As a law school Admissions and Financial Aid Director, watching people transform into lawyers is deeply fulfilling. During the summer, a new group starts this transfiguration through pipeline programs which work closely with students from underrepresented, marginalized groups. Many participants identify themselves within the Latinx diaspora, and are low-income, first-generation students. A pragmatic approach is the most useful in discussing financial preparedness for law school because these students are investing in themselves. As consumers, we expect transparency and conduct research when we consider buying cars, homes, or a vacation. Investing in law school should be no different, and Latinx prelaw students must take financial ownership because the journey is expensive. Would anyone go on a $100,000+ journey blindly?

Professor C.J. Ryan from Louisville-Brandeis School of Law analyzed historical American Bar Association (ABA) data and concluded in a 2021 Illinois Law Review article that law school tuition has risen much faster than the inflation rate. According to Ryan, the average loan debt borrowed by law school graduates in 2018 was $115,481. It is rare that these pipeline program participants could pay out-of-pocket without financing. My upcoming dissertation research considers the complexity of law school affordability and financial stress for Latinx law students. There are three topics to highlight that contribute to the discussion.

Hidden Costs in the Admissions Process

Many Latinx prelaw students are shocked by hidden costs between the applicant and law student stages. A useful activity is to have the students estimate all the costs in this period. I provide a list of predictable and hidden expenses and give several minutes to estimate what they think each item would cost as if they were on the show “The Price is Right!” The students understand predictable expenses like law school application fees and the LSAT test. However, the addition of hidden expenses may allow the sum to easily surpass $2,500. For example, many Latinx prelaw students do not realize that they need fitted professional clothing for in-person scholarship interviews, or that they should travel to visit law schools where they have been admitted to ensure that the institution fits their needs. In addition, the federal government does not provide funds for moving to a new city.

If students do not plan accordingly, many will take fall financial aid to reimburse unpredicted costs. However, this quick-fix solution results in financial stress at a time when focus on academics is paramount. To avoid these outcomes, Latinx prelaw students must contact law school financial aid offices to understand anticipatory expenses and lessen the shock of “hidden costs”. Further, prelaw advisors at undergraduate institutions must take on the responsibility for preparing their Latinx prelaw students better financially and for finding financial resources to lessen the burden.

Financial Behaviors Stemming from Systemic and Structural Inequalities

My work asserts that many Latinx, low-income law students develop financial behaviors through lived experience and their environment, with little financial education from formal schooling. They come from impoverished communities that are disadvantaged due to systemic and structural inequalities of our society. Many of them have worked since high school to contribute to the family’s expenses, and/or take on additional managerial roles within the family unit. Financial trauma and insecurity about meeting basic needs often skew their perception of money and financial systems and structures as not trustworthy and manipulative. It is important that Latinx students recognize these inequitable systems, not fall into deficit thinking, and become resilient about financial wellness, in the same way as they have become resilient with regard to their education. Many Latinx law students work with mental health counselors, peer mentors, and alumni mentors to reshape their views about money and thus disrupt imposter syndrome, materialism, and deficit thinking that stem from social inequities.

Aside from obtaining financial knowledge, Latinx prelaw students must understand their financial behaviors and habits in order to pick a budget method that fits their values and needs, and will help them manage limited financial aid. Great questions to ask are: (1) Am I more of a saver or spender? (2) What is the influence of materialism in my life? (3) What are my needs versus wants? (4) What are the expectations to support my family financially?

Creditworthiness: Gateway to the Legal Profession

Managing credit is becoming more important on the journey to becoming licensed as an attorney. Most low-income, Latinx students depend on the federal Graduate PLUS loan to finance living expenses, but many are unaware of the mandatory government credit evaluation to become eligible. According to the 2020 Code of Federal Regulations, potential borrowers who are at least 90 days delinquent on a debt payment or have defaulted on a loan in the past five years are ineligible for PLUS loans. Additionally, students who have experienced foreclosure, repossession, wage garnishment, or other repercussions related to defaulting on debt cannot access PLUS loans.

In addition, some state bars, like New Mexico’s, view financial wellness as a measure of character and fitness to be admissible to practice law. It is not uncommon for state bars to pull a credit report to evaluate how an applicant may handle finances and financial behavior. A low credit score or other adverse mark can result in an additional investigation. There are cases where state bar examiners denied applicants because the person in question avoided financial obligations or misled creditors. The legal profession expects attorneys to be good financial stewards and act with financial integrity to practice. However, these new markers of creditworthiness create an additional financial barrier to low-income, Latinx law students; they are not adequately educated about credit and borrowing through our educational system and could make costly financial mistakes as young adults, without family assets available to bail them out.

Closing Advice

Law school affordability is convoluted, and most low-income, Latinx students depend on loans to acquire a law degree. The best advice is to develop resilience, become best friends with the law school financial aid officers, find Latinx attorneys as mentors, recognize and mentally work through any past financial trauma which stem from systemic inequities, maintain good credit, and develop good financial habits and behaviors. •

Author Bio: Mario A. Villa is the Director of Student Recruitment and Financial Aid at The University of Texas School of Law since 2013. He is a part-time doctoral student in Educational Leadership and Policy at UT- Austin. At Texas Law, Mario manages admissions responsibilities and all student financial services including scholarships, financial aid, and financial planning.