Best Law School Loans of 2025: Compare Your Options

Law school is expensive, and most students need to borrow to cover the cost. According to a 2024 survey from the American Bar Association, 85% of recent law school graduates took out student loans to pay for their J.D., and the median amount borrowed was $112,500.

Federal student loans are usually the best option for law school because they offer flexible repayment plans and the potential for forgiveness. But if you have strong credit, a private law school loan could offer a lower interest rate. Private lenders like Ascent and College Ave stand out as the best private student loans for law school, due to their competitive rates and extended grace periods.

This guide covers how to find the best law school loans and what to consider before you borrow.

Current private student loan rates

Best private student loans for law school

Why you can trust our Credible experts

The Credible editorial team is independent and unbiased. Partners do not influence our editorial content. To help you find the best student loan for your situation, we conduct thorough research and analyze thousands of lender data points. Using data-driven methodologies, we score criteria that are important to you. This allows us to objectively rank student loan lenders and products. To learn more, read our methodology below.

Methodology

To determine the best student loan lenders for law school, Credible collected more than 1,000 points of data on two dozen companies and evaluated them on several different categories: repayment options, eligibility, interest rates, loan terms, and customer support. We assigned a score out of five stars to each lender based on our findings. Below are the weightings assigned to the general categories for the best student loan companies — which comprise individual criteria that are also weighted.

• Repayment options: 30%
• Eligibility: 25%
• Interest rates: 20%
• Loan terms: 15%
• Customer support: 10%

While the best lender for you will depend on your unique needs and financial circumstances, these findings should help answer your questions and assist you in your search for the best student loan.

Learn more about our methodology.

Best federal loans for law school

Federal student loans are typically the best option if you need to borrow for law school. They come with important benefits you won't find with private loans, like access to income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) if you work in the public sector.

Federal loans for law school include Direct Unsubsidized Loans and grad PLUS loans. But it's a good idea to start with Direct Unsubsidized Loans for two reasons:

• The interest rate is lower than grad PLUS loans.
• The loan fees are a smaller percentage compared to grad PLUS loans.

However, there are annual borrowing limits for Direct Unsubsidized Loans. If your law school costs more than you can borrow through unsubsidized loans, you'll need to fill the gap with either grad PLUS loans or a private student loan. Both options let you borrow as much as the full cost of attendance at your school, minus other financial aid you receive.

Here's a comparison of federal loan options for law school at a glance.

Credit score needed for law school loans

Federal student loans don't consider your credit score, which makes them easier to qualify for. Private loans do consider your credit. If your score is high, you might qualify for a lower interest rate than what grad PLUS loans offer.

However, it's important to be strategic about how you manage your credit when applying for private loans.

“Students who decide to apply for private loans must manage their funds carefully and borrow small amounts while sustaining excellent credit ratings to receive better terms,” says Joshua Mangoubi, chartered financial analyst and founder of Considerate Capital, a wealth management firm.

To help you decide between a grad PLUS loan and a private student loan, here's a look at the rates you might qualify for on a private student loan based on your credit score, using data from the Credible marketplace:

How to compare law school loan options

Here are the most important factors to consider when weighing law school loan options:

• Fixed vs. variable rates: Federal student loans come with fixed rates that stay the same throughout your repayment term. Private lenders may offer both fixed and variable rates. Variable rates can start lower but may increase over time depending on market conditions.
• Loan fees: Federal loans charge a percentage of the amount you borrow as a loan origination fee. This is deducted from your loan before the money is sent to your school, so you'll receive less than the amount you borrow. Most private lenders don't charge origination fees.
• Your credit score: If you have excellent credit, you may qualify for a lower rate on a private student loan compared with a federal grad PLUS loan. Check your credit before applying to see where you stand.
• Repayment terms: Federal loans offer more repayment flexibility, including income-driven repayment plans that adjust your payments to a percentage of your income. Terms typically range from 10 to 25 years. Private student loans usually offer terms between 5 and 20 years, but don't offer the same flexibility.
• Forgiveness potential: Federal loans offer benefits that can reduce or even eliminate law school debt over time. For example, if you decide to work in government or a qualifying nonprofit role, you may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Private lenders may offer some hardship options, but they do not offer forgiveness options.
• Customer reviews: While federal loans all come from the same source, private loans are available through different private lenders. It can be a good idea to look up customer reviews for private lenders on Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Borrowing tips for law school students

Figuring out how to pay for law school is one piece of the puzzle. But repaying what you borrow can be another challenge. Here are some tips to help you borrow wisely and keep long-term costs under control:

• Look into scholarships and grants first: These don't need to be repaid, so they can significantly reduce how much you need to borrow. You can use search engines like Fastweb or Scholarships.com to find private scholarships for law students, and check with your school's financial aid office about institutional scholarships or grants.
• Maximize federal loans: Federal student loans offer benefits you won't get with private lenders, IDR plans, and forgiveness through programs like PSLF. These can be especially valuable if you plan to work in the public sector or for a nonprofit.
• Consider your earning potential: Before taking out a large sum of money, understand your future earning potential. Lawyers' salaries can vary widely, whether you're working at a Big Law firm, a public interest organization, or the government. The median pay for lawyers was $145,760 per year as of 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
• Borrow only what you need: You might be offered more student loans than you actually need. Know exactly what you need and only borrow that amount. Reducing how much you borrow can simplify repayment and lower interest charges.

Repayment strategies for law school graduates

Your repayment strategy should reflect your career path and income after graduation. If you're working as a public defender or earning a lower salary, federal loan forgiveness programs like income-driven repayment or Public Service Loan Forgiveness may be your best option.

If you're earning a higher salary, refinancing could help you lock in a lower interest rate, but keep in mind that refinancing turns federal loans into private loans, meaning you'll lose access to these forgiveness programs.

“Attorneys going into Big Law will generally not qualify for IDR or PSLF, and therefore will likely either want to pay down their federal loans aggressively or refinance to a private loan if they can find an attractive rate,” says Matt Smith, a certified financial planner and founder of Concert Financial Planning who specializes in helping Big Law attorneys.

“A rule of thumb is that if your loan balance is equal to your income, you can probably qualify for IDR, but a Big Law attorney will soon stop qualifying and therefore will have just delayed the repayment of their loans in full,” he adds.

Some states and public interest employers also offer loan repayment assistance programs for lawyers. Currently, 24 state-run LRAPs help civil legal aid attorneys repay their student loans. Additionally, many legal aid organizations provide their own repayment assistance programs, so it's worth asking about available support when reviewing job offers.

See Also: What Are Bar Exam Loans? Funding Your Final Step to Becoming a Lawyer