The Pre-Law Summer Institute for American Indians and Alaska Natives

Financial Assistance

PLSI Funding

The federal funding for PLSI covers less than half the costs of running the program. We seek donors throughout the year to help students cover their expenses while attending PLSI, but we cannot cover everyone's costs. The donations we receive can only supplement your personal funds and those provided by your tribe. We therefore ask you to contact your tribe requesting their support of your PLSI attendance and any travel costs. When you are admitted to PLSI, we will send a letter detailing the costs to you which you may provide to your tribal education office in support of your request. If you need to provide documentation prior to your PLSI admission because of tribal deadlines or council meeting dates, please contact us and we will make special arrangements.

For your information and planning purposes, the following is the breakout of costs for the 2006 PLSI which is based on the costs to attend an 8-week summer school course at UNM School of law.

Tuition & Fees

N/A

Room & Board

$1,758.00 ( Room & board for single parents increases by $1,000 per child.)

Transportation (local)

$348.00

Miscellaneous

$ 637.00

Total

$2,743.00

Law School Funding

Funding for law school is scarce and competitive, so we strongly recommend that you begin seeking financial aid for law school right away. Your first contacts should be your tribe and the financial aid offices of the schools in which you may be interested. The other two primary sources for law school financial assistance for Native American students are:

The American Indian Graduate Center, Inc., administers all postgraduate education funding provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. You can find their eligibility requirements, and may request an application at their website. This is an extremely important source of funding for law students, so be sure to apply early if you qualify for BIA assistance. Because the law school admission process often takes longer than other graduate programs, you should start the application process even if you have not yet been admitted to a law school. The rest of their contact information is as follows:

Marveline Vallo
American Indian Graduate Center, Inc.
4520 Montgomery Blvd., NE, Suite 1-B
Albuquerque, NM, 87109
(505) 881-4584.

The Indian Fellowship Program of the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., also can be an important source of funding, but you should be aware that they have a pay-back component whereby you must work for a number of years equal to the amount of time you received the fellowship. For further information contact:

Cathie Martin,
U.S. Department of Education
600 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 4300
Portals Building, Washington, DC 20202-6335
Telephone: (202) 260-1683

Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.