JD Applicant Guidebook
  • THE S2S JD GUIDEBOOK
  • OUR MISSION
  • TABLE OF CONTENTS
  • PREFACE
  • CHAPTER 1: SHOULD YOU GO TO LAW SCHOOL?
  • CHAPTER 2: APPLICATION BASICS
  • CHAPTER 3: PUTTING YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD
  • CHAPTER 4: THE LAW SCHOOL ADMISSIONS TEST
  • CHAPTER 5: TRANSCRIPTS AND THE ASR
  • CHAPTER 6: THE PERSONAL STATEMENT
  • CHAPTER 7: ADDENDA & OPTIONAL ESSAYS
  • CHAPTER 8: YOUR RESUME
  • CHAPTER 9: LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
  • APPENDIX A: THE POST-9/11 G.I. BILL
  • APPENDIX B: EVALUATING DEBT
  • APPENDIX C: EVALUATING EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS
  • APPENDIX D: USEFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES
  • CONCLUSION
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APPENDIX B: EVALUATING DEBT

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Last updated 1 year ago

As we discussed in the introduction, there is an increasing number of law school graduates who emerge from law school worse off than when they went in– you should definitely think twice before taking on an amount of debt that you might not be able to service (remember the guideline of total law school debt < 1.5x starting salary). If you’re facing an intimidating amount of debt as part of your decision to attend law school, there are a number of options to consider before you change course. If you are not eligible for the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, do not plan to use it to attend law school, or wish to attend a school with limited or no YRP funding, there are other ways to reduce the amount of debt you might incur by attending law school.

Most schools offer some combination of need and merit-based scholarships. The ABA requires law schools to release to the public the distribution of scholarship awards among students, as well as the average dollar amount of said scholarships. When it comes to scholarships, it’s critical that you read the fine print (beginning with reading the ABA disclosures for the schools you’re considering), as a large number of them come with conditions. First, you should understand the approved usage of scholarship funds. There are some veterans who mistakenly believe that if they are awarded a $100,000 scholarship but already have tuition covered by the G.I. Bill, they will be able to keep that money. But the majority of scholarships awarded by law schools are considered “tuition only,” and cannot be used for living expenses, books, or any other purposes. More importantly, you need to know what the conditions are for maintaining your scholarship after you enroll. Below is a portion of one law school’s ABA-required disclosures (also known as a 509 Disclosure).

While more than half of the students at this school were awarded grants in the 2017-2018 academic year, nearly one third of students entering with scholarships had them reduced or eliminated in each of the subsequent years. Scholarships can come with conditions (most often tied to academic standing and minimum GPAs), so do your homework and find out all the terms of your offer before accepting.

If a school’s scholarship/financial aid package still puts you in bad territory with regard to debt, you might also consider applying for outside scholarships through organizations like the Pat Tillman Foundation (your S2S ambassador can give you more insight into some of these options). Another potential course of action for managing law school debt comes in the form of loan repayment programs. Many schools offer loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) that provide financial assistance to law school graduates working in government, the public interest sector, or other comparatively low-paying fields. The terms of these programs vary widely, so we highly recommend contacting the schools you’re interested in to learn more about the specific terms of their loan assistance program.