About Law Tuition
A common feature in corporate settings is employer-sponsored tuition assistance, either in the form of “front end” tuition support (payment directly for education) or more generous tuition reimbursement programs. In the legal profession, however, such employer-sponsored tuition assistance is less common.
As a result, many law students take on substantial student loans in order to pay for their degrees and the related expenses. In addition, federal grants and scholarships (as well as private scholarship opportunities) may be available to help cover the cost of law school.
Other types of financing options are also available, including federal loans such as the direct unsubsidized and grad PLUS loans, which typically have lower interest rates than private loan alternatives and do not have a maximum limit on how much you can borrow. Other forms of financing include federal work-study programs, and, for those with military or national service backgrounds, the GI Bill or other government programs that offer student loan forgiveness.
Finally, a growing number of companies are offering alternative solutions to traditional law firm tuition assistance, such as the Flywheel Fellowship, co-founded by Stanford alumnus Michael Schrage. Inspired by computer bootcamps’ income share agreements, a model in which borrowers pay a percentage of their future earnings into a fund that helps them reduce or eliminate their debt, the fellowship offers students a new way to finance their legal careers. In doing so, the program aims to help reduce the pernicious and traumatizing uncertainty that so many law students struggle with when choosing their career paths. Law Tuition