Get a Law School Loan
Find the Right Loan Provider for Your Educational Needs
Getting into Law School means you’ll mine sources for graduate school student loans. You’re done with undergrad. Law school is infamous for its cost and even though you may eventually earn a very good income, it’s not likely to kick in until you’ve slogged through a couple years of legal grunt work at the elbow of experienced attorneys.
Gain access to the traditional grad school loans, less predictable private loan sources and even some loan programs you may not know you have within your reach using this as a basic resource and guide.
Law Students: Graduate Federal Loans
Stafford Loans Remain Popular Even in Law School
Federal student loans are still your absolute best bet even in graduate school. The federal subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loans are the most popular student loans for very good reasons: they are accessible to almost every student and they are affordable. If you need student loans for law school begin by applying for your annual maximum Stafford Loan limit. As a grad student this is $20,500. Once you’ve been approved for your Stafford Loans subtract the amount of your award from your total college cost for the year. Does a balance remain?
Federal Loans Specially Designed for Grad Students
Second step in federal loans: evaluate the advantages to using a PLUS Loan for Graduates and Professionals. These specially designed loans are extended through both the Direct Loan program as well as the FFELP. This is a credit-based loan, but don’t exclude yourself if you are trying to borrow a PLUS Loan with bad credit. Negotiate a loan deal when you apply with a co-signor. Also called a co-borrower, the loan co-signor may be a trusted friend or relative, but he or she must have good credit. During loan repayment you’ll actually build good credit for yourself by making full payments on time, all the time.
When To Use Private Loans to Fund a Law Degree
There is a right way and a wrong way to use private student loans:
- Wrong way: fail to file your FAFSA and use private student loans as a first resort.
- Right way: as an auxiliary loan program that can cover limited expenses associated with your education.
What’s the secret to private loans? Borrow only what you need for education expenses and only after you’ve applied for all the federally sponsored money you can get. Use an online college cost calculator to add up the bottom line figure you may still be responsible for paying toward your education. This final figure is an estimate of what you may consider financing with a private loan.
You’ll find generic private student loans, but you’ll find some specially packaged private Law Loans. Features may include higher loan limits and no payments until you graduate. You’ll also find small loans designed to cover the expenses of taking the bar exam. A word of advice: shop very carefully for private loans and borrow only what you need to cover your immediate expenses. The American Bar Association reports that the average monthly student loan payment of new attorneys is a little over $1,000 each month. So loan repayment is a very important topic. Treat your loans with respect and shop responsibly.
Federal Loans vs. Private Loans
Why do we urge you to forego private loans until you’ve exhausted all other programs? Private loans have become alarmingly overused. They are sold as simple and convenient and they can be when used responsibly, but too many students are irresponsible with them and use them as a primary source for college funds. The best bet in financing your education is to remember federal loans always first and this means you must file a FAFSA every single year, until there’s a better system.
Law School Loans and Programs You May Not Know About
There are a few other options when it comes to paying for law school. Check with your law school—some offer limited loan forgiveness for law graduates that will work in government or the public sector. Here are a couple examples of alternative law loan repayment:
- Hofstra University Law School Loan Repayment Program is offered in limited scope only to qualified graduates. Law graduates in this program must work for non-profit or other eligible public service law practice for at least a year and earn less than $56,000 to qualify.
- AmeriCorps’ Pro Bono Legal Corps funds a nationwide corps of fresh law grads. In exchange for a couple of years of volunteer grassroots legal work you: will qualify for student loan forbearance, receive a monthly living stipend, and receive an “education award voucher” for $4,725 to use as partial payment on your federal student loans.
What about loan forgiveness?
Perhaps the icing on the cake is the College Cost Reduction and Access Act passed September 2007. If you serve as an attorney in a public service capacity and pay consistently on your student loans for 10 years, at that point under this law the federal government expunges the remaining balance on your loans.