Top Law Schools

Tier 1 Law School

Cost of Attendance Budget:
Tuition $45,000
Fees/ Books/ Supplies/ Loan Fees: $2,000
Living Expenses $20,000
Total $67,000

Financial Aid/ year:
Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan $8,500
Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan $12,000
Est. Fed Grad PLUS/ Priv. Loan $42,000
Total $62,500

Over 3 years:
$187,500 (Covered by Loans)
$13,500 (Not covered by Loans)
$201,000 (Total)

These are the actual numbers I recently received... along with a congrats letter saying I was accepted. I've never been so happy, shortly followed by pure confusion.

Question: Given no outside aid, no scholarships, and an acceptance letter... how do you make law school work?

Discuss.

Looks like more debt in the form of private loans or credit cards for you my friend.

Living expenses are usually pretty generous. There's a good chance you could get by on 5k / yr less than what they estimate, depending on what school and where it's located.

Also, you might make some money your 1L summer, and you'll very likely make some money your 2L summer. This could help make up for the difference as well. In the meantime, try to get by on savings and earn some money this summer.

If all else fails, private loans / credit card debt are a fallback.

Also: PLEASE don't take out that much debt for a "T1" law school. Unless it's a top 20 school, there's a disturbingly high chance that you won't be able to recover your investment. Even then, I wouldn't pay sticker for anything less than T13 outside of a plan to use a good LRAP.

Matt123 wrote:Tier 1 Law School

Cost of Attendance Budget:
Tuition $45,000
Fees/ Books/ Supplies/ Loan Fees: $2,000
Living Expenses $20,000
Total $67,000

Financial Aid/ year:
Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan $8,500
Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan $12,000
Est. Fed Grad PLUS/ Priv. Loan $42,000
Total $62,500

Over 3 years:
$187,500 (Covered by Loans)
$13,500 (Not covered by Loans)
$201,000 (Total)

These are the actual numbers I recently received... along with a congrats letter saying I was accepted. I've never been so happy, shortly followed by pure confusion.

Question: Given no outside aid, no scholarships, and an acceptance letter... how do you make law school work?

Discuss.

$20,000 for living expenses is pretty high (unless in NYC), and most schools can increase your Gradplus loans if you have a situation where you need to increase your costs of living.

If you get a roommate, you probably won't even need 10k for living expenses.