Combine All of Your Law School Loans
Take Charge of Your Finances
Law school is reputed for its tuition price tag. Tuitions at UC-Berkeley’s Boalt Hall and Yale Law School run just shy of $60,000 per year. Of course law students are expected to carry an assortment of student loans, from federal, state, and private sources. Most grad students must take out multiple loans just to make ends meet while at school. Average student loan debt is high enough, but the level of debt incurred by Law School students could be astounding.
Let’s find out what types of financial tools may help you manage your budget.
Will You Find a Job in Law After Graduation?
Law school graduates: you face an uphill battle. You work long hours and endure poor pay all to climb your way up the Law ladder. That’s if you are fortunate enough to land a job in the Law field to begin with. Statistics show increasing numbers of grad students are unable to lock in the jobs for which they had initially planned.
Law School Loans That Put You Through School
Law students may apply for any or all of the following types of loans for purposes of financing a law degree:
- Stafford Loans
- Grad PLUS Loans
- Private Law School Loans
- Private Bar Exam Loans
Stafford and Grad PLUS Loans may both be consolidated under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Private loans of any kind must be financed through a lender that offers a private consolidation loan program.
A number of student loan lenders offer specialized Law School loans to students who require extra funds to pay for their tuition. Auxiliary Law school loans sometimes also include smaller loans designed to cover expenses associated with the Bar Exam.
Consolidate Private Law School Loans
Private law school loans may be consolidated with a private consolidation loan.
All private consolidation loans require you have good credit or borrow with a creditworthy co-borrower. Incentives vary, but most lenders offer interest rate reductions for consecutive on-time payments and for automatic payment deduction plans.
Consolidate Federal Law School Loans
Federal Grad PLUS Loans and specially packaged lender-specific FFELP loans must be consolidated with a FFEL Consolidation Loan.
FFELP Consolidation Loans are not as widely available as they once were, so shop lenders carefully. These products give borrowers increased flexibility in contrast to the private consolidation loans. Incentives are few and lenders have added lower cost flexible debt management options such as an extended repayment program.
