Paying for Law School



Here's a list of some sources of financial aid of various types (i.e., scholarships, grants, loans). If you know of others that are not included on this list, please e-mail me at jeremy.buchman@liu.edu.

Be certain to contact the law schools to which you have applied, since they will play a pivotal role in determining what kind of aid you get, and how much. Also, Princeton Review's web site can help get you started. It's got financial aid tools and advice on a variety of subjects, from applying for loans to comparing aid packages to searching for scholarships.

Some particular sources of financial aid/scholarship funds:

AAUW (American Association of University Women): Educational Foundation: Provides one-year fellowships, ranging from $5,000 to $12,000, to female graduate students in designated fields, such as law, in which women have been traditionally under-represented. Available to women of color only.

ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship: According to the American Bar Association,

The mission of the Legal

Opportunity Scholarship Fund is to encourage racial and ethnic minority students to apply to law school and to

provide financial assistance to ensure that these students have the opportunity to attend law school for three

years.

The ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund will award $5,000 of financial assistance annually to each

scholarship recipient attending an ABA-accredited law school.

this scholarship is intended "to encourage racial and ethnic minority students to apply to law school and to provide financial assistance to ensure that these students have the opportunity to attend law school for three years." Recipients attending an ABA-accredited law school will receive $5,000 during their first year, with the funding being renewable for the second and third years. Click the link above for more information.

FastWeb Scholarship Search maintains a substantial and frequently updated on-line database of available scholarships.

FinAid lists a variety of sources of financial aid for law students.

The Law School Admission Council, which with you've already become familiar if you've applied for the LSAT, maintains a web page that discusses the process of procuring financial aid.

Scholarship Scam Alert: What to beware when considering whether to pay for a scholarship search service. In addition to detailing the ways in which offers that sound too good to be true probably are, the site discusses steps you should take if you have fallen prey to a scam. Courtesy of UCLA.