Yale Law School Goes Tuition-Free For Students In Need

Yale Law School Announces Tuition-Free Scholarships for Highest Need Students:

For decades, Yale Law School has been a leader in need-based financial aid, working to ensure every student has the chance to pursue a legal education regardless of their financial circumstances. Today, Dean Heather K. Gerken announced that the Law School will strengthen its commitment to this mission through the creation of the Soledad ’92 and Robert Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program, which will erase tuition for J.D. students with the greatest financial need.

Yale Law School is allocating significant funding to launch the program this fall, providing approximately 45–50 full-tuition scholarships to eligible J.D. students in the Classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Students who meet the financial requirements will automatically receive the scholarship. Thanks to the incredible generosity of Soledad ’92 and Robert Hurst, David ’78 and Patricia Nierenberg, and Gene ’73 and Carol Ludwig, the Law School is also able to endow the program, ensuring that future YLS students will benefit from this life-changing initiative for generations to come. ...

Yale Law School is one of only two law schools in the country to provide aid based exclusively on financial need, and 73 percent of students received scholarship grants in the 2020–2021 academic year. As a result of these extensive financial aid programs, Yale Law students graduate with the lowest debt load among all of its peer schools.

The Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program builds upon these comprehensive financial aid offerings to adapt to changing student needs. Since 2016, the Law School has admitted the six most diverse classes in its history.

Wall Street Journal, Yale Law School to Cover Full Tuition and Fees for Lowest-Income Students:

Dean Heather Gerken urges other law schools to direct more of their financial aid to need-based scholarships