for which your expenses have exceeded.  Cardozo's Estimated COA includes the following expense components: Tuition, Fees, Health Insurance Fee, Room, Board, Books, Transportation, and Miscellaneous (supplies and modest personal expenses).

2. Review Cardozo's Allowable Expenses for a Budget Adjustment:

• Rent: The rent line in the COA is set at $1,600/month (10 month budget, $16,000). Cardozo will allow up to maximum rent of $2,500/month (10 month budget, $25,000). We will not accommodate rent that exceeds $2,500/month! For example, if a student chooses to rent an apartment for $3,800, we will only cover up to $2,500 with the COA budget! Please Note - Students residing in The Benjamin (the school's residence hall) will automatically have the "Room" portion of their living expense budget adjusted to match their housing charge. 

• Transportation: The COA budget includes a monthly metro card at $127/month (9 month budget, $1,143). Allowable increases may include additional educationally related transportation expenses that exceed the budget, such as Metro North, NJ Transit, and plane tickets. Expenses must be reasonable (for example, we will not accommodate first class plane tickets!).

• Computer: We will allow for a one time per program purchase, up to $2,500. Purchase must occur while enrolled at Cardozo.

• Medical: We will allow for necessary medical expenses that are not covered by insurance. Treatment and expenses incurred must occur while enrolled at Cardozo.

• Child Care: We will allow for child care expense for dependent children under 5 year. Feel free to utilize NYC's child care website to determine if you qualify for affordable or no cost early care and education programming: HERE

• Study Abroad: Students studying abroad may submit expenses incurred, which may include, additional tuition and fees, transportation, room and board. Students are required to submit proof of registration or enrollment in the study abroad program.

• Additional Tuition: Students who enroll in programs such as ITAP, IMAP, IFinS, ITranS, Lawyering in Washington, D.C., may incur additional tuition charges and related expenses.

• Bar Exam Registration: We will allow for direct costs of obtaining a first professional license. This includes state bar registration and MPRE fees. Costs must be incurred while enrolled at Cardozo. We cannot include bar prep courses!

• Personal and Other Educationally Related Expenses: We may allow for other types of incurred expenses that are directly related to a student's education. A detailed explanation in writing is required, along with supporting documentation and receipts.

3. Review Expenses that Cardozo Will NOT Allow for a Budget Adjustment:

• Any Expenses Incurred During Periods When Students Are Not Enrolled: For most students, this would include the summer months, in between the spring and fall semester, and may also include the time in between the fall and spring semester (winter break). Students should be proactive and plan for these times when financial aid will not be available! Additionally, this includes anytime prior to enrolling at Cardozo and/or no longer enrolled (following the last official day of the semester, graduation, withdrawal, and leave of absence).

• Any Expenses Incurred During Prior Academic Years or Will Incur During Future Academic Years.

• Consumer and Other Forms of Debt: Credit card debt, student loans, taxes, mortgage, car loans, domestic support obligations, and legal fees.

• Car Repair and Maintenance

• Wardrobe: The cost of a professional wardrobe cannot be included in a student budget. Students are advised to shop wisely for these items!

• Financial Support for Family Members and Friends.

• Bar Prep Courses.

4.  Download and Complete Cardozo's Budget Adjustment Worksheet by clicking HERE

• Complete, sign, and date form.
• Submit the form with the appropriate supporting documentation to the Office of Student Finance: Email cardozostudentaid@yu.edu 
• Budget adjustments will not be processed until all supporting documentation is received by Student Finance!

5. Review the Budget Adjustment Procedure:

• The Office of Student Finance will review budget adjustments within 5 business days of submission.
• If the budget adjustment is approved by Student Finance, a notification will be sent to the student containing details regarding the approved amount(s), and the exact amount of additional financial aid (student loan) the student can apply for and receive.
• Students should not apply for or request additional financial aid until their budget adjustment has been properly reviewed.