What To Think About Prior to Law School

There are a number of details that need your attention prior to entering law school. The decisions you make now can affect your student contribution, financial aid, and general financial well-being throughout your time at law school. We want to help you think through some of the issues and offer some guidance in regard to the following topics:

• Making a Plan
• Your Student Contribution
• Budgeting
• Housing
• Transportation
• Outside Scholarships and Term-Time Jobs
• Consumer Debt
• Consumer Credit
• Deferment Forms for Prior Education Debt

Making a Plan

The most important thing you can do before you enter law school is make a plan! Take the time now to think about your money and how you want to spend it. The information in this section will help you think about the details of your plan. You can continue to develop your plan once you arrive on campus and, to help you even further, we will hold workshops throughout the year on topics such as budgeting, financial planning, and taxes.

Your Student Contribution

The student contribution, as a measure of the resources you have available for law school, is comprised of a portion from your summer income (what you earn during the months of June, July, and August) and a portion from your assets (one-third of your total assets as you first report them is used per year). A $2,500 minimum contribution from income is assessed for all incoming students to provide an incentive to work. You can actually earn up to $11,000 during the summer without raising your student contribution from income above the $2,500 minimum. Any amount you earn beyond that, including overtime and bonus pay, will increase your student contribution from income for the upcoming year.

It is important to understand what your student contribution means. If you are receiving grant assistance, your student contribution affects the amount of grant assistance you receive. If you borrow education loans, your student contribution also affects the amount of borrowing that will be eligible for loan repayment assistance through the Low Income Protection Plan (LIPP).

Budgeting

Budgeting is a good life skill and it’s not just for students! It is something you will use while you are a student and long after you graduate. Budgeting is about controlling your money instead of letting your money control you, and it will enable you to understand how you are spending and help you make informed choices. Perhaps most importantly, budgeting can keep you from having to worry about your money.

The first step in budgeting is to make a list of your anticipated monthly expenses. The financial aid budget follows a modest but livable standard and allows $18,060 for room/board and personal expenses for the 2008-2009 9-month academic year, or about $2,006 per month. If you are fully reliant on financial aid, this is what you will have to meet your monthly expenses. The following examples demonstrate two different sets of budgeting choices, and the monthly expenses related to those choices.

It is possible to live on less than the student budget. In Example A the student can borrow $510 x 9, or $4,590, less during the academic year than in Example B.

Housing

If you are looking for housing at HLS, dormitory housing is generally the least expensive, with the exception of North Hall and the HLS Apartments. If you decide to live off campus, the student budget assumes that you will share an apartment in Cambridge or within the surrounding areas of Cambridge such as Somerville, Arlington, Brighton and Belmont, since it is much more expensive to live alone.

There are many off-campus options for housing. Harvard-affiliated housing is one option; however, you may be able to find a better deal if you search the private market. The Harvard Housing Office has hundreds of apartment listings via the Harvard University Community Listing Network, and you can also use apartment search websites such as CraigsList and Apartments.com.

If you choose to live in Harvard-affiliated housing during the months of June, July, and August and your rent is charged to your student bill, you must pay this rent in full before you will be able to register in September. By federal regulations, you cannot use academic-year financial aid to cover summer expenses, including rent.

Transportation

It can be very expensive to have a car in Cambridge, and the financial aid budget cannot be adjusted for car expenses. The Boston metro area has a comprehensive public transportation network. Discounted passes are available through the Dean of Students Office. Harvard University also has an agreement with ZipCar through which students pay no application fee, monthly minimum, or membership deposit. There is even a ZipCar located on the HLS campus! Finally, the University has a comprehensive shuttle service operating on and around campus.

Outside Scholarships and Term-Time Jobs

A good way to reduce the amount of money you borrow is to find other sources of funding. Look for outside scholarships - we list them throughout the academic year and you can search for other possible sources. One website to use is fastweb.org, which is a scholarship listing service. You can also ask organizations that you or your parents belong to, as they may have scholarship funds. Please note that outside scholarships are included as part of your academic year financial resources and will reduce the amount of money you are eligible to borrow. They do not generally reduce your grant funding.

Term-time jobs (research assistant positions, tutoring, etc.) are an extra way to earn money and borrow less. You do not need to report these to us, unless they are positions through which you receive free room and/or board. HLS research assistant positions are posted in the Advisor and the Harvard University Student Employment Office lists positions on their website.

Consumer Debt

We strongly advise that you pay off as much of your consumer debt as possible before entering law school. Consumer debt typically has a high interest rate, and monthly credit card payments are not allowed in the student budget as an expense covered by financial aid. To encourage you to pay down your consumer debt before beginning law school, we will reduce your student contribution to reflect a documented repayment of consumer debt from your own resources during the summer before you enroll. This is also allowed for a documented prior education loan repayment or computer purchase from your own resources during the summer before enrollment. In all cases, though, the minimum entering student contribution of $2,500 will still be imputed. See our consumer debt page for more guidance. 

Consumer Credit

In addition to paying off your consumer debt over the summer, we strongly encourage you to obtain a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit data agencies: Equifax, Trans Union and Experian. You can get a free copy once a year from all three agencies by going to AnnualCreditReport.com. Requesting a copy of your credit report is a good exercise even if you think you have good credit, since many people find erroneous derogatory information on their reports. It will take a few weeks to eradicate these errors and it will be to your advantage to work on these matters as early as possible in the loan application process. We also encourage you to obtain a copy of your credit score via the web at myFICO for $15.95. Since some of your borrowing options may require creditworthiness, it is important for you to understand your credit score, and this site will give you tips for improving your score.

Deferment Forms for Prior Education Debt

If you have prior education loans (undergraduate or another graduate program), you may be able to defer the payments while you are enrolled in law school. You should contact your lender directly to request a deferment form. In August, submit the deferment form to the Registrar’s Office, which will certify that you are an enrolled student. You should take care of this as soon as possible so you do not need to make any payments on your loans.