Law school can be stressful enough without the extra pressure of student loans, especially if you already have some loans from your undergraduate years. So, how can you alleviate this stress?
There are many strategies for finding partial scholarships, and sometimes even full free tuition rides to law school. I have known many law students who are attending law school tuition-free.
Here are some strategies:
Boost your LSAT and GPA score: There is a lot of funding out there for merit scholarships. Those usually go to applicants with GPA and LSAT numbers above the median for that law school. It makes sense to put the effort in to make those numbers as high as possible. Give yourself six months to prep for the LSAT, if possible. Choose a major you think you will do well in. Take a year between college and applying to law school if you feel your GPA is not high enough; that way you will be able to show the full year of senior year grades before you apply.
Apply to law school early: Usually law schools have a set amount of funding to distribute. If you wait until the application deadlines to apply, they may not have as much or even any funding available for scholarships. Rolling admissions deadlines can be confusing. I would not wait until a law school’s deadline to apply. This can also help with admissions, as well as with potential scholarships.
Apply to several “safety” schools: In general, you should include a few likely or safety schools where your numbers exceed what they are looking for. If you are really hoping for scholarship offers, think about increasing the number of safety schools you include in your list when applying. This could result in additional scholarships, and possibly even a full-ride.
Look into specialty scholarships: If you are very interested in working in the public sector, for example, several law schools offer full-tuition fellowships. These require additional essays and sometimes interviews. They also usually require that you commit to working in the public sector after law school. If this is your goal, look into these types of scholarships. Other schools may offer scholarships to early decision applicants. Check for special scholarships at schools that interest you. Law schools also offer LRAP (loan repayment assistance programs) for their graduates going into public sector jobs, so investigate those programs as well.
Negotiate scholarships: If you receive different scholarship offers from comparably ranked schools, you can try to negotiate. This can be tricky as some schools may be open to negotiating scholarships while others may not be (or may not have funds left to distribute). I have seen it work sometimes. You can politely ask if a school will consider matching a scholarship offer from a competing school. Be prepared to decide what you will do if they match it, or if you would still attend that school if they cannot match it.
Find scholarship resources: There is much information on both need-based aid and merit aid. A great way to look for scholarships is through the AccessLex Institute (www.accesslex.org). They have an extensive scholarship database, as well as information on how to finance your legal education. They offer tremendous resources and support. There are many other scholarships out there—sometimes even offered by alumni of a particular school—so look on the financial aid page of each law school that interests you for additional ideas.
Hillary Mantis works with pre-law students, law students and lawyers on admissions and career decisions. She is the Assistant Dean for the Pre-law Advising Program at Fordham University, and author of career books. Admissions questions? You can reach Hillary at altcareer@aol.com.
