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Estimated living expense comparisons

A law school’s estimated cost of attendance (the sum of tuition and fees plus estimated living expenses) is important information for prospective students, particularly for admitted students trying to compare the cost of attending various schools to which they have been admitted. It is important to note, however, that each school makes its own estimate of student living expenses, and schools can differ markedly in their approaches to these estimates. This means that estimated living expenses are not necessarily comparable across schools and cannot be safely compared, dollar for dollar, as comparative costs of attending one school versus another.

Comparing living expenses estimated by different law schools

Living expenses represent a large portion of the cost of attendance at any law school. Unlike tuition and fees, living expenses vary considerably both from person to person and from place to place, providing different opportunities to keep your cost of attendance and educational debt as low as possible. Ultimately, your living expenses will depend not only on the cost of living in your law school’s location, but also on the choices you make about your living situation during school.

We encourage prospective students to make personal estimates of living expenses while deciding which law school to attend. A good place to begin comparing the estimated cost of attending Vanderbilt to the cost of attending other law schools is the ABA-LSAC Official Guide. Each law school's "data pages" show prior-year tuition/fees and estimated living expenses at the bottom of the first page (Vanderbilt's data pages).

While the ABA-LSAC Guide shows total amounts for estimated living expenses, each school publishes its own estimated cost of attendance budget which breaks out housing, meals, books, health insurance, transportation, personal and other expenses. Vanderbilt normally publishes its estimated cost of attendance budget in March showing actual tuition and fee with estimated living expenses for the academic year beginning the following August.

Because tuition and fees are fixed costs for all students, they are directly comparable, dollar for dollar, across schools, but estimated living expenses are not comparable in the same way. Each school’s estimate is based on its own implicit set of assumptions about personal choices that influence living expenses, such as living alone or with a roommate, owning a car, living in least expensive housing available, eating options, personal expenses for clothes, entertainment, and others. Schools typically require law students to have health insurance, but some do not account for this expense in their estimated costs (Vanderbilt includes the cost of purchasing health insurance through Vanderbilt in its estimated cost, but this expense can be subtracted if the student is already covered by other insurance).

Although a school's estimated living costs are helpful for estimating your expenses at that school bearing in mind the estimate's particular assumptions (if known), another's school's estimate may be based on different assumptions.  To demonstrate, consider the following estimated living expenses from the ABA-LSAC Guide for one selected law school in each of the following cities:

Living expenses estimated by a law school in:*

• Berkeley, CA: $21,183
• Boston, MA: $22,874
• Chicago, IL: $21,585
• Nashville, TN: $21,948
• New York, NY: $21,265
• Washington, DC: $22,250

If these estimates were based on similar assumptions, they would appear to indicate that similar living situations in these various places cost about the same. Actually, the cost-of-living differs considerably across these locations such that living on a budget of about $22,000 in Nashville is comparable to living on larger budgets in the other locations.

Living in Nashville on $21,948 is like living in:*

• Berkeley, CA on $44,214
• Boston, MA on $39,541
• Chicago, IL on $27,814
• New York, NY on $40,813
• Washington, DC: $32,592

Because the schools' estimates are about equal dollar amounts and the schools' locations differ in cost-of-living, it appears likely that the schools took differing approaches to making their estimates. If $22,000 seems to go much farther in Nashville than in these other locations, then it seems likely that Vanderbilt's estimate allows a wider range of possibilities for law students living in Nashville than the other estimates allow for law students living in the other locations.

Looking at it another way, because $22,000 goes less far in other locations than in Nashville, it would appear that the other schools’ estimates would limit law students’ choices in Nashville to a greater extent than would Vanderbilt's estimate:

• Living in Berkeley, CA on $21,183 is like living in Nashville on $10,515.
• Living in Boston, MA on $22,874 is like living in Nashville on $12,697.
• Living in Chicago, IL on $21,585 is like living in Nashville on $17,427.
• Living in New York, NY on $21,265 is like living in Nashville on $11,436.
• Living in Washington, DC on $22,250 is like living in Nashville on $14,984.

This is not to say that schools over- or understate living expenses, but rather, each school's estimate may encompass a narrower or broader range of choices. For example, an estimate based on living with a roommate does not contemplate the more expensive choice to live alone.    

Your expenses may be higher or lower than the estimate provided by the school you attend depending on the choices you make that influence your living expenses. The school’s approach to estimating living expenses might or might not reflect choices that you make (or options that you have). Your living expenses depend on the apartment you rent, whether you own a car, how often you eat out, etc., and your choices will determine a considerable portion of the cost of your legal education.

Estimated living expenses and borrowing

A school’s cost of attendance estimate (the sum of tuition/fees plus estimated living expenses combined) normally sets the maximum amount a student may borrow. For law school, students qualifying for educational loans can normally borrow (not must borrow or should borrow!) the difference between estimated cost of attendance and scholarships awarded:

estimated cost of attendance

minus scholarships received

equals the maximum loan amount a school will approve

for a qualified student borrower through a combination of federal student loan programs.         A student receiving no scholarship can borrow up to the full estimated cost of attendance amount, while a student with a scholarship can borrow up to an amount equal to the estimated cost of attendance minus the scholarship amount.

As a component of estimated costs of attendance, estimated living expenses influence how much you can borrow at the school you attend. Consider Schools A and B, with differing cost of attendance budgets.

A student with no scholarship could borrow up to $57,000 at School A and up to $67,000 at school B.

Suppose that a student’s actual living expenses to attend either school would be $17,000 and the student received no scholarship at either school. This student's personal cost of attendance would be $62,000 at either school, an amount that exceeds School A’s budget, but falls within School B’s budget. If the student wanted to borrow the full personal cost of attendance, he would need to ask School A to approve a budget increase, while his expenses would not exceed School B’s budget and no increase would be necessary.

Additional examples of how living expenses estimated by schools in various locations might apply to Nashville 

Comparing estimated living expenses another way, we can see how one school's approach to estimating might play out in other locations. For example, living on Vanderbilt's estimated expenses of $21,948 in Nashville where the Cost of Living Index lies below the national average would be like living on $51,873 in Stanford, CA where the cost of living is much higher.

Living in Nashville on $21,948* is like living in **: