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The average debt for 2006 graduates of the College of Law was over $51,000. Make good financial choices now to keep your law school debt to the lowest level possible: this will reduce your stress while in law school and give you more flexibility after you graduate.
Living on a Budget
The best way to keep your debt low is to not incur it in the first place. Here are some ideas that can help lower your total debt:
- Make a budget: UI's Student Financial Aid Services offers budget counseling assistance.
- Pay off as much high-interest consumer debt as possible before and during law school.
- Obtain a copy of your credit report annually and correct mistakes so you can borrow at the lowest rate possible.
- Pay cash or write a check. Credit cards are notorious budget-busters.
- When you must use a credit card, limit yourself to one credit card, avoid impulse purchases, and pay off your balance in full every month.
- Walk, bicycle, car-pool, or take the Wheatland Express or Valley Transit buses to school to save on gas, insurance, and parking costs.
- Reduce housing costs by sharing an apartment with one or more roommates.
- Eating out is another huge budget-buster. Cook at home and pack your lunches and drinks. Limit your purchases of fast food, coffeehouse drinks, and vending machine snacks.
Free Money: Private Scholarships and Writing Prizes
It is always worthwhile to look for external scholarships to help you with law school costs. Academic Support maintains a list of external scholarships which can be searched by ten different categories.
Consider entering a legal writing competition. Several College of Law students have won significant prize money by entering one of over sixty nationwide legal competitions for law students.
College of Law Emergency Loans
The College of Law has funds available to help students with short-term financial difficulties. Contact Stephen Perez to learn more or apply for low-interest College of Law loans.
Loan Consolidation and Repayment
UI's Student Financial Aid Services offers expert advice on loan consolidation and repayment. Take advantage of their expertise!
Students interested in public interest or government practice should be aware of the growing availability of Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs), which provide funds to help repay student loans. In most cases, LRAP assistance is available to law school graduates who work in law-related positions for no-profits or state and local governments. All LRAP programs help repay law school laws, and several also help repay undergraduate and bar study loans. Learn more about LRAPs in the publication by Equal Justice Works, Financing the Future: Responses to the Rising Debt of Law Students.
According to Equal Justice Works, seventeen U.S. jurisdictions had LRAPs in 2006: Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington. Contact the state bar of any of these states for more information.
Graduates with federal direct loans and federal consolidation loans may also be able to get federal repayment assistance through Income-Contingent Repayment plans (ICRs). ICRs annually adjust repayments based on the borrower's income and and family size, discharging all remaining debt after 25 years.
Here are some other helpful resources:
Villanova University School of Law Debt Management
York University Budget Page
Last updated 2007-07-26 |