The cost of becoming a lawyer – does it pay off? (Part 1)

When I was contemplating going to law school in 2014, I really did the most – researching the actual cost of going to law school and the benefit (ie salary amounts). There wasn’t any good intel at the time especially information in relation to Ontario law schools.

Due to my Type A personality and my obsession with numbers, tracking things and personal finance, I maintained a detailed financial log throughout my three years of law school and managed to calculate a pretty accurate depiction of the financial cost of attending law school so you can make an informed decision about whether it is worth it for you.

I want to preface this by saying that I attended the most expensive program in the province. The Dual J.D. program (Canada/U.S.) which essentially means that I was paying TWO tuitions both to the University of Windsor and to the University of Detroit Mercy. Another layer to this this onion (yes onion because I cry a little when I think about it) is the exchange rate, of course which was definitely an added cost.

I began diligently tracking my spending once I started law school. I was on a strict budget and I really wanted to make sure I knew where my money was being spent. Unfortunately, there was a lot of trial and error and I felt that the best thing I found for tracking my spending was good old excel. I made my own chart based on categories that fit my lifestyle (ie rent, cell phone, groceries, clothing, etc.). So let’s have a look at what I spent (more or less) to go to law school and the real cost.

Full disclosure: here are some facts that you need to know that had an impact on my spending:

1. I had minimal student debt going in, I want to say it was probably around $7000 in OSAP loans
2. I had help from my parents, they gave me $1000 a month to help with my expenses
3. I took out a $150,000 student LOC with Scotiabank which was not payable until I graduated but most of this was used for tuition
4. I had a part time job at Payless Shoes while in law school which gave me a little bit more spending money
5. I had a long distance boyfriend who would come up almost weekly and would often help pay for my groceries
6. I lived alone
7. I did not have a car
8. I was in a wedding in my first year ($$$)

2015

I started law school in August 2015 (I was in the Dual J.D. program so we started earlier than other law schools in Ontario). The lawyer I worked for prior to going to law school had a fiancé that was just graduating from law school in Windsor and his unit was going to be vacant, I was able to see the unit beforehand and was able to secure it for a fixed price. I was extremely lucky, my landlord was pretty hands off, I had central air conditioning and laundry in the basement (both rare for cheaper Windsor units/apartments). I was living on the main floor of a duplex house. I had a nice bedroom, office and living room all for $750 a month all inclusive. I paid $40 a month for interest as part of special for about 6 months, which then jumped to $70 a month. This was my first time living alone so it took me some time to perfect my grocery budget. My financial data at this time was not great as I was still perfecting my spreadsheet.

2016

At this time, I was just getting the hang of buying groceries for myself I was also trying to adjust to my life with no free time (attending two schools, working a part time job that I had to travel to by public transit which really isn’t great in Windsor and trying to get decent grades). It was our first summer, which meant we had a summer semester so we had to continue to live in Windsor over the summer months, during this time I was working a lot more at Payless Shoes. A typical month in 2015 looked like this (based on averages):

• Rent: $750
• Clothing: $187 (old habits die hard)
• Beauty: $88
• Transportation: $40 (most of this was tolls)
• Cell Phone: $70
• Meals & Entertainment: $73
• Home: $68 (I was buying unnecessary decor and things for diy projects)
• Groceries: $245
• Misc: $48

My average monthly spending was $2305.

In addition, I accumulated (and this includes both for 2015 and 2016) $19,545.76 in OSAP debt and $75,428.54 of debt on my student LOC.

During my off time at school I would travel back to Toronto to help out at my old job (a law firm). This year I made about $4,104.00 at this job in addition to the $2764.00 I made at Payless.

2017

I didn’t get a summer job through OCIs  so I had to go back to my old job (at a law firm) during the summer. Due to unforeseen circumstances I ended up resigning early which left me with a few months where I had no income. In 2017, I had a real summer so I returned to Toronto for the summer and lived with my then boyfriend so my expenses during this time were certainly minimal. I wasn’t able to sublet my place in Windsor so I continued to pay rent for the time I spent in Toronto. This year I also split meals and entertainment and fast food whereas the year before they were combined.

• Rent: $750
• Beauty: $176
• Clothing: $176
• Transportation: 28
• Cell Phone: $78
• Internet $45 (I cancelled my internet for the two months I was in Toronto)
• Fast Food: $72
• Meals & Entertainment: $74
• Home: $25

My average monthly spending was $1833.

My OSAP balance (cumulative) was $29,084.76 and my student loan total was $108.739.31.

My income was pretty sad this year, I made $693.80 at the law firm (basically worked a few days before I resigned) I also worked at Payless this year and I resigned when I got back from summer vacation (after I had secured an articling position). I only made $895.45.

2018

This was my last and probably my most fiscally irresponsible year. I was not working at all, and I was living my best life. I took a trip with my friends to Chicago (pretty cost effective and totally worth it) and also took a trip to Arizona for reading week. I also stayed in Windsor after school was over to study and then write the bar exams:

• Rent: $750
• Cell Phone: $45
• Internet $55
• Beauty: $128
• Groceries: $243
• Clothing: $271
• Transportation: $40
• Meals/Entertainment/Fast Food: $159

My average monthly spending was $1882.

My trip to Chicago cost about $598, I went with two girls, we drove there (it was 4 hours from Windsor) and went for two nights and 3 days this cost includes everything from meals to accommodations.

My trip to Arizona cost about $1,900.00 including the flight, meals, shopping, car rental and accommodations. This was for a week-long trip.

I also paid $4,859.00 to write the two bar exams in Ontario. My OSAP loan closed at $27,464.76 and my line of credit closed at $141,029.86 with just a few more thousand to spare.

In terms of tuition, I paid the following amounts at each school:

2015 – $8,323.62 (UWindsor); $11,640.50 USD (UDM)

2016 – $1,955.30 (UWindsor); $23,119.00 USD (UDM)

I had some type of bursary/scholarship in 2016.

2017 – $8,815.39 (UWindsor); $23,283.00 USD (UDM)

In total, I spent $58,042.50 USD in tuition at UDM which is approximately $80,000 more or less (I don’t have an accurate record of the exchange rate at that time). In addition, I paid about $19,132.92 in tuition for three years at UWindsor after my scholarship/bursaries.

Unfortunately, because my bank records don’t go very far back and I switched banks a few years ago shortly after law school I don’t have a break down of the OSAP grants that I got (I recall a few thousand).

Stay tuned for part two where I go into whether all of this paid off and what I’ve done in terms of repayment so far. I hope this diligent breakdown is helpful for anyone attempting this ridiculous stunt (ha ha). Although the numbers are a bit dated it is helpful in terms of getting an idea of what it really costs to go to law school (or two).