<p>Disclaimer: I tried using search, but I couldn't find anything very helpful.</p>
<p>Can someone tell me, in general, how most law students pay for law school? Loans? Savings? Is it more common for prospective lawyers to go to law school straight after college or to work a few years, save up tuition, and then attend?</p>
<p>average law student graduates with 100-120k in debt, that's why those big firm jobs are so attractive. Also why I think it's pointless to pay full tuition (or anything close) unless you are going to a top 25 school. If you can't get into a T25 school then go to wherever gives you full tuition. Unless you wanna graduate 120k in debt making 60k a year.</p>
<p>my state school;s 20k a year. u mite want to look into that option. and unless you want to do something highly lucrative with the law, i agree don't go too far into debt. some schools also offer merit aid.</p>
<p>Is there anything like work study in law school? I would imagine everyone's so busy with their classes that earning worthwhile money with a job would be impossible. And where do people live while at law school if they're not in their native city/state? Are there dorms for law students or do they need to look for off-campus housing?</p>
<p>Most students don't work just because the schedule/classes are so demanding. Most schools also have on-campus housing (dorms) however people are free to live off campus (many do).</p>
<p>I worked in law school as an assistant to the Dean of Students at the undergrad school. It was the perfect job because I could set my own hours. My first job was to manage the college pool hall - I had to quit that one because the idea was for me to study and just give out pool cues and the like, but I learned to shoot pool so I had to quit or become a pool shark. The downside of my job was that it went full time in the summer so I couldn't do the standard summer clerkships. It didn't matter in the long run - I still got the job I wanted. I loved my job - it kept me sane.</p>
<p>My kid just graduated from law school. Didn't work first semester.Did the rest of law school. One reason was kid wanted to take a certain pro bono job for the summer after 1L year. Had to make the $ to pay the rent.</p>
<p>Kid did not bus tables or work in a pool hall :)! Jobs were all things that would enhance a resume.</p>
<p>Good point jonri. I have heard that part-time, resume-enhancing jobs are a good idea, especially for students right out of undergrad that have not had a meaningful job. Whether you graduate from a top law school or not you will raise some eyebrows if you have never had a job. Still, I can't imagine any part-time job paying for law school.</p>
<p>Oh, no, I didn't mean a part-time job netted $50,000 after taxes! But still you can work during law school and doing so can significantly reduce the amount of your loans.</p>
<p>What's the typical law school schedule like? Is it like at the undergrad level where we have carte blanche to choose our own classes/days+times ?</p>
<p>I don't know of any school that lets you choose your own schedule for the first year. You'll be assigned a section at random.</p>