Bar Study Support

Private Bar Study Loans

Private Bar Study Loans are available to graduating students who are scheduled to take the Bar Exam.

Bar loan approval is subject to satisfactory credit history. Graduating students can borrow from one (1) private lender. Repayment begins nine months after graduation, and the interest accrued during the interim period will be capitalized (added to the loan principal) once the loan goes into repayment. Information regarding guarantee fees, origination fees and repayment options, is available from the University of California Preferred Private Lender List  (managed by ELMSelect).

NOTE FOR PRIVATE LOAN APPLICANTS:  Once you have submitted a private bar loan application to a lender, please ensure to notify our office via email at financialaid@law.ucdavis.edu including: (1) the name of the lender (2) the amount requested (3) the date your application was submitted. 

Regents Bar Loan

UC Davis School of Law offers a Regents Bar Loan to third-year students in need of assistance with costs related to Bar Study and the State Bar Examination. The maximum loan available is $4,000 at a 5% fixed interest rate. Interest will begin to accrue as of the date of disbursement of the loan and will continue for the life of the loan. Repayment will begin six months after the date of disbursement and end ten years later.

Limitations

Third-year law students are eligible to borrow one (1) Regents Bar Study Loan.  We will certify a private bar study loan for up to one year after graduation if the graduate did not pass the state bar exam. The graduate will need to provide verification of not passing the state bar exam along with proof of registration for the next state bar exam. 

Deadlines

May Graduates must apply by December 31st of year of graduation.

December Graduates must apply by June 30th of year of graduation.

Application

Regents Bar Loan Application 

Processing Schedule

After processing your application, we will send a DocuSign email with loan documents for you to sign electronically. Once we receive your signed promissory notes please allow up to 2 weeks before funds are disbursed.  The UC Davis Student Accounting Office will disburse your loan funds via your declared delivery preference on file. If you are not already signed up for direct deposit, we highly encourage you to register in order to avoid delayed receipt of loan funds.