Many readers of this column understand that it costs an insane amount of money to become a lawyer. Individuals must typically borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend law school, and spend thousands of dollars to study for and take the bar exam. However, it also costs a lot of money to simply take the LSAT and apply to law schools. As a result, less-wealthy students can struggle with the law school admission process.
It is pretty well-understood that applicants can score higher on the LSAT (and other exams) by taking test prep classes and reviewing the right materials. However, test prep classes often cost thousands of dollars, and many students like myself did not have the resources to pay for these courses. In addition, numerous prospective law students do not want to take out loans to pay for test prep classes, because they will need to borrow large sums of money to attend law school.
Since I did not have the money to take an LSAT prep class, I had to create my own study system in order to prepare for this test. I bought (and was gifted) a bunch of second-hand LSAT prep materials, and most of these materials were already marked up by prior owners of these books. I spent many months studying for the LSAT, but I do not think that I reached my full potential, since I couldn’t afford a test prep class.
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Many of my wealthier friends took test prep courses in order to guide their studying for the LSAT. Not only did these classes explain how to work through LSAT questions in a way not possible by simply reading a book, but LSAT prep classes also gave these students a regimented study system. From my own experience, it seems that applicants who could afford to take LSAT prep courses scored better on the test. Since the LSAT is a huge factor in the law school admission process, applicants who can afford to pay for this resource have an easier time getting admitted to better law schools.
In addition, it is difficult for poorer students to take the LSAT multiple times if they are not satisfied with the score they received. I was not thrilled with my LSAT score, since it was far below the marks I had been able to consistently score on practice tests. Even though the LSAT was offered one more time before I had to begin submitting law school applications, I did not have the money to take the LSAT again.
Of course, fee waivers are available for individuals who cannot afford to pay the fee to sit for the LSAT. However, I did not want to take time away from studying and applying to law schools to submit a fee waiver. In addition, it would have been difficult for me to obtain tax documents from members of my family that were required to support an application for a fee waiver. Of course, wealthier students do not need to deal with the hassle of submitting a fee waiver request, and can take the LSAT multiple times. This ensures that they get the highest possible LSAT score and are accepted to better law schools.
Seat deposits also pose a huge burden on less-wealthy law school applicants. Many law schools require that accepted students pay a seat deposit to secure their spot in the next incoming class, and this is not an insignificant amount of money. Indeed, the law school to which I paid a seat deposit required that I shell out $500 to hold my place in the next class.
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It was very difficult for me to come up with $500, and I had to borrow half of this sum from my grandparents so that I could pay this fee. For wealthier students, it might be easier to pay seat deposits, and some well-off students even pay seat deposits at multiple law schools to keep their options open past the normal deadline to accept a spot at a given law school. Wealthier law students are also much more able to take positions off the waitlist at better law schools, since they might not mind forfeiting their seat deposits at lower-ranked law schools to accept a position off the waitlist.
Of course, some law schools waive seat deposits, but most institutions require you to agree in writing that you will attend a given law school if you need your seat deposit to be waived. Wealthier students are usually not forced to make this commitment, and are more free to accept positions off the waitlists of better schools and keep their options open.
All told, the law school admission process is very difficult for less-wealthy applicants. Indeed, it is hard for individuals with less financial resources to adequately prepare for the LSAT or forfeit their seat deposits in order to accept positions off law school waitlists. As a result, wealthy applicants definitely have a much easier time getting accepted to better law schools.
Jordan Rothman is the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a personal finance website discussing how he paid off all $197,890.20 of his college and law school student loans over 46 months of his late 20s. You can reach him at [email protected].