Top Law Schools

Hi. I sincerely apologize if this has been asked before.

I've gotten good scholarships to lower ranked schools, but I've had many people (in DC) tell me that it's in my best interest to go to the best school I've gotten into (GW).

My question is this: I'm going to have to pay for law school by myself, which means taking out loans. Without telling me there's no chance I'll get a job or be able to pay the loans back, can someone give me a quick summary of this loan process? Is it more common to get federal loans, private loans, or some combination of the two? Who do I go to for this? Do I need to fill out a FAFSA?

Thanks in advance! I really appreciate the help.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=gw+law+financial+aid&l=1
Really, why not ask them?

I've never taken out loans before (I was on a full ride in undergrad), but I've been reading up on the process a lot. You'll definitely have to fill out the FAFSA, do it as soon as possible. If GW doesn't offer need-based grants, more than likely you'll only have to have your information (and not your parents). Once you fill that out, double check with the school to make sure they've gotten your Student Aid Report within a couple of weeks after you submit. Sometime over the summer (maybe sooner) you'll get a breakdown of what kinds of loans you qualify for (more than likely it'll be $20,500 federal stafford and the remainder in gradplus or other private loans). You'll have to pass a credit check for the private loans. Different schools disperse loans different ways, but most likely you'll either have the loans paid directly to your school, your tuition deducted, and the remainder will be given to you via check or direct deposit, OR the entire loan amount will be given to you via check or direct deposit and you'll be responsible for paying the appropriate amount for tuition and fees to your school.

Hope this helps! I'm also just learning about the whole loan process too, so someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Rethink paying full tuition at GWU via loans when you have a $31,000 a year scholarship from Wash. & Lee.

Yeah, I'm going to W&L today, so hopefully I really like it. I just flew into DC (home) from school, though, and it seems like every time I go out and have fun with friends here I start leaning towards GW. Also, I was talking to my friend's mom (SEC attorney) about it, and her advice was to go to the best school I got into, regardless of debt (she then said, "It's tough, though. Glad I don't have to make the decision").

It's just a hard decision...

Autoaccept wrote:Yeah, I'm going to W&L today, so hopefully I really like it. I just flew into DC (home) from school, though, and it seems like every time I go out and have fun with friends here I start leaning towards GW. Also, I was talking to my friend's mom (SEC attorney) about it, and her advice was to go to the best school I got into, regardless of debt (she then said, "It's tough, though. Glad I don't have to make the decision").

It's just a hard decision...

31K from W&L? This shouldn't be a hard decision, unless you are DC or bust.

CanadianWolf wrote:Rethink paying full tuition at GWU via loans when you have a $31,000 a year scholarship from Wash. & Lee.

OP - if this is an option for you, it's a better deal than GWU at sticker. True, your chances of getting a high paying job are greater at GWU - but it's not $38,000 a year or so better (including COL differences).

sundance95 wrote:

Autoaccept wrote:Yeah, I'm going to W&L today, so hopefully I really like it. I just flew into DC (home) from school, though, and it seems like every time I go out and have fun with friends here I start leaning towards GW. Also, I was talking to my friend's mom (SEC attorney) about it, and her advice was to go to the best school I got into, regardless of debt (she then said, "It's tough, though. Glad I don't have to make the decision").

It's just a hard decision...

31K from W&L? This shouldn't be a hard decision, unless you are DC or bust.

No, this is not a hard decision, even if you are DC or bust. This is a huge (about 100K) gamble on a slightly better chance at a high-paying job.

Thanks for the advice, y'all. I'm still going to tool around a little in Excel with my options, can anyone just give me an oversimplified breakdown of, say, the $65,000 CoA at GWU (I know it's $70k, but I'd find cheaper housing and possibly just live at home for free)?

For instance, $20k @ "x" interest rate and $45k @ "y" interest rate.

Autoaccept wrote:Thanks for the advice, y'all. I'm still going to tool around a little in Excel with my options, can anyone just give me an oversimplified breakdown of, say, the $65,000 CoA at GWU (I know it's $70k, but I'd find cheaper housing and possibly just live at home for free)?

For instance, $20k @ "x" interest rate and $45k @ "y" interest rate.

I think you can find the interest rates of stafford and gradplus loans online.

So much easier to have them spoon fed, though!

who the hell in DC told you to do GW at sticker over WandL? if they are lawyers, they should be disbarred, and before that, you should sue them for malpractice.
GW is not GULC. Ha, and there are prolly some people who would still go with WandL.

My friend's mom works in a pretty prestigious government position and the "Ivys" on her hall say go to the best school I got into, which would be GW. They didn't necessarily say, "go to GW." I figured it was an oversimplification in any case.