Money Matters
facts & figures
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Just how much does money matter for law school?
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It depends on how much educational debt you already carry,
- on what additional financial resources you have for educational purposes,
- on how clear your credit history is,
- on how much additional debt you are willing/able to assume,
- on your own particular career goals within the field of law,
- on which law schools (private or public) you hope to attend,
- on how frugally you are willing to live,
- on your own individual values and goals regarding money.
Consider the following:
- 75% of U.S. law students borrow an average of 75% of their total law school costs.
- Loans (money that must be paid back) are a far more common form of financial aid in law school than grants of scholarships (money that doesn’t have to be paid back). You must have a good credit history before you will be approved by a lender.
- Law schools have more candidates who qualify for need-based aid than they have money to loan.
- Admitted students whose financial aid forms and tax records are complete the earliest have first shot at the available money. You are disadvantaged if you or your parents wait until April to figure your taxes.
- Tuition at law schools (and thus your potential debt burden) continues to rise.
- Many law students who have substantial debt burdens conclude that they must pursue the most lucrative jobs even though the actual work might not be the most interesting option to them. Generally speaking, the highest paying jobs (big city, big firm offers) go to those with the best academic records in law school. Remember, only 10% can actually be among the top 10%.
Steps to Take:
- Talk with your family to determine the extent of financial help you can expect from home.
- Make sure you apply to a range of law schools which will be affordable to you (and where you have reasonable chance of admission).
- Check you credit rating. Do so by emailing or writing a letter requesting a report to:
| Equifax | Experian | Trans Union |
| P.O. Box 740241 | P.O. Box 2104 | P.O. Box 2000 |
| Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 | Allen, TX 75013-2104 | Chester, PA 19022 |
| (800) 685-1111 | (888) 397-3742 | (800) 888-4213 |
| www.equifax.com | www.experian.com | www.tuc.com |
- Make early application for financial aid. You can fill out a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) on line at www.finaid.org.
- Read each law school application carefully to see which forms need to be file by what deadline.
- Live frugally so you borrow as little as possible.
- Pay off all credit debt before enrolling in law school.
- Make a three-year budget of all costs, assuming an increase in tuition for each year. Be realistic about expenses. The chart below was developed by the University of California—Boalt Hall to illustrate the cost of applying to and attending law school.
Be sure to have your first and last name, middle initial, and any other prefix, your spouse’s first name (if applicable), your social security number, year of birth, the last five year’s worth of addresses, and two copies of documents proving your current address.
ESTIMATED PRE-MATRICULATION COSTS
Assumption 1: College senior who is a timely applicant to seven schools:
$ 90.00 LSAT Fee
95.00 LSDAS Fee
54.00 Law school reports (#1 is free $9/additional school)
10.00 Transcript fee
455.00 Application fees to seven schools @ $65 average/school
20.00 Miscellaneous postage
$ 724.00 Applicant subtotal
Assumption 2: Applicant is admitted at two of the seven schools
$ 400.00 Initial seat deposit for two schools
1,000.00 Travel estimate to visit one of the schools
1,500.00 Relocation expenses including travel, shipping, dorm/apartment deposit, utility connect charges, etc.
$3,624.00 Pre-Matriculation Total
ESTIMATED POST-MATRICULATION COSTS
Average annual tuition: (Source: 2001 Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools)
$( 9,768.83) Tuition: Average for public/resident school tuition *
(18,872.50) Average for public/non-resident school tuition*
( 26,117.33) Private school tuition +
800.00 Books/Supplies estimate for first year (add $2,000 for a computer)
7,200.00 Food and housing estimate--$800/month @ 9 months
200.00 Personal needs estimate--$200/month @ 9 months
Annual living expense estimate total (not including holiday trips home)
$ 19,468.83 Public/resident total
26,072.50 Public/non-resident total
35,817.33 Private total
* Public schools used to compute averages are Michigan, Texas, Berkeley, Illinois, Florida and UNC
+ Private schools used to compute averages are Chicago, SMU, USC, Duke, Emory, and NYU
Charts, ideas, and figures come from a number of sources including LSAC, NALP, and National Law Journal
Will I be able to repay my debt from law school loans?
The amount of money that will be required to repay your loan obligations is based on the loan amount, the interest rate, and the repayment period for your loan. The chart below graphs these factors for you, assuming the common 10-year repayment schedule.
Estimated Monthly Payments Based on 10-year Repayment Period
|
Amount Borrowed |
At 5% |
At 7% |
At 8% |
|||
|
Monthly Payment |
Total Interest |
Monthly Payment |
Total Interest |
Monthly Payment |
Total Interest |
|
|
5,000 |
53.04 |
1,364 |
58.06 |
1,966 |
60.67 |
2,280 |
|
10,000 |
106.07 |
2,728 |
116.11 |
3,933 |
121.33 |
4,559 |
|
15,000 |
159.10 |
4,092 |
174.17 |
5,899 |
182.00 |
6,840 |
|
20,000 |
212.14 |
5,455 |
232.22 |
7,866 |
242.66 |
9,119 |
|
25,000 |
265.17 |
6,820 |
290.28 |
9,832 |
303.32 |
11,398 |
|
30,000 |
318.20 |
8,183 |
348.3 |
11,799 |
363.99 |
13,678 |
|
40,000 |
424.27 |
10,911 |
464.44 |
15,732 |
485.32 |
18,237 |
|
50,000 |
530.33 |
13,639 |
580.55 |
19,655 |
606.64 |
22,797 |
|
60,000 |
636.40 |
16,367 |
696.66 |
23,598 |
727.97 |
27,356 |
|
70,000 |
742.46 |
19,095 |
812.76 |
27,531 |
849.30 |
31,915 |
|
80,000 |
848.53 |
21,823 |
928.87 |
31,464 |
970.63 |
36,474 |
|
90,000 |
954.59 |
24,551 |
1,044.98 |
35,397 |
1,091.95 |
41,034 |
|
100,000 |
1060.66 |
27,278 |
1,161.09 |
39,330 |
1,213.28 |
45,593 |
