As I can attest to from personal experience, law school is insanely expensive. Indeed, law students typically need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on tuition costs, books, housing expenses and other fees to earn a law degree. However, even after graduating from law school, attorneys-to-be need to spend even more money to pay for course materials and living costs in order to prepare for the bar exam. However, by keeping a few things in mind, saving money while studying for the bar exam can be much easier.
One thing that can help recent graduates when saving money while studying for the bar exam are bar stipends. Many firms help recent graduates pay for part of the living costs and course fees they will need to face while studying for the bar exam. Normally, only the top firms that already extended recent graduates an offer of employment through a summer associate program will provide such bar stipends.
I was lucky enough to be a summer associate at a firm that gave entering associates bar stipends to offset costs while studying for the bar exam. If I remember correctly, I was provided $7,500 in a bar stipend, which was reduced to around $4,700 when taxes were withheld. My bar preparation materials alone were almost this sum, but the bar stipend still helped cover some of the costs I faced while studying for the bar.
One important way to approach saving money while studying for the bar exam is to avoid bar loans at all costs. Some lenders offer loans to recent law school graduates that are aimed at helping these individuals pay for costs between graduation and when they begin their first jobs after the bar exam. It might be tempting to borrow such a loan, and if you have no other source of funding, you might be required to borrow such a sum.
However, since such loans are often personal loans that have no collateral, and are not being funded through the government, the debt often has a very high interest rate. If a student needs to begin paying student debt on top of a bar loan, it is easy for a borrower to end up under water pretty quickly. As a result, if you can borrow money from family or liquidate assets, this is usually more preferable than taking out a bar loan. Indeed, I know people who liquidated Bar Mitzvah money, Sweet Sixteen money, and any other funds so they could avoid taking out a high-interest bar loan.
The main strategy that should be implemented when saving money while studying for the bar is to not compromise your ability to pass the bar exam while minimizing your expenses. Some individuals wish to forgo paying for bar exam preparation courses in order to save some money. It is true that bar exam courses may costs several thousands of dollars depending on the types of services you would like while studying for the bar.
However, people who self study for the bar exam have a far less likelihood of passing the bar exam. This is because not paying for a course makes it more difficult to stay on track and focused while studying for the bar exam. Also, during bar exam courses, students learn unique techniques for passing the bar exam. It is important that bar candidates maximize their chances of passing the bar exam, since failing the bar exam even once can have monumental consequences on someone’s life. As a result, I strongly recommend against forgoing bar exam courses when saving money while studying for the bar.
One way many students handle saving money while studying for the bar exam is to crash with family. Many bar review courses can be taken online (although some people may wish to attend an in-person class to ensure they take the courses seriously). As a result, so long as you have good access to the internet and some privacy, you should be able to study for the bar exam while crashing with relatives.
I personally paid to sublet a friend’s apartment while studying for the bar exam. The only family I could crash with at the time were my grandparents and they did not have internet. As a result, I had to pay to have a solid study environment, but most people can avoid shelling out money for this.
Another thing that you should keep in mind when saving money while studying for the bar exam is not to skimp on transportation costs to take the exam itself. I made sure to pick a hotel near the bar exam testing center, and booked a room the night before the exam so that I could get a good night’s sleep before the exam. As a result, I was rested and prepared for the exam.
However, I know people who drove to the exam the day of the test, and some faced difficulties. If you live near the testing site, this may not be an issue for you, but if you need to travel to take the bar exam, be sure to spend money so that you are comfortable for the test.
In the end, there are certain things you can do when saving money while taking the bar, and ways you can obtain funds to tide you over during this time. However, it is also important to spend money when this will enhance your chances of success on the bar exam.