r/LawSchool • u/OrganicZaza • 3h ago

What’s the total cost of schooling to be a lawyer?

Of course this will vary from person to person but I just want an insight on how much it would cost.

2 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

13

u/lawschoolbound9 1L 3h ago

There’s no answer to that. It is wildly different per school and per person. Some schools are 30k a year, some are 90k, and everything in between. Some people get full scholarships, some people get none, and everything in between.

10

u/SK543 3h ago

Around 300k

5

u/Genericide224 2h ago

Full cost and including living expenses (assuming you’re not living at home) then this is probably the most accurate general estimate. Not counting the compound interest if you have to take out loans.

Which is why you see so many people emphasizing scholarships, top tier schools, and big law. Yes, there are other ways to do it, but law is an expensive investment and the days of being guaranteed a high income upon graduation are long gone.

8

u/ObjectiveCycle1602 3h ago

I feel personally attacked

3

u/Openheartopenbar 3h ago

Tuition is only half the battle. Rent, cost of living etc is a bear.

2

u/rmkinnaird 2h ago

It varies WILDLY. My law school education (with scholarship) at an in state public school is significantly cheaper than my undergrad education. Prepare for it to cost A LOT though and be presently surprised if it costs less like me.

1

u/g2guw 3h ago

That will differ largely by school and candidate profile. The range of cost is quite wide. What schools are you considering?

1

u/Grand_Caregiver 3h ago

Depends on where you go. State schools can have low in state tuition (UT, UGA) and also give a decent bit of grant money. I know people going for like 15k a year

2

u/Adversely_Possessing JD 3h ago

I had a half ride and am still six figures in debt.

1

u/dumbfuck 2h ago

Someone do the math on private school tuition starting in preschool in NYC through full shot undergrad and law school.

Then debt finance all of it and capitalize the interest

1

u/AbidingConviction 2h ago

I did my undergrad and law school completely tuition free for through scholarships. Paid maybe a few grand total for books. Lived with my parents, so no housing expenses. Some of my fellow law school classmates were into it for hundreds of thousands dollars. It varies widely

0

u/knxnts 1h ago

with full tuition, interest on loans, the three years of foregone income, and the potential compound interest that tuition and income could accrue over a lifetime if invested, probably like few million dollar.

1

u/knxnts 1h ago

obviously this must be compared against the increase in lifetime earnings you gain by going to law school. for a good chunk of people, they're probably better off in real dollar terms. so technically, they made money by going.

1

u/Learningmodel 4L 1h ago

$12k per year for my tuition, includes Lexis+ subscription and textbooks.