Summer living expenses? Forum

[hellothisisme]

So I apologize if this is a really dumb question (which it probably is). But as I understand it, the cost of attendance that law schools give is for the nine-month academic year. And you can only borrow up to the cost of attendance, correct?

Not everyone can find a paying job their 1L summer. I know a few schools give stipends to students doing unpaid PI work, but there's quite a few students that do unpaid work without a stipend.

How do they pay their rent, groceries, etc.? Stretching the nine-month COA to twelve months?

[bk1]

There are also practicum courses at some schools that you can take that allow you to technically be enrolled while doing your summer job and thus be eligible for loan money.

[anjmissy]

easy..stretch out the COL expenses to last for 12 months instead of 9

also you may be able to find a grant of some sort for work

[backwards54]

Taking on a paying job rather than an unpaid one (even if the job is less appalling or less law related), taking a second paying job with the unpaid one, stretching the 9 months grant over 12 months, living on credit cards/overdraft...

[mrtoren]

The amount they give you for COA is usually far over what you could ever practically use in one academic year. You're in law school, you're not a professional yet. Get out of the luxury condo and into a run-down apartment complex. Put the steaks back and stick with ramen noodles, mac 'n cheese, and store-branded food. Rent your books instead of purchasing them. Stop buying new clothes. Leave your car at home to save on gas and potential parking permit charges. These are all things that should be common sense. If you follow them, you should have more than enough money for the entire year. However, as others have said, you may have to get a job instead of an internship for the summer after 1L.

The #1 reason people overrun their budgets is housing. I mentioned it above and I'll mention it again: you don't need or deserve five-star accommodations on student loan money. Even the dorms are pricey. Advertise for a roommate or two or three and find a beat-up old apartment complex with the lowest rates. You can impress people later. But for now, this is reality.