The cost of obtaining a legal education (including room & board and books) continues to soar at a rate greater than the rate of increase that the largest law firms are paying top law school graduates.  So, before you apply to law school consider researching and applying for scholarship funds to help subsidize your law school education. 

Many scholarship and grant awards are based on one or more of the following:  subject or degree, ethnicty, religion, and college or state. 

Law School Scholarships vs. Law School Grants
Law school scholarships offer a valuable way for prospective students to pay for law school, and most of these are privately-funded and based on merit. Be aware that competition is fierce for most scholarship awards.  You might be surprised to learn that most first-year law school students have at least half of their tuition paid for through these means. 

The University of California, Berkeley offers about 12 scholarships each year, while Notre Dame grants about 44 different scholarships and fellowships.  In addition, Columbia School of Law offers a variety of grants and scholarships for eligible students.

Law school grants are generally sponsored by a law school or law firm. These are generally available for undergraduate law students, and can help with both partial and complete funding for a law school education. These are usually offered over the course of a few years so a student receiving the grant will have funding year after year.

Law School of Financial Aid
Currently, the federal loan limit for graduate students is $18,500 per year, and students who are eligible for the federal Perkins loan can receive an additional $1,800 per year. The lifetime limit for Federal loans is $135,800 in subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans, but no more than $65,500 can come from a federal subsidized loan.

Types of Law School Scholarship and Law School Grants Available
It's recommended that you apply for multiple law school scholarships and law school grants to increase your chances of receiving an award.  The following scholarships and financial aid resources are available for eligible students:

Access Group a nonprofit organization that provides private loans to the law school community

American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional association in the world with more than 400,000 members

EdFed is a scholarship search and loan consolidator which assists students and graduates with financing their college expenses and managing their education loans

FastWeb is claimed to be the largest and most complete source of scholarships available

Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, plays a central and essential role in America's postsecondary education community.

Food and Drug Law Institute is focused on the study of public health law, and offers several scholarships through a writing competition

Key Education Resources is an organization that extends LawAchiever private loans for students attending an ABA-approved school at least part-time.

Nellie Mae LOAN LINK is a nonprofit loan provider extends the LawEXCEL Education Loan Program for law students

Online Education Database is a database which only lists accredited online colleges

Sallie Mae this organization provides secondary market loans in addition to private loan programs such as LAWLOANS

TERI Professional Education Program (PEP) is an organization provides loans for both professional and graduate studies

Ulinks.com 

See Legalnut's page on Law School Loans