Yale Med, Law Expand Aid Plans

Hot on Harvard’s heels after the University launched a series of aid increases, Yale Law School and Medical School came up with similar financial aid initiatives this week.

A month after Harvard Law School announced that it would eliminate tuition for third-year law students who commit to spending five years in public service, Yale Law School Dean Harold H. Koh ’75 unveiled the school’s own assistance programs for students also planning to enter public service.

The four-part initiative will raise the baseline income below which loans are forgiven from $46,500 to $60,000 to aid middle-income graduate students, double the number of fully funded post-graduate fellowships from 14 to 28, hire a full-time public interest director to counsel students, and increase funding for summer public interest opportunities, according to a statement Koh sent to the law school community.

“Our philosophy has always been that money not be the sole deciding factor in a student’s choice of a public interest position during any phase of his or her career,” said Janet Conroy, a spokeswoman for the law school.

“We also feel strongly that it’s important to promote a culture of public service throughout a student’s time here at the law school, not just after graduation.”

As reported by the Yale Daily News, students said that in the wake of Harvard’s “much-hyped” tuition cut for third-year law students, Yale would fall behind if the law school did not expand its current benefits for public interest.

Conroy said that the law school had been reassessing its public interest and financial aid initiatives for the past couple of years under Koh’s leadership.

“I would not characterize our announcement as a response to Harvard’s announcement,” Conroy said.

On the same day Koh unveiled the law school’s initiative at an annual reception recognizing public interest-oriented students, Medical School Dean Robert J. Alpern announced that his school would eliminate the family contribution starting next year for students whose parents earn less than $100,000 annually.

The financial aid initiative is similar to Harvard Medical School’s decision to cut costs for nearly one third of its students.

According to the Yale Daily News, the move aims to reduce debt for middle-income students and curb the attrition of the graduate students who enter lower-paying specialities, estimated to impact up to a fourth of the student body.

The initiative will be funded by a $1.1 million increase to the medical school’s budget from the university’s endowment income.

Officials from the Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and Yale Medical School could not be reached for comment.

Conroy said that there is no significance in the timing of the two graduate school announcements.

—Staff writer June Q. Wu can be reached at junewu@fas.harvard.edu.