Student Resources - Socio-Economic Index

Information about parents’ and guardians’ income is required to make a financial aid assessment. Students will be deemed to receive a certain amount of financial assistance from applicable family members based on their ability to contribute even if family members do not in fact contribute to the student’s education.

Underlying this rule is one of the core principles of the financial aid program – ensuring that the law school continues to be accessible to students from all backgrounds. Access is of particular concern for students from low-income backgrounds. Students from low-income families often have personal histories or circumstances which make law school education less obtainable. Parental income is a proxy for student’s socio-economic status. It provides a means of accounting for differences between students.

Parental/guardian income information is required from all financial aid applicants.

Parental/guardian income is defined as the combined gross income (line 15000 or total gross income of the most recent Canadian Income Tax Return (NOA) or equivalent income tax returns from other jurisdictions) for both parents/guardians. Social assistance and retirement income will be considered as eligible income.

First time applicants to the Financial Aid program are required to provide the previous three (3) years of their parents’/guardians' income tax notices of assessment. The average of these three (3) year’s incomes for both parents/guardians will be considered while the student is at the law school.

Student Socio-Economic Index Calculations

For one-household families (parents/guardians are living in one household)

Families making less than $88,141 will be exempt from the calculations of the Socio-Economic Index. Families will have $4,000 deducted from their average household income for each dependent child under the age of 18. In rare and exceptional circumstances, other dependents may be considered if sufficient documentation is provided to the Financial Aid Committee.

The student socio-economic index rate is calculated using the eligible family income, which is the average income of parents/guardians less allowance for dependent children. 

• For eligible family incomes of $88,141 or less, the economic index is $0
• For eligible family incomes between $214,107 and $88,141, the economic index is calculated as the difference between the eligible income and $88,141 times 15% 
• For eligible family income over $214,107, the economic index is calculated as the difference between the eligible income and $214,107 times 25% PLUS $18,895

Example 1- Family has a combined income of $90,000 and no children under 18 at home. The formula used to calculate student economic index is ($90,000-$88,141)*0.15=$279

Example 2 - Family has a combined income of $290,000 and two children under 18 at home. The formula used to calculate student economic index is

For two-household families (i.e. students with separated or divorced parents/guardians)

Families making less than $129,404 per family will be exempt from the calculations of the Socio-Economic Index. Families will have $4,000 deducted from their average household income for each dependent child under the age of 18. In rare and exceptional circumstances, other dependents may be considered if sufficient documentation is provided to the Financial Aid Committee.

The student socio-economic index rate is calculated using the average family income less ($4,000 times number of children under 18 living at home), this is the eligible family income

• For eligible family incomes of $129,404 or less, the economic index is $0
• For eligible family incomes between $214,107 and $129,404 the economic index is calculated as the difference between the eligible income and $129,404 times 15% 
• For eligible family income over $214,107, the economic index is calculated as the difference between the eligible income and $214,107 times 25% PLUS $12,705

Example 1- Family has a combined income of $150,000 and no children under 18 at home. The formula used to calculate student economic index is ($150,000-$129,404)*0.15=$3,089

Example 2 - Family has a combined income of $290,000 and two children under 18 at home. The formula used to calculate student economic index is

Age Inclusion Index

In recognition that older students are likely to be more independent, we use the following age inclusion index to adjust expected parental/guardian contribution:

Example 1 - Family has a combined income of $150,000, live in the same household and no children under 18 at home. The applicant is 32 years old. The formula used to calculate student economic index is 

Special Provision for Material Decreases in Parental/Guardian Income During Law School

If a student’s parental/guardian income falls by 25% or more from the average of the three notices of assessment (“NOAs”) submitted prior to beginning law school, the financial aid program will make an adjustment to their student socio-economic index with the provision of appropriate documentation. 

To qualify for a downward adjustment to the students’ socio-economic index, a student must provide all NOAs for the period after they begin law school (in addition to the NOAs that would have previously been submitted for the three years prior to beginning law school). The adjusted income will reflect the average of all the NOAs.

Example

Let us suppose a student began law school in the fall of 2023 and submitted parental/guardian NOAs for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 taxation years. The default presumptive parental/guardian income for them during law school will be the average of those three (3) NOAs. The special provision for material decreases in parental/guardian income during law school would work as follows.

If parental/guardian income for the 2023 taxation year dropped by more than 25% from the 2020-2022 NOA average and the student would like this drop to be considered for fall 2024 financial aid, they would submit their parents’ 2023 taxation year NOAs. The student’s socio-economic index for their fall 2024 financial aid calculation will now be the average of the NOAs for the four (4) years from 2020-2023. Note that if the student makes use of this option, they will be required to provide additional NOAs (e.g. 2024 taxation year) when they apply for financial aid in future years of the program, at which point parental income will be averaged across all available years (e.g., average of 2020-2024 taxation years).