Info on Tuition for Someone who Wants to Work in Non-Profit or Public Law...

[TheWESTWESTWEST]

I'm thinking of attending law school mainly because I find the study of legislation fascinating and also think that a law education is a very solid professional background as well as being a portable degree. That said, I know for a fact that i will never want to work in corporate law, even if some guy who looked like the Monopoly Man was waving bags of cash in my face upon graduation. It just isn't my thing. Consequently, I was wondering if any of the T25 law schools give tuition breaks to graduates who choose to work in less lucrative fields such as public law or working for NGO's. If there are any such institutions, what type of numbers would I need to have a good shot at them? I have a 3.87 right now from a no-name Canadian university. I havn't taken the LSAT yet, but with a year of practice, I'm sure I could get a somewhat decent score.

[sstar]

You can:

A) Kill the LSAT get a full ride. Go into public interest.

B) Get (if you already don't have) relevant experience and demonstrate your desire to go into public law and apply for public interest scholarships.

http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/programs/fellowships

Some schools have scholarships particularly for people going into public interest. e.g. UTexas, Georgetown, and American.

[TheWESTWESTWEST]

I was wondering if any of the T25 law schools give tuition breaks to graduates who choose to work in less lucrative fields such as public law or working for NGO's. If there are any such institutions, what type of numbers would I need to have a good shot at them? I have a 3.87 right now from a no-name Canadian university. I havn't taken the LSAT yet, but with a year of practice, I'm sure I could get a somewhat decent score.

They won't give tuition BREAKS at all.  As sstar said, kill the LSAT and go for some scholarships.

Also, different schools have different loan repayment programs.  Some are better than others.  In general, if you make under a certain amount, they'll forgive some of your loan repayments.  Check out how it works at various schools.

That is more what I had in mind. I heard that some schools such as Cornell and Stanford do this, though getting admitted to either of those schools is far from a slam dunk. Any diea what type of forgiveness they afford you on your loan repayments?

[Eveman in Ingmarland]

One of the unfortunate things about going into public interest law is that, in most cases, you have to go to a slightly worse school than the best one you're admitted to.

As several people have pointed out, in order to make the enterprise feasible you need generally need some scholarship dollars. This isn't catastrophic, necessarily - it could just be a matter of choosing G-Town over Penn - but it is somewhat sad the way the system as presently constituted pulls so many people into the private sector.

Anyway, best case scenario, you get a mid-170s score on the LSAT, apply to the entire T-14, and go to a really good school with a really good scholarship.

[Eveman in Ingmarland]

I was wondering if any of the T25 law schools give tuition breaks to graduates who choose to work in less lucrative fields such as public law or working for NGO's. If there are any such institutions, what type of numbers would I need to have a good shot at them? I have a 3.87 right now from a no-name Canadian university. I havn't taken the LSAT yet, but with a year of practice, I'm sure I could get a somewhat decent score.

They won't give tuition BREAKS at all.  As sstar said, kill the LSAT and go for some scholarships.

Also, different schools have different loan repayment programs.  Some are better than others.  In general, if you make under a certain amount, they'll forgive some of your loan repayments.  Check out how it works at various schools.

That is more what I had in mind. I heard that some schools such as Cornell and Stanford do this, though getting admitted to either of those schools is far from a slam dunk. Any diea what type of forgiveness they afford you on your loan repayments?

Schools outline their public interest loan forgiveness programs on their websites. I don't know too much about them, but as I understand it they use a formula that looks something like this:

(Base salary - (estimated cost of living based on region + $2000)) - 2/3(outstanding debt/15) = the amount which you are expected to use towards repayment of your loans in a given year.

From what I've seen, schools typically pay $4000 a year or something towards your loan repayment.

[TheWESTWESTWEST]

One of the unfortunate things about going into public interest law is that, in most cases, you have to go to a slightly worse school than the best one you're admitted to.

As several people have pointed out, in order to make the enterprise feasible you need generally need some scholarship dollars. This isn't catastrophic, necessarily - it could just be a matter of choosing G-Town over Penn - but it is somewhat sad the way the system as presently constituted pulls so many people into the private sector.

Anyway, best case scenario, you get a mid-170s score on the LSAT, apply to the entire T-14, and go to a really good school with a really good scholarship.

That would be great, but I think it would be foolhardy on my part to predict a mid 170's score for the LSAT. I want to go to a good school, but more than anything I want to got o a school that will keep me out of debt (or at least curshing debt) and has professors who are well versed in human rights and international law, since those are my research interests.

[t...]

The UC schools - including Davis and Hastings - have very good LRAP programs.

Maximum income ~ 56-59K. Davis runs for 10 years, Hastings indefinitely. Davis will include all loans (even UG), Hastings does not allow UG or Plus.

They're pretty good programs if you don't plan on making more than 60K in your household (including you and your SO), and you commit 10 years to the program. Essentially you'll be paying 200-400 dollars a month, no matter how much your monthly loan payment is.

[TheWESTWESTWEST]

This is some good info. Thanks alot for taking the time to post this.