Additional Loan Resources

Are you experiencing an unexpected emergency?

South Texas College of Law Houston values the success of our students in all areas of education, mental wellness, and financial assistance. The following resources are available to assist in temporary financial hardships.

Short-Term Loan

Spurgeon Bell Short-Term Loan Application

Students receiving financial assistance (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) that exceed the cost of their STCL term charges may be eligible to apply for an advance on their financial aid refund.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Application must be received during the enrolled term (between first day of class and last day of exams).
  • Short-Term Loan funds must be repaid within 60 days.
    • Late payment(s) will affect future advance eligibility
  • Minimum GPA of 2.300
    • GPA exceptions will be reviewed
  • Maximum short-term loan amount of $1,000

Frequently Asked Questions

You can apply by clicking here and logging in with your Stanley login credentials.

Payments are processed by the Accounting Services Office within 3 business days of application approval.

Note: It is recommended to set-up your electronic refund preference for faster receipt of funds. Click here for electronic refund instructions.

No. The Short-Term Loan is an advance against the amount of financial assistance that is expected to disburse for the term. Your accepted financial assistance will be reviewed by the Office of Student Services prior to an application decision.

The Spurgeon Bell Loan will be applied to your term charges and auto-repayment will be made using your financial assistance disbursement.

Note: If the 60 day deadline is approaching and your financial aid has not disbursed, then you may make a payment out of pocket to avoid being late.

If you are late on your Short-Term Loan repayment then a financial hold will be placed on your student account.

This hold will affect the following:

  •  Registration
  • Transcript
  • Graduation
  • Viewing Grades
  • Exams

Two late repayments will result in an auto-denial of future Spurgeon Bell applications.

Special Circumstances

At STCL, we understand the financial aid that was offered to you may not be enough to cover all of your education costs. The Special Circumstance application is an application to ask for an increase in your cost of attendance, enabling you to borrow additional GRAD PLUS funds. Examples of special circumstance reasons:

  • Excessive medical or dental care expenses, which are not covered by insurance
    • *Please note: the Federal government takes into account an 11% medical allowance when your FAFSA was processed. To increase your cost of attendance, the costs you are submitting must exceed this allowance, or the costs must exceed 11% of your adjusted gross income reported on the FAFSA
  • Major car repair or emergency commuting costs
  • One time computer expense
  • Increase in commuting to STCL due to living outside of 610 or beltway 8

Submit an application with all supporting documentation, verifying costs.

Emergency Fund Application

Students experiencing a sudden and unforeseen financial hardship may be able to apply to Emergency Funds through STCL.

Emergency Funds through STCL are not intended to supplement or replace existing financial assistance for educational expenses. Due to the limited availability of funds students must exhaust all other resources. This Includes but not limited to:

  • Direct loans
  • emergency loans
  • private loans
  • bar loans
  • assistance from family and friends
  • other personal resources

Examples of unexpected emergencies may include:

  • mechanical issues with transportation preventing a student from attending classes
  • travel expenses to attend a funeral for an immediate family member
  • natural disaster or unexpected costs which resulted in lost/replacement of books and/or transportation to school

Eligibility Requirements

  • Applicants must be currently enrolled students or currently studying for the bar.
  • Documentation must be provided for the unforeseen situation, examples include receipts and or denied loan decision.
  • Maximum emergency fund amount is $1,000 and is based on documentation submitted.

Only one application per student per year will be considered.

Frequently Asked Questions

To submit an Emergency Fund Application please click here.

No. The funds are paid directly to you.

Payments are processed by the Accounting Services Office within 1 business days of application approval.

Note: It is recommended to set-up your electronic refund preference for faster receipt of funds. Click here for electronic refund instructions.

Additional Resources

Government Assistance

You may be eligible for other types of Government Assistance at benefits.gov including, but not limited to:

You may use the Benefit Finder tool to review eligibility for government programs.

211 Texas Program

You may be eligible for state assistance through Texas Health and Human Services. To find help visit 211texas.org.

Assistance includes, but is not limited to:

  • Child Care/Education
  • Crisis/Emergency
  • Food/Nutrition
  • Health/Medical
  • Housing/Shelter
  • Mental Health/Substance Use
  • Veterans

Financial Literacy

South Texas College of Law Houston students and alumni have access to hundreds of FREE resources and learning plans through AccessLex’s Education Network.

Resources and learning plans for aspiring lawyers include:

  • Preparation (financial aid and cost evaluating)
  • Personal Finance (debt, investing, budgeting and planning)
  • Law School Success (law preparation information, managing stress and study techniques)
  • Bar Exam (information on licensure, UBE and MPRE)

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

You are now leaving STCL Houston

By accessing this link, you will be leaving STCL Houston’s website and entering a website hosted by another party. Please be advised that you will no longer be subject to, or under the protection of, the privacy and security policies of the STCL Houston website. The other party is solely responsible for the content of its website and for the security and privacy policies utilized by the other party.”

You will be redirected to

Click the link above to continue or CANCEL

Scroll to Top
#printfriendly #pf-content svg {min-width: 20px!important;margin-right: 10px;} #pf-content .kb-svg-icon-wrap.kt-svg-icon-list-single svg {min-width: 20px!important;margin-right: 10px;}