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Law School costs are a life-long career investment but the amount investment is also huge and since it has to be repaid calls for a lot of considerations. It is important to consider all the ups and downs of entering into such a large expenditure of not only money, but also time and effort, not to speak of the worry and tension of repaying the money. Even more so, given these uncertain financial times, a realistic assessment of whether you really want to study to become a lawyer, whether you really want to borrow all that money and most importantly how are you going to repay it become vital and critical.
Remember the cost of law school education could be upwards of $200,000. Tuition fees alone could account for $50,000 or more each year. Of course this will vary from school to school, but that is not the only cost that you are likely to incur - add to this the cost of accommodation, food, conveyance, books and day-to-day personal expenses. You will not get all this money through federal loans, part of it, around 20 percent has to be raised by you from your own private sources.
What is more these loans have to be paid back. The less you borrow the less time you will need to pay it back. If you allow the debt to endure, it could negatively impact your studies. Understand that your first priority is to concentrate on your studies and anything that takes away from it is not really advisable. You are the best judge and you must weigh all the pros and cons before decide whether to borrow and if yes, then how much.
The pricing structure of legal education has come for a lot of criticism and censure and experts allege that the schools are exploiting the increasing demand for seats and say that the continued escalation in costs is unsustainable and unjustifiable.
But that does not mean that just because it is not inexpensive one must immediately think of not pursuing a legal goal or aspiration. You cannot wait, because legal education is not going to become any cheaper. Moreover, you could have a career spanning more than three decades and that you could allow you to recover your costs many times over. Hence not opting for it on the basis of current expenses may seem imprudent and shortsighted. Hence it is better to have a plan for financing your way through college rather than opting out, just because it costs too much.
Remember you are not investing in the law school; you are investing in your future. The legal education will provide you a return throughout your legal career. There are many avenues open to assist you in financing your legal education and reach your goals. Through an amalgamation of grants, scholarships, student loans, part-time work, and generous repayment programs, investing in your future can become an affordable and conceivable possibility.
There are financial assistance forms that must be filled out to determine need for any type of financial help and rarely will the funding be inclusive of all costs. Therefore, you will be expected to provide at least part of your own financing, whether from parents, your own savings, or from other related sources including part-time work while attending law school.
Even though I have suggested that part-time work can bring in revenue, keep in mind that law schools discourage students from working their first year because school work will keep them quite occupied. Second- and third-year students may be able to squeeze in part-time work depending on their class schedules. However, some law schools schedule classes throughout the day, which makes part-time work almost impossible and evening employment equally difficult, since most nights are normally spent preparing for the next day's classes.
There are scholarships for which you may be eligible, but you must apply early. Possible scholarship sources include a Lawyers' Auxiliary associated with a local or regional bar association; the law schools themselves, your employer, or your parents' employers.
Grants are another possible source of financing-including state education grants. Most grants are based on need and do not have to be repaid. However, obtaining scholarships or grants takes a considerable amount of footwork-first to find them and second to obtain them-so it is never too early to start locating sources.
Whatever the source (or sources) of your financing, one thing that cannot be over-emphasized is the need to determine where you will obtain all financing for your entire legal education. The last thing you need to worry about in addition to the other stresses of law school is how you will pay for law school, or more fundamental concerns like where your next meal is coming from! It can be extremely stressful wondering how you are going to make ends meet, wondering if you will have to drop out temporarily to work, while at the same time trying to concentrate on studying and what the professor is discussing that day in class.
Those who have spouses planning to work, consider yourselves fortunate. Not only will you have financial support but moral support as well. It does make a huge difference!
There are other ways also in which you can decrease the burden of repaying the federal student loan that you have to take and students would be well-advised to take prudent measures to lower the costs, whilst ensuring that they don't compromise on its quality. There are a number of ways in which you can lower and reduce your law school expenses.
All the federal and private loans you avail of have to be repaid and the lesser you have to borrow the less you will have to repay. Study hard for your LSAT and position yourself to be in line to receive merit-based scholarship. This will not only save you tens of thousands of dollars in tuition fees over the years at law school, it will also mean that you have it in you to pursue a legal career. Nearly every law-school offers merit based scholarships and who knows, you could be one of the fortunate beneficiaries.
Although enrolling in an elite school will definitely pay rich dividends when it comes to future employment, it does not mean that state schools are bad. Consider enrolling in a state school or in a low-end school in an area where you reside. Not only will you save on tuition, but you could also save on rent and other expenses.
Cut all wasteful expenses. Look to share an apartment with colleagues. You may have to also cut out on going out too often and gym memberships and other such avoidable expenses could help lighten the financial pressure.
Law school books are very expensive but you don't need to overspend on them. Search websites for discounts and buy used books. However, you have to be sure that they are relevant to your education and they are updates and not torn and mutilated. You can borrow or even rent them from rent sites.
Once you decide to take the loans, never allow them to prey on your minds. It could hamper your studies. Eventually once you clear law school, you will start earning and you can repay the loans - the fact that you opted for the loans is proof enough of your determination and should not end up as a cause for concern and apprehension.
