Money for law school Forum

[Susan_Walid]

Are you screwed if you don't have any money saved up before law school? Literally going in with $5 in your Debit card? All loans

[mpj_3050]

What school and how much are the loans?

[rinkrat19]

Loans are intended to cover cost of living.

[Susan_Walid]

Really? I thought people usually have money saved up before. That makes me feel a lot better. My mom told me I have no chance going next year because I don't have anything saved up.

[Kilpatrick]

No you don't need to have money saved up. It would be nice so that you could take out less loans, but you can definitely survive on just loans. You're applying for professional school, stop listening to your mom.

[blazinswordofjustice]

You're applying for professional school, stop listening to your mom.

haha, point for Kilpatrick!

[cinephile]

Are you screwed if you don't have any money saved up before law school? Literally going in with $5 in your Debit card? All loans

It's true that you get loans for COL, but before loans are distributed you have to put down a deposit on an apartment which requires first, last, and a security deposit - so basically three months of rent. Plus the cost of getting to the school/moving all your things out there. Yeah you'll get loans which will reimburse you for these things, but you do need some money to start out with. I spent about 6k in deposits, new furniture, and moving costs, and couldn't have done it without having some savings first.

[spliterw/hope]

It's true that you get loans for COL, but before loans are distributed you have to put down a deposit on an apartment which requires first, last, and a security deposit - so basically three months of rent. Plus the cost of getting to the school/moving all your things out there. Yeah you'll get loans which will reimburse you for these things, but you do need some money to start out with. I spent about 6k in deposits, new furniture, and moving costs, and couldn't have done it without having some savings first.

You can also look into a smaller private school loan, if needed, to cover this moving cost, in order to get there and situated etc. I'm guessing that a private school loan can be disbursed ahead of the classes start date, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but yes savings to cover at least this would cut down cost/amount of overall loans.

[83947368]

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[03121202698008]

Yeah I'm surprised how much money it's gonna set me back to deposit at schools, my apartment, and move to law school before ever getting any loans. I'm looking probably around $7,000. I can always put about 2k on my credit card but for deposits and first months rent you might need about 2-4k in cash.

I don't really get how other people do this because I assume a lot don't have 3-4k in cash plus 1-2k in credit. But maybe they just move a shorter distance and get some help from mom and dad.

In sum: It's good to have a little cash saved.

This varies by location and your credit score. I put a $150 security deposit down and first month's rent. Some schools will also float you a short-term loan for this.

[Opie]

Yeah I'm surprised how much money it's gonna set me back to deposit at schools, my apartment, and move to law school before ever getting any loans. I'm looking probably around $7,000. I can always put about 2k on my credit card but for deposits and first months rent you might need about 2-4k in cash.

I don't really get how other people do this because I assume a lot don't have 3-4k in cash plus 1-2k in credit. But maybe they just move a shorter distance and get some help from mom and dad.

In sum: It's good to have a little cash saved.

This varies by location and your credit score. I put a $150 security deposit down and first month's rent. Some schools will also float you a short-term loan for this.

+1, When I moved to FL they wanted all these crazy deposits, but here in my home state I've never paid more that a month's rent for deposit and the first month. Usually it has been like 1.5 month's rent total.

[dingbat]

Are you screwed if you don't have any money saved up before law school? Literally going in with $5 in your Debit card? All loans

It's true that you get loans for COL, but before loans are distributed you have to put down a deposit on an apartment which requires first, last, and a security deposit - so basically three months of rent. Plus the cost of getting to the school/moving all your things out there. Yeah you'll get loans which will reimburse you for these things, but you do need some money to start out with. I spent about 6k in deposits, new furniture, and moving costs, and couldn't have done it without having some savings first.

You should learn to keep your costs down. I managed to move to NY for under $3k (covered ticket there, rent & deposit on apartment, and a few weeks living expenses). Had law school been in the books at the time, another thousand in deposit fees would have brought my total to around $3.5k (I wouldn't have had to wait as long for my first paycheck to arrive)