Financially Surviving 1L Summer

Last week, I saw my supervisor from my first summer job as a 1L and I realized it’s been seven years (!), since I emailed her hoping that she’d hire me as an intern.  Time flies guys!  It was a great summer, but, like usual, it was not easy financially.  I remember hearing of other students getting unpaid clerkships or needing to sublets apartments and all I kept thinking was how can they afford it?! And then as spring drew closer and closer, all I could think was how was I going to afford my summer?

1L summer can be a little tougher than 2L summer because many positions for 1Ls don’t offer payment for your services.  Side note: it’s bananas that this system expects people to  just go months without having to earn an income!  After I secured a position for my first summer, I spent the majority of my time trying to find a stream of income so that I could make rent.  I was lucky to find some sources and I made it (barely).  However, if you prepare now, you’ll be able to easily survive your legal summers.

Here are three action steps to take in order to financially survive your 1L summer:

One. Create your budget now. It’s really important to figure out how much money you need to survive.  What will you spend on rent, groceries, commuting, etc. and how much money do you need to meet those costs?  When doing your budget make sure you include “surprise” costs that may be covered now through your school that you’ll need to handle in the summer.  For example, during the academic year, my school provided our transit card to ride the bus and train.  However, by the end of Spring semester, we were on our own to cover those costs.  That was an extra $100 a month I needed to have on hand so that I could travel to my internship everyday.  Creating a budget allows for realistic expectations of what you can and can’t do during the summer, and it will help you prepare to tighten your belt, if necessary.

Two. Start looking for stipends/scholarships. There is free money available.  It’s not easy to get and it’s competitive, but it’s really worth it to try to and get whatever you can.  Most schools have some type of funding, especially if you’re working in public interest.  Apply to whatever you can and don’t be selective about it.  I really hesitated in applying for the international stipend at my school because I was doing immigration in Little Village, instead of traveling abroad like the other students.  Thankfully, a professor encouraged me to apply; I got the stipend and that was most of the money I used to survive the summer. Also consider researching the local bar associations because they try to help students out with scholarships as well.

Three. Take a summer class. I don’t recommend taking a class or externship during the summer unless you need the credits to graduate–because why take on the extra debt?  But the reality is that many (like me) will need loan money to survive during the summer and that means taking a class. Both summers I took a class so that I could supplement my stipends. The loan money wasn’t very much, but it was enough to cover rent for three months.  However, be smart about the class you do take. I recommend registering for something you really need to learn (like evidence or professional responsibility) rather than something less substantial.

A fourth tip- not really something I recommend because it’s dangerous, but I’m mentioning because I want to keep it real here as much as possible, and that is to consider (seriously, thoughtfully, and cautiously) getting a credit card. I had enough money after 1L summer to cover all my basic needs, but didn’t have enough to buy text books (seriously that is the story of my life). So I opted to get a new card in early August so that I wouldn’t be behind in reading like I had been the previous year.  I don’t recommend it.  Credit card debt is not good and even worse when piled on top of student debt, but you have to survive any way you can. If you do go this route, get the card; use it for whatever emergency it is that you have; and then destroy the card so you’re not tempted to use it for other things that aren’t necessities.

What did you do to financially survive your 1L summer?