Loyola Mandatory Bar Examination Questionnaire for all 2021 Graduates (Spring, Summer, and Fall)

Please fill out this mandatory form: Click Here

As most of you know, the Loyola Bar Exam Preparation Department offers extensive supplemental help to you after graduation.  This is not a substitute for a commercial bar preparation course.  Loyola provides a supplemental Canvas course.  Upon graduation, you will be enrolled in either the Louisiana Bar Prep Course or the Common Law Bar Prep Course.  There is no charge for this.

In order to provide proper assistance to you after graduation, you must go to the link listed hereafter and answer all questions by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.  If you fail to respond to this form, your transcript will be withheld.  This form takes just a few minutes to fill out and it is mandatory for ALL 2021 CALENDAR YEAR GRADUATES.

We are gathering your information for three reasons: (1) to help you study for a bar exam immediately after graduation, (2) to assist you in the future in the unfortunate event that you become a repeat taker of a bar exam, and (3) to report your performance to the American Bar Association (“ABA”).  We cannot help you unless we have your most up-to-date information.  Therefore, please be sure to list a permanent address and personal email that will not change in the future.  Because the ABA requires that we report on your bar exam performance, we must track all of you for two years after graduation.  Please respond to me when you see future bar exam emails.

If you have any questions, please contact Professor Suzanne K. Scalise at sscalise@loyno.edu or Amanda Stewart at stewart@loyno.edu.

The mandatory questionnaire is located at:  https://forms.gle/hvk7bbYnEs5UHUoe6

Your information will be shared with other Loyola departments and with the Alumni Association.

As a graduating senior, there is a mandatory requirement to complete the Graduate Employment Exit Survey. The law school is required to collect and submit information on each graduating senior to the American Bar Association.

THE SURVEY WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR COMPLETION VIA YOUR SYMPLICITY ACCOUNT

**ONLY BETWEEN FRIDAY, APRIL 2 AND FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021.**

TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY:

1) Log into your Symplicity account - https://law-loyno-csm.symplicity.com/students/

2) On the right side of the screen, you will see a list entitled SHORTCUTS. Select Graduate Survey. 

3) Follow the onscreen instructions for completion of the survey.

**PLEASE NOTE THESE DEFINITIONS FOR THE GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION QUESTIONS:

• Employed in a position for which you receive a salary or a stipend or are being paid on a contract or retainer basis means: You are currently employed in a paid position.
• Not employed and seeking work/paid position means: You are not currently employed in any paid position and you are looking for work.
• Not employed and not seeking work/paid position means: You are not currently employed in any paid position but you are not looking for work.
• Enrolled in Graduate Studies means: You will be pursuing an LL.M. or another advanced degree/educational program after graduating from Loyola Law School. Please list the name of the degree and the institution you are attending.
• Employed - start date deferred means: You have accepted a job that will start after March 15, 2022 and you are not working on an interim basis. Report your status as “Employed — start date deferred.” You should also report the date on which your job will start, where requested.

 4) Please include as much information as you can. You can save your changes and review/edit your information at any time.

5) Once you have completed entering information into the survey, click the “Save Changes” box. (The system will make your changes but will not send a confirmation.)

If you need assistance logging in, please email lwcareer@loyno.edu.

Unfortunately, if your survey has not been completed by APRIL 23, 2021, a hold will be placed on your records, and your diploma and final transcript will be withheld.

[This survey is a separate requirement from any other Loyola University Survey.]

2021 Alumni Resource Guide

Click Here

Federal Direct Student Loan Borrowers

Quick Guide to Exit Counseling 

Students who have borrowed under the Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program must complete an “Exit Loan Counseling” session during their final semester. Effective July 1, 2014, students who have borrowed under the Federal Grad PLUS Loan must also complete an “Exit Counseling” session. The U.S. Department of Education wants to insure that students review the terms of their loan and understand their rights and responsibilities under this program as they enter repayment. 

1. Sign on to the NSLDS site at: studentaid.gov
2. You will be able to print out a record of your federal student loans as well as your estimated payments under the available payment programs.
   
3. The log in page will request your Social Security Number, Name, Date of Birth and Federal Student Aid FSA Number. (and will help you if you have forgotten your FSA number)
4. Use the drop menu and choose “Louisiana” and then “Loyola University New Orleans”
5. You will then need to complete several short quiz pages on major concepts concerning loan repayment. You MUST answer each question. The correct answers will be displayed after you hit the “submit” button.
6. Know Who Will Be Sending You A Bill: The Loan Summary Page will display all your federal Direct Stafford Loans and Grad PLUS loans that have been reported by every post-secondary school you have attended to the NSLDS system. You can get detailed loan information by clicking on the number link.

Loan Servicers

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) uses several loan servicers to handle the billing and other services on loans for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and for loans originally made under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program but now owned by ED.  

Making Payments

You need to make payments to your loan servicer. Each servicer has its own payment process, so check with your servicer if you aren’t sure how or when to make a payment. You are responsible for staying in touch with your servicer and making your payments, even if you do not receive a bill. 

Choosing a Repayment Plan

You have a choice of several repayment plans that are designed to meet your needs. The amount you pay and the length of time to repay your loans will vary depending on the repayment plan you choose.  

Loan Consolidation

Learn what it means to consolidate your loans, how to apply for loan consolidation, things to consider before consolidating your loans, the types of loans that qualify for consolidation, and what happens after you consolidate your loans. 

Deferment and Forbearance

Deferment and forbearance offer a way for you to temporarily postpone or lower your loan payments while you’re back in school, in the military, experiencing financial hardship, or in certain other situations. 

Understanding Default

NEVER ignore delinquency or default notices from your loan servicer.  If you don’t make your monthly loan payments, you will become delinquent on your student loan and risk going into default. Contact your servicer immediately if you are having trouble making payments or won't be able to pay on time

Link Regarding Repayment for Student Loans:  https://studentloans.gov 

Loyola University New Orleans - Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid

 www.loyno.edu/financialaid

finaid@loyno.edu

Tori will be in touch with students via email to confirm the following information.  Please make sure to respond to her email.

• Confirm participation in mass/ceremony 
• Confirm diploma name
• Confirm hometown for graduation ceremony program

After graduating from law school, many alumni want to pursue public interest careers. The Gillis Long Poverty Law Center supports graduates committed to serving the legal needs of low-income communities through three programs.

Graduates for Justice

The post-graduate internship program offers full-time, short-term employment opportunities to recent Loyola College of Law graduates waiting for results from the Louisiana Bar Examination. Post-graduate interns work for eight weeks, earning $5,000.00.

Gillis Long Social Justice Fellowship

The Gillis Long Poverty Law Center and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) partner to offer a one-year paid fellowship to a recent Loyola College of Law graduate. The Gillis Long Social Justice Fellow provides civil legal services to the indigent.

Loan Repayment Assistance Program

The Loan Repayment Assistance Program provides financial assistance to Loyola College of Law graduates employed in qualifying government or nonprofit positions. Since 1991, the Center has granted over 1,000 awards, totaling more than 3.5 million dollars.

For any questions about programs, please contact Christina Luwisch at cmluwisc@loyno.edu.

In order to fulfill the skills graduation requirement, all students need a total of 8 skills credits, including one credit in each of the following required categories: SKR1 (Interviewing); SKR2 (Negotiation); SKR3 (Cultural Competence); SKR 4 (Law Office Management/Professionalism). To determine how many credits you have or need, please do the following:

1. View the skills credits you have already earned on LORA. Skills credits are listed at the end of your transcript under Institutional Coursework.

2. Each entry beginning with the course number designation SKL or SKR is a single credit. Courses beginning with SKL indicate a general skills credit while courses beginning with SKR and a number (e.g., SKR1) indicate a skills credit satisfying a particular required category.

3. In order to fulfill the skills graduation requirement, you need at least one SKR1, SKR2, SKR3, and SKR4 credit plus four additional credits of any kind.

   • If you believe you are missing credits, email Prof. Linares at halinare@loyno.edu. It generally takes several weeks after attending a skills course for the credit to be entered onto your transcript.

4. You can determine if you will receive additional credits from LAW courses you are currently taking by verifying that the course section is listed as conferring skills credit at https://law.loyno.edu/law-courses-skills-credit.

   • You can only receive a maximum of 4 skills credits form LAW courses other than clinic. Each qualifying LAW course except for clinics confers a single skills credit.

   • A single semester of clinic (denoted by a skills course number beginning with SKC1) confers 3 skills credits (SKR1, SKR3, SKR4). A second semester of clinic (denoted by SKC2) confers an additional three skills credits (SKR2, SKL, SKL).

5. If you would like verification that the self-audit of skills credits you have conducted is correct, email Prof. Linares at halinare@loyno.edu pasting your skills transcript from LORA and listing any LAW courses (including the professor) you are taking that you believe will result in skills credit.

   • The Office of Skills & Experiential Learning (OSEL) will have a Skills Graduation Audit available for all graduating students at the Graduation Fair held early in the spring semester each year. Conducting a self-audit early in a student’s second-to-last semester is strongly encouraged.

Graduation from law school isn’t the end of your education. It’s just the beginning. Loyola Continuing Legal Education offers a wide range of post-graduate educational opportunities to further your knowledge in a number of subjects including Estate Planning, Family Law, and Maritime Law.

One-day and two-day programs as well as online courses are available to allow professionals with the busiest of schedules to continue their education. And Loyola Law alumni receive discounted registration! Stay up to date with our current course offerings at https://law.loyno.edu/cle/courses.

CLE Requirements for New Attorneys

Newly admitted Louisiana attorneys are required, according to the Louisiana Supreme Court, to complete a minimum of 12.5 hours annually, including 8 hours of ethics, professionalism or law office management, which can be earned in the year of admission and the following calendar year. Refer to Rule 3 from Rule XXX. Rules for Continuing Legal Education for more information on Louisiana CLE requirements.

Contact Ann Koppel or Mary Frances Seiter with any questions.