In this way, students not eligible for Law School Grant aid may borrow through a combination of loan programs to finance their law school education. It is not necessary to apply for loans until you have received a financial aid award letter from the Law School. This information should help you decide how much and through which programs you wish to borrow. The absence of credit is legitimate and will not disadvantage you for the purposes of obtaining private supplemental loan funding. Derogatory credit, however, will adversely affect your ability to secure funding through these programs and may therefore affect your ability to finance your education.
Many lenders use a process called credit score to determine a student's loan eligibility.
Potential Future Salary - Lenders understand that most Harvard Law School students will be able to secure employment after graduation and therefore repay their loans. Past Record of Financial Behavior - Your past record of financial behavior significantly impacts your credit score. Therefore, if you have had more than three inquires to an authorized credit reporting agency in the past six months, or if you own more than four credit cards your loan could be denied due to debt management concerns. For example, if you have recently opened three credit card accounts, you already own four credit cards and you are also asking for private supplemental loan funding, you will receive a lower credit score because the lender is concerned about your ability to meet all of your financial obligations consistently. Low credit scores usually result in loan denial.