Law school is an expensive undertaking. Most law students do not have the money to pay for their degrees out of pocket; it can cost between $150,000 and $200,000 to complete a J.D. program. Fortunately, there are several options for covering these costs.
Scholarships
A variety of organizations, from banks to the American Bar Association, offer scholarships that law students can receive to reduce the cost of a law degree. Some scholarships are open to any law student, while others are only offered to applicants who are historically under-represented minorities. In addition to general scholarships, many law schools offer scholarships to their own students based on merit or membership in an under-represented minority group.
Loan Forgiveness
One new way that law schools are distributing financial assistance is loan forgiveness. Under this system, the law school asks its students to take out loans to cover the cost of their degrees. After graduation, the school forgives a percentage of that loan if a student receives a salary less than a specified amount. So instead of offering an aid package to students from the beginning, some schools wait to see what their students' outcomes will be and then adjusts debt loads accordingly.
Loans
Your final option should be standard loans. It is important to do careful research about the kind of salary you can expect for the first 10 to 15 years of your career, given your prospective school and career interests. Then estimate how much of a loan burden you can afford to take on, considering both the monthly payment and the total amount of the loan. Keep a realistic view of your potential outcome at all times to ensure you don't take on too much debt.
Additional Considerations
One way you can reduce the amount of loans you'll need for law school is to qualify for merit-based aid from at least one institution and then "shop around." You can let the other potential schools know about your award to see if any of them will match or exceed it. Other schools might decide that you are worthy of more money, especially if you initial award is from a prestigious school.
