Work
That doesn't mean you can't work at all. Most law schools frown on students who take part-time jobs during the first year, but second-and third-year students commonly work several hours a week. Some schools have formal work-study programs, and others provide research posts or jobs in the offices and library to help students make ends meet.
Upper-level students often find off-campus clerkships that are profitable financially as well as providing experience and future employment connections.
How about summer employment? At most law schools, students have some trouble finding law-related jobs for the summer after their first year. The story for the second summer is different; that's the time when employers give law students a "trial run" to see if they can make the grade. Many "summer associates" are paid at the going rate for beginning lawyers, which at some firms is high indeed.
Still, working a few afternoons a week or during the summer probably isn't going to pay all the bills, particularly at a private school with high tuition. Another possibility is to reverse the usual full-time school, part-time work formula. As discussed in Chapter 1, being an evening student brings with it serious problems, not the least of which is finding the energy to concen¬trate on courses at the end of the day.
Loans are easier than working, but there are drawbacks.
One problem is that loans have an annoying trait of having to be repaid. Most people will tell you not to worry about it, since you're sure to make a fortune as soon as you graduate. But if your dream is to open a bilingual clinic in the barrio or launch your own practice from scratch, being $50,000 in debt could put a damper on your plans.
Another problem: government loan money is now harder to get and more expensive to pay back.
The federally sponsored Stafford Loan Program (formerly the Guaranteed Student Loan Program or GSL) was once admin¬istered regardless of need. No more. As of this writing, the federal government requires every applicant for one of these loans to fill out a complex form that measures factors like income, assets, and expenses in order to calculate your expected "family contribution," which is the amount that you will be expected to pay toward your own education. Your spouse will automatically be included in the family contribution calculation if you're married, as will your parents unless you're classified as "indepen¬dent." You're automatically considered independent if you are at least 23 years old as of January 1 of the year in which you're applying for aid; you are a military veteran or a ward of the court; both your parents are dead; or you have legal dependents other than a spouse.
You can also qualify as independent if you will not be claimed as an income tax exemption by your parents for the year in which you're applying for aid and, in the event that you were treated as an independent student the previous year, you were not claimed as an income tax exemption by your parents or anyone else (other than a spouse) in that year. In unusual circumstances, a student who does not meet any of these criteria can still be considered independent.
Your need for loans will then be computed by taking your cost of attending school and subtracting the family contribution and certain other types of financial aid you may be receiving.