Budgeting for Law School

Estimated Student Expense Budgets

The Standard Student Expense Budget (or “Cost of Attendance”) represents the maximum estimated expenses that a law student will incur during the academic year. The budget, which is updated on the UW Law website each year after tuition rates are posted, assumes a student is living alone in a one-bedroom apartment and includes health insurance. First-year law students have an additional $1,100 added to their budget for the purchase of a computer. Third-year law students have an additional $210 added for the cost of bar admission. Please visit the OSFA website for further information about each expense category.

Part-time students are charged on a per-credit basis. For more information about tuition and fees for part-time enrollment, please see Tuition & Fees.

Students whose personal circumstances allow them to cut expenses from the Standard Student Expense Budget should consider following the "Thrifty Budget.” This budget assumes that a student is sharing a one-bedroom apartment and does not include health insurance.

Calculating Your Personal Expense Budget

In order to determine how much financial aid you will need, you should compare your personal budget to the estimated student expense budget created by OSFA. To calculate a monthly budget for the academic year budget created by OSFA, take the total Cost of Attendance, subtract the tuition & fees and student loan fees, and divide by 9 (the number of months in the academic year). As you calculate your monthly budget, keep in mind that you will be spending more up front for your textbooks. If you are interested in pursuing an unpaid internship over the summer, you may need to divide your budget over a 12-month period, rather than a 9-month period. Each student should determine whether their expenses total more or less than this budgeted figure. If your expenses are less than your estimated monthly budgeted amount, then you may not need to take all the loans for which you are eligible. If your expenses are more than that amount, you may need to speak with a financial aid advisor at OSFA or the Law School Office of Admissions & Financial Aid to discuss your special circumstances and complete a budget adjustment, if necessary. 

Please note: The federal financial aid guidelines do not allow schools to incorporate expenses such as car payments or commercial credit debt into your estimated budget of expenses. If you will carry such expenses into law school, you will need to make other arrangements to have those costs covered, or reduce your expenses in another area to compensate.