A legal education is one of the largest investments you will ever make in your life. As such, you must fully understand how much an education costs and how your lifestyle will be affected, and be sure to have significant reasons for making such an investment.

Law School Is Expensive

With tuition and living expenses approaching $50,000 a year, you must consider how this debt will impact a large part of your life. Paying off $150,000 takes a long time and with the legal market being in its current state of suffering, the odds of paying off student debt are quickly diminished. That is not to say it is impossible, but the debt is a real hardship associated with obtaining a legal education.

In addition to tuition, most students have to take out Federal Loans (Stafford Loans and Grad Plus Loans) to pay for housing, food, insurance, gas, and just about everything else necessary for sustaining life. Keep in mind, everything you spend money on is being financed, and you will be paying interest on it. Thus, remember the adage “if you live like a lawyer in law school, you will live like a law student when you’re a lawyer.” Use a “law school calculator” to help determine the minimum amount of money you can live on for the next three years. Lastly, budget your time and money, and strictly follow your budget. Living meagerly for three years will certainly reduce the burdens of the debt upon graduation.

Employment

In addition to a financial investment, you are making a huge time investment. Keeping employment during the first two years of school is discouraged. Your time will be consumed by law school, and the last thing you will want to do is dedicate the rest of your time to work, and have no free time. The American Bar Association even places limits on the number of hours a full time 1L may work.

Working as a law student can really take it out of you…

Many students find paid summer employment. However, most students end up working at law firms and organizations for free during the summer. Even then, the money is nominal compared to the accruing debt.

On the other hand, many students continue to work with their summer employer throughout their 3L year. During 3L year, time is “freer,” and balancing work with school is a possibility. Working for an employer during the school year is not about the money; it is about establishing a good relationship and receiving a job offer upon graduation.

Law School Scholarships

If your GPA and LSAT are very high, schools may offer you a scholarship to offset some of the costs. These scholarships can be somewhat misleading, so research the details and requirements associated with a scholarship offer. Many law school scholarships require a consistent law school GPA above a certain number. This is much harder to achieve than it sounds. Law schools use a curved grading system, so that only a small percentage of students can obtain a high GPA (usually set around the GPA required for scholarship). For example, school X may require a 3.2 GPA to keep a scholarship, but the curve allows for only the top 20% of students to have a 3.2 or above. As a result, many students lose their scholarship after the first semester or first year.