Consider Your Funding Options, Which Could Be Different from Year to Year
The best funding options for you could change from year to year. Consider any summer income as a resource for expenses the following academic year, and if possible, avoid loans earlier in your law school career to save on accruing interest. Options can include but are not limited to:
- Personal resources (family contributions, savings, etc.)
- School-funded scholarships and grants
- Outside scholarships or fellowships
- Never pay a service to find scholarship funding
- Veterans’ education benefits
- Federal work-study
- Federal student loans
- Unsubsidized loan
- Graduate PLUS loan
- Private, state, or institutional student loans
While not a direct aid option, consider summer public interest funding and loan repayment assistance program (LRAP) funding in your overall financing strategy.
Use Loan Funding Flexibility to Your Advantage
With loan funding, you generally have a lot of borrowing flexibility during the academic year. You do not have to borrow what you are offered, and you can generally increase or decrease your borrowing while the academic year is in session.
Reapply for Financial Aid Each Academic Year and Abide by Institutional Grant or Scholarship Terms and Conditions
- Federal Student Loans
- Institutional Funding
- Did you get a need-based grant? If so, does your school require a reapplication each year? Changes to family or personal finances while in law school could impact grant funding, so check with your school’s financial aid office.
- Is your scholarship conditioned on maintaining a certain academic standing?
Stay on Track Academically
Be sure you’re meeting academic progress requirements, including financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements, as well as any academic standing requirements set by your law school.
Explore Debt Management and Financial Wellness Programming
- AccessLex MAX financial wellness and personal finance program
- Other outside programs your school/university may participate in (for example, CashCourse at UChicago)
- Your law school may offer specific programming
Research Outside Scholarship Resources
- Use the AccessLex Outside Scholarship Databank.
- Cast a wide net based on your own affiliations (personal, professional, background, religious, etc.).
- How does your school communicate outside scholarships they’re made aware of?
- Website, newsletter, dissemination through student organizations, etc.
- Look at the outside scholarships that are sent to your law school—they may only be available to students in your school’s region/area.
Explore and Maximize Summer Funding Options
- School-funded opportunities, like public interest summer funding
- Externally funded fellowships
- Work on-campus or with a professor as a TA or RA
Maintain Good Credit
- Credit is a character and fitness concern on your bar exam application.
- Check your credit report every year at annualcreditreport.com. To make it easy on yourself, align this with when you submit the FAFSA each year.
Prepare for Bar Exam Costs Early
- Save a little each year for bar exam costs. Use a money-saving challenge to save for bar exam expenses while in law school, and continue this challenge post-graduation to build up your emergency fund.
- If you end up not needing these savings for bar exam costs, you’ve just built up the start of your emergency fund!
- Look for reduced-price bar prep courses. Check with career services or the Dean of Students (DOS) office.
- Additional federal loan funding may be available to cover the cost of registering for the bar exam.
- As a last resort, a private bar study loan from an outside lender can help cover some costs.
While you may not need to dive into the intricacies of federal student loan repayment options until your 3L year, research the basic contours of the options, including income-driven repayment if applicable so that you can plan and strategize.
This may be especially helpful if you have outside resources (savings, family contribution, summer income, etc.) or plan to go into public interest.
Budgeting Tips
Be strict with your budget and funds while you are in law school, but update your budget regularly, especially if you have over/under-estimated expenses or incoming funds. The key is to control your money so you know what’s coming in and where it goes instead of being surprised when your budget is running low.
That being said, do not deny yourself either. Include options for relaxation and entertainment in your budget, and find a balance that works for you. Your physical and mental wellness during law school is as important as your financial wellness.
Review Your Financial Aid Package, Cost of Attendance, and Financial Aid Disbursement Timelines So That You Understand Your Incoming Funds
Reach out to your law school’s financial aid office to confirm when your financial aid will be available and what you need to do to ensure it pays out on time.
Set a Reasonable Personal Budget and Update It as Needed, but Don’t Suffer
- You’ll develop budgeting habits that will serve you well in your legal career, help open more financial possibilities for you in the future, and make you a more informed consumer.
- Use free budgeting apps to help set and monitor your budget.
- Track your expenses for the first month of each academic year and then update and change your budget as needed. And expenses can shift while you’re in school, so be prepared to dedicate time to maintaining your budget.
- Include an entertainment budget; remember, your mental and physical well-being are important.
- Want to update your loan borrowing (i.e., return unneeded funds or request additional funds, if eligible)? Contact your financial aid office to discuss options.
Your Financial Aid and Student Loans Generally Only Cover a 9-Month Academic Year, So Prepare for That as Early as Possible
Explore and maximize those summer funding options, like public interest funding, external fellowships, or working on-campus or with a professor as an RA or TA.
Use a Separate Bank Account for Your Living Expense Refunds
Set up auto debit from that account for some of your expenses to help you budget your remaining funds.
Explore External Health Insurance Options, but Be Sure to Meet Any Institutional Coverage Requirements
- Can you stay on your parents’ health insurance?
- Are there external health insurance options that may work better and are cheaper?
- Be sure your external health insurance meets any institutional coverage requirements set by your law school/university.
- Talk to your financial aid office about any out-of-pocket medical expenses because you may have options (which could include mental health expenses).
Live with Roommates or Explore On-Campus Housing Options
- Your law school and university may offer on-campus housing, which could be cheaper than the area surrounding the school.
- Absent on-campus housing options, your law school and university may collect resources for finding affordable, safe housing.
- If needed, contact your DOS and financial aid offices if something happens and you need to change your living situation.
- If you’re coming to law school with children/dependents, contact your DOS and financial aid offices to discuss available resources and funding options.
Manage Food Spending
- Law schools and student organizations may offer free food during events or lunch events. Be sure to attend and participate; you never know what you’ll learn or who you’ll meet!
- Cook at home and make leftovers. Eat out only on occasion, but again, don’t deny yourself. It’s all about finding a balance that works for you.
Take Advantage of Public Transit or School-Sponsored Transit Options
- Living in a large city with public transit? Take advantage; your university may even offer a subsidy! This is a great way to explore and learn about a big city.
- Avoid Uber or Lyft when possible. They get expensive quickly.
- Use the university's transportation options (buses, shuttles, bike share, etc.); UChicago offers a few free Lyft rides each month.
Explore Free Local Resources or Discounts
- Use the on-campus gym or other exercise options offered through the university or your student government/organizations. Or start a class through your law school, like the Yoga Mindfulness session offered during a weekly lunch hour at UChicago.
- Food discounts from local merchants.
- Discounts to cultural programming on campus and in the local community. UChicago examples:
- Chicago Arts Pass: free or discounted admission to more than 60 arts and cultural institutions.
- Explore More Illinois museum and other cultural institution passes through your local Illinois library.
Navigating Resources While in Law School
If anything, my biggest piece of advice on this piece is to ask. Ask questions of your professors. Ask questions of the student services offices. Ask for help when you need it.
Options for help don’t stop at your law school. If you don’t want to ask your law school’s DOS office, contact the larger university’s DOS office. If you don’t want to reach out to your university, contact your student government association on campus or your state’s Lawyer Assistance Program. The important thing is to reach out to someone when you need to.
Finally, be sure you are reading your institutional emails and any newsletters you receive from student services offices on campus. They may contain very helpful information, and you may miss something important!
Within the Law School
- Dean of Students Office: health and wellness, inclusion concerns, harassment or community concerns, resources for students who are parents or veterans, referrals for athletic and spiritual resources (usually through the larger University)
- UChicago Examples: Wellness Wednesdays offered through DOS (foster the development of healthy habits to lay the groundwork for a healthy, balanced lifestyle)
- Financial Aid: aid resources, loan repayment strategizing, emergency funding options
- Career Services: Bar review assistance, interview tips, resume assistance, job search assistance, summer options, LRAP and summer public interest funding options
- Student Organizations: build your community!
- Reach out to your law school student government association (Law Students Association at UChicago Law) if you don’t want to contact administrators or faculty. They are there to be your voice.
- Mentorship/Big Sibling/Advising: UChicago examples:
- 1L group advising meetings (academic and career advising), Peer Advisor programs (like mock exams), Peer Advisor office hours, and library resources like the 1L Success Portal
External to the Law School
- Wider University Resources: Your law school DOS office probably has a website outlining the various services offered by the university, which was probably communicated to you during law school orientation.
- Safety resources, on-campus medical services, counseling and mental health, housing and food insecurity, Title IX, disability and accommodations, international student resources, diversity and inclusion resources, Ombudsperson, Dean on Call services, student government
- AccessLex Institute: They offer a variety of free services, including MAX financial wellness programming, accredited financial counselors who can provide additional assistance with financial questions, on-campus programming coordinated with a law school office or student organization.
- Lawyers Assistance Programs (LAP): These programs help with mental health resources (substance abuse, drug addiction, anxiety, stress, depression, etc.).
- Your first stop would usually be your school’s DOS for referrals to on-campus resources, but LAPs can also assist with more in-depth concerns.
Your law school and/or University will most likely have resources for many different situations that could arise during your time in the program. Reaching out is usually the first step. Don’t be afraid to ask, our goal is to help you be successful in law school and your career!
I want to thank my colleagues Jesse Landstrom, Senior Associate Director for Advising and Wellness Programs, and Barbara Dagnan, Assistant Director of Financial Aid and Admissions, for their contributions to this checklist.
