How accurate is COA Forum

[giantsfan19192]

Some of the estimates seem a bit high to me, so I was wondering what people's experience was with the numbers given for COA at their given schools. Have you needed less/more than what was predetermined or was it pretty accurate? Thanks

[DaysToGo]

I heard that it's notoriously overestimated by the schools. This makes sense to me because in order to get a student loan, you have to demonstrate need for it, and some people want to take out loans for more than they actually need, so the school gives them more costs than is the actual cost to attend in order to increase loan potential. Most schools (based solely on my opinion and not at all on facts other than that the schools I'm looking at grossly overestimate cost of living) overestimate the cost of living. If you live frugally then you'll likely come in at way under what they estimate.

[Attax]

Additionally, the calculators (at least LS22's) account for interest accrued while in school, which will increase the COA.

[Saddle Up]

Negotiation seems to be the only avenue. In a perfect world the schools would spell it out like the banks and credit card companies do… with a credit score of 700, this is what we’ll do. Then you could look at your GPA/LSAT and know what kind of discount is available. Every school likely has a formula, but figure it’s well-guarded.

[Fiero85]

It's normally overestimated, especially at schools in cheaper COL areas like WUSTL or Vandy.

Watch out for schools that only calculate COA for 10 months of the year by excluding summer costs though.

[bk1]

Watch out for schools that only calculate COA for 10 months of the year by excluding summer costs though.

This. Most schools calculate CoA for the school year, not the full year. Since the vast majority of 1L summer jobs are unpaid and the same is true for most 2L summer jobs at non-T14s, the CoA calculators tend to underestimate your overall cost. On top of that, if you don't end up in biglaw you will likely have to pay bar fees ($1000-2000), bar prep costs ($1000-4000), and living expenses during the summer after graduation.