It can cost upwards of $1,000 just to apply to law school. And that’s before you even begin to think about tuition. But if the cost of applying to law school is scary, there may be ways to reduce those costs. There are several ways to potentially not have to pay application fees for all of the schools you plan to apply to.
Many schools now have free applications:Â There are many law schools that now are free to apply to. You still have to pay the Law School Admissions Council (www.lsac.org) law school report fee for each school you apply to, but you would not have to pay both the report fee and the application fee. For ideas of which schools have free applications, look at individual law school admissions websites, or check out the ABA 509 Disclosure Reports(select allschools data, the most recent year, and the basics/academic calendar), which lists law school deadlines nationwide, application fees, and other valuable information:Â https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/Disclosure509.aspx
You may receive application fee waiver codes through the CRS (Candidate Referral Service): Through the LSAC, if you opt in to the Candidate Referral Service, law schools may market themselves to you, and will often send application fee waivers to attract applicants, especially applicants who have a high LSAT score. You may also receive a lot of marketing materials, but it’s most likely worth it for the potential savings in application fees. Note that although it is flattering and a sign of interest, it is in no way a guarantee of admissions if you are offered this application fee waiver.
You may qualify for fee waivers based on financial need: The LSAC has a fee waiver process that you can apply for, if the cost of applying to law school is prohibitive. If you are granted the fee waiver, it will waive the law school report fees for a certain number of applications. The fee waiver is especially good, as it will also waive some or all of your LSAT and other fees associated with applying to law school, as well as providing some LSAT prep resources. Individual law schools also have fee waiver applications, based on financial need, which you can try to apply for through the individual law schools that interest you.
Attend law school networking events and forums: Sometimes, at the law school forums, which are large scale admissions and networking events sponsored by the LSAC, schools might give out application fee waiver codes. Other individual admissions events could potentially also be a way to receive fee waivers. It doesn’t hurt to very politely inquire, especially if you are very interested in the school, and it has a steep application fee which might be hard to afford.
These are just a few ideas. Always feel free to talk to individual law school admissions offices, the Law School Admission Council, or your university pre-law advisor if you need help. There are now many programs designed to help applicants with the costs associated with law school. The AccessLex Institute also has great information on financing your legal education, as well as a scholarship database. Also, if you are studying for the LSAT, keep in mind that the Khan Academy offers free online LSAT prep, which is another great resource.
Hillary Mantis consults with pre-law students, law students and lawyers. She is the Assistant Dean for the Pre-law Advising Program at Fordham University and author of career books for lawyers. You can reach Hillary at altcareer@aol.com.
