<p>My parents will not be able to assist me at all for law school. In this economy, will I have trouble getting loans? If I expect my EFC to be 0, how much can I expect in grants? (Assuming I pay full tuition at a T-14.)</p>
<p>My boyfriend is currently at a T-5 law school and is taking all of his tuition (except 30k) in loans. Are we both screwed, given the economy? How long will it take to pay back? 15-20 years?</p>
<p>It is difficult to assess given all of the factors. I think with a good GPA from Top 5 school will be a good position. Regardless of the economy, the demise of the Big 3 Auto will lead to a lot of work in Labour, Bankruptcy, Tax, Securities etc.</p>
<p>I was in a very similar situation.</p>
<p>Regardless of what you think your EFC should be, it probably isn't going to be 0. Many schools ask for your parents' financial information if you're under 30 (!), and it gets factored in regardless of whether your parents are actually going to give you money. </p>
<p>You probably will not get any grants. There are relatively few need-based grants at top law schools. </p>
<p>If you are planning to attend a T14 school, you should assume you'll have to borrow 100% of the cost of attendance, minus whatever you've saved for school. You may have living expenses that are lower than what the school estimates (for example if you find cheap rent, forgo owning a car, etc.) and you may be able to take out fewer loans if you get high-paying summer jobs. </p>
<p>I haven't heard of people having trouble taking out loans for attending top law schools, so I wouldn't worry about that. </p>
<p>Loan repayment is generally on a 10-year plan, which can be extended to 20 years (your monthly payments will be lower on a 20-year plan but you'll pay a lot more overall).</p>
<p>If you borrow $120,000 at 7% interest, you'll have to pay back about $1400 a month for 10 years or about $900 a month for 20 years. This is very doable, if not fun, on a Biglaw salary. If you take a lower-paying job, it could be difficult to impossible--but there are loan repayment assistance programs at some law schools and through the government for those working in the nonprofit sector (they do have a lot of loopholes and red tape though).</p>
<p>You should also note that in attending law school, you can easily max out the amount of Stafford loans available to any individual. You would then need to access private loans. In either case, you will need to have excellent credit to obtain these student loans, and you may be able to obtain a more favorable interest rate on private loans to the extent that your parents (or someone else) is willing to sign on as a guarantor of those student loans.</p>
<p>The government now has the Graduate PLUS loan that lets you borrow up to your cost of attendance. The interest rate is 7.9% or 8.5% depending on if you borrow directly from the government or not. The interest is charged as soon as it is disbursed. You DO NOT need to get private loans anymore for graduate school. They are pretty scarce now anyway.</p>
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/In this economy, will I have trouble getting loans? If I expect my EFC to be 0, how much can I expect in grants? (Assuming I pay full tuition at a T-14.)
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<p>On what are you basing your expectation that your EFC will be zero? As Stacy has explained, at law schools that do give need-based financial aid, it's based on family income, not just yours. If your family has low-ish income, you may qualify for need based aid at some law schools. To get a sense of what's involved, go to Need</a> Access.org - Home. (Not all schools that give fin aid use the needaccess forms, but many do.) </p>
<p>I'd also suggest paying attention to loan repayment programs if you aren't sure you want big law. (And, unlike Stacy's experience, the ones I'm familar with don't have that much red tape.) </p>
<p>Finally, I'd suggest going to LSAC.org</a> Homepage. and reading the information there about financing a ls education. You should also check the information available at the specific law schools you are interested in--and at some you MIGHT be interested in if you received merit money.</p>
<p>You can probably do the 20 year plan and then if your financial situation is good enough that you can pay earlier, you could probably do that if you want and there's no prepayment penalty.</p>
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On what are you basing your expectation that your EFC will be zero? As Stacy has explained, at law schools that do give need-based financial aid, it's based on family income, not just yours. If your family has low-ish income, you may qualify for need based aid at some law schools. To get a sense of what's involved, go to Need Access.org - Home. (Not all schools that give fin aid use the needaccess forms, but many do.)
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<p>I thought I would get financial aid based off my independent status, but apparently not, as Stacy explained.</p>
<p>I am hoping that my EFC is low, as it was for undergrad. My parents are divorced and my dad claimed me on his income tax return throughout ugrad, and I ended up receiving Pell Grants and had much of my tuition covered. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses guys. Now that I am in at U Mich!!! and GULC (wooo, ok tooting my horn here), I have to take the next step and figure out how to finance law school.</p>
<p>Congratulations! Great news!</p>