Tuition and living expenses for the academic year are combined together to determine the student budget, which is often referred to as the cost of attendance, or COA.
The budget helps students estimate the cost of an education at Michigan Law. It also limits the amount of financial aid that a student can receive during their period of enrollment, since financial aid cannot exceed a student’s COA.
Students with additional medical or childcare expenses can contact our office for a possible increase. Most students are able to live comfortably within the budget. In fact, we have many students who are able to live on less. As such, we encourage our students to borrow as little as possible. As the adage says, “if you live like a student now, you can live like a lawyer later,” rather than “if you live like a lawyer now, you must live like a student later.” For those who choose modest-paying employment after graduation, we have an excellent loan repayment assistance program.
For information about the different types of financial aid that are available, please see Forms of Aid on our website. Also, the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) offers a video, Paying for Law School, by Jeffrey Hanson Education Services, that provides further information about financing your education.