Law Students - How are you paying tuition?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Did a little research into the schools where my kid is applying, and had a coronary (but I have insufficient life insurance to pay for the law school tuition...sorry kid.) </p>

<p>I'm managing to pay undergrad tuition bills but won't be able to assist with graduate school. Kid has very solid credentials, but will not be applying to top 20 schools (hoping for something in Tier 2 or Tier 3). </p>

<p>With tuition bills averaging in the mid 30s (before living expenses), how do law students manage to stay in school if they don't get substantial grants or scholarships? I assume parents help some, and they may max-out on loans? Some schools expressly state that students are not allowed to work as 1Ls. I read somewhere that the average student graduates with $75K in loans...</p>

<p>If you're a law student or parent of a law student who is not either paying cash or getting a substantial/full ride to law school, how are you doing it?</p>

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<p>Many students take out well over $100k (and often over $125k) in a combination of federal and private loans. The $75 number is simply for the average student . . .</p>

3

<p>Most people who don't pay cash or get merit aid take out huge loans, as Sally says. If you land a big firm job for the summer (easier as a 2L than a 1L, and highly dependent on your grades, the ranking of the school you attend, and the state of the economy) you can earn enough to pay for a full semester of tuition and maybe your living expenses for that semester, too. </p>

<p>I'm doing some unusual things, so I'll share them. Here's how I'm doing it, without paying cash or getting any financial aid (except loans) from the law school:</p>

<p>a) I'm doing a dual degree program, so will graduate in seven semesters instead of six. However, I'll actually have less debt when I graduate than most of my classmates (ignoring the opportunity cost of not working for a few extra months, which admittedly is substantial). My non-law degree program didn't charge me tuition for the two semesters I spent taking classes there (the credits for one semester were double-counted towards the law degree)--and they gave me a stipend--while it wasn't huge, it covered my rent and some utilities that year...a big perk of living in a pretty cheap town! </p>

<p>b) I am a TA for a non-law class this semester--this comes with a tuition waiver, health care, and a stipend. If you have a special talent (fluent in a foreign language, have a graduate degree already, etc.) then it might be worth looking into which universities with law schools have generous TAship programs.</p>

<p>c) I worked at a big firm this summer.</p>

<p>d) I've worked part-time each semester (yes, even 1L year, but only about 3 hours a week then). Now I work about 10-15 hours a week. However, a chunk of that is babysitting at nighttime, so essentially getting paid to do homework and listen to a baby monitor.</p>

<p>e) My undergrad school gives very generous awards at graduation--I applied for everything I could think of and was pleasantly surprised.</p>

<p>With all of this, I will still be $50-55 thousand dollars in debt when I graduate. This is good only when you consider that many law students will have borrowed three times as much. I am lucky to have no undergrad debt (merit aid, working, and generous family members) and to attend a school with a good public interest loan repayment program (so good, in fact, that if I end up doing public interest, I'll feel a little silly for working so hard to reduce my debt load!).</p>

<p>It's a lot of debt, but I'm not complaining--frankly, I went in expecting to have to take out lots of loans, with the understanding that I was attending a school that promised a great chance of earning $160,000 when I graduate, or to pay my loans if I chose a public interest job. I think the problem comes when people borrow huge sums to attend schools that offer neither of these promises.</p>

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<p>
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With tuition bills averaging in the mid 30s (before living expenses), how do law students manage to stay in school if they don't get substantial grants or scholarships?

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<p>People have already discussed loans.</p>

<p>Another way to do it is to go to law school part-time. Several highly regarded law schools, notably Georgetown and George Washington, run part-time programs; you hold a job during the daytime and you go to law school at night. Granted, it's a tough life, but you can substantially cut down on your debt load because you'll be bringing in a paycheck. Frankly, I think everybody who can't get into the most elite law schools or can't get significant merit aid should seriously consider these part-time programs.</p>

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<p>Thank you for responding - I know that these tips will be helpful not only for my kid, but for others. I spoke with a lawyer yesterday who graduated in the late1980s, who said that his tuition had been $20K a year. This is painful.</p>