Financing the Cost of Applying to Practice Law

Financing the Cost of Applying to Practice Law

Law Financial Aid
Suite 103, Wolf Law Building
Lawfinaid@colorado.edu
303-492-0647
Financial Aid Office Hours

Estimated Budget : Costs included in applying to practice law and summer living expenses

 The breakdown below is an estimated budget of expenses associated with applying to practice law. This also includes an estimated cost for summer living expense, which should be included in your budget when preparing to finance the costs associated with applying to practice law.

Borrowing Options  

Some students are able to utilize savings to finance the cost associate with applying to practice law. However, many plan to borrow to cover the expense of both applying to practice law, and living expenses while studying for the bar exam. We hope that the two borrowing options below, Federal Bar Loans and Private Bar Loans, will help you make an informed decision.

Federal Loans for Bar Exam

Students may work with our Financial Aid Counselor to include the cost of the bar exam in their cost of attendance and to increase their federal student loans to cover the actual cost, which is estimated below. Students will need to provide documentation showing payment for the exam during the last semester they are enrolled in law school. Students must have a FAFSA for the current aid year (school code 001370) completed prior to requesting additional or new Federal Loans. Federal loans for bar exam costs tend to have better interest rates, repayment periods, etc.

The breakdown below is an estimated budget of expenses associated with applying for admission to practice law (approximate amounts):

Private Bar Loans

Private loans are another option to assist in covering bar related expenses, but should be considered carefully. As you apply for a loan, make sure you are applying for an exam loan, not a private alternative law loan as most lenders have both loan programs. Private loans must be repaid according to the terms set by the relevant lender. They cannot be consolidated with any existing federal loan. This means that if you have an existing federal loan you may have at least two monthly payments. If you already have a private loan it may be beneficial to borrow from the existing lender to avoid multiple monthly private loan payments. Private loans are also not eligible for any loan repayment or forgiveness programs. Lenders set their own differing regulations such as loan fees, interest formulas, grace period, repayment options, co-signer option, maximum repayment period, on time reward, etc. Examine these closely and compare each available loan.

School Certification: While private loans are handled exclusively between the borrower and lender, private bar loans are certified by the law school. You send the form to the Law Registrar (lawreg@colorado.edu) for completion. Certifications are typically processed within 48 hours. Private loan checks are mailed directly to the borrower, not the law school.

We hope that the comparison chart below will help you focus on the terms of any loan program you consider regardless of which lender you choose and allow you to make an informed decision. All data is subject to change, please consult the lender for the most up to date information.

 Please contact your private educational loan lender for more information about the availability of Bar Examination loans.