If you’re thinking of becoming a barrister, take a look at our specific barrister finances page here.

The total cost of qualifying as a solicitor is not to be underestimated. Prospective trainees should investigate potential sources of funding at each stage of qualification.

Undergraduate Degree

Firstly, there are your undergraduate degree tuition fees to consider, commonly set at around £3,000 per year. For this stage of your education there are two types of student loan available:

• Student loan for fees (commonly called the ‘tuition fee loan’). This covers the full amount of your fees. For 2006 the amount available was £3,000 a year.
• Student loan for maintenance (usually called the ‘living costs loan’). The amount depends on your city of study and whether you live independently or with family. Typically this is £3,000 to £6,000 a year. 

Most students have to borrow both, but the loans are repayable only after graduation, and even then you pay only 9% on earnings more than the repayment threshold, which is currently at £15,000 plus interest.

Some grants are also available from your university or indirectly when you’ve gone through the normal loans application process (the money actually comes from your local education authority). Grants, based on your earnings or those of your parents, can be up to £2,700 a year and you don’t have to pay them back.

The body that administers financial support for students is called Student Finance Direct and its website is www.studentsupportdirect.co.uk. For more information, see the Department for Education and Skills website at www.dfes.gov.uk.

Postgraduate Courses

GDL fees
If you did a non-law degree and have to study the graduate diploma in law (GDL), expect to pay between £3,000 and £7,000. Added to these fees are your own living costs.

LPC fees
Expect to pay between £5,000 and £10,000 for the legal practice course (LPC). Courses in London are the most expensive, and you still have to pay living expenses.

Bank loans
Neither the GDL nor the LPC are funded under normal grant and student finance arrangements because they are not usually eligible for local education authority funding. However, occasionally there are some funds available, but these depend on your personal circumstances and you’ll have to contact your local education authority for more info.

The standard way of funding the GDL and/or the LPC is with a high street bank loan. Most banks will see you as a good investment because you will be a professional and should be able to earn enough money to repay them. However, unlike the student loans, you will have to repay your bank loan as soon as the course is over, regardless of what you earn. Note that the government-subsidised career development loan offered by some banks does not cover the GDL (because it leads to another course rather than employment).

Sponsorship
Sometimes international, City or large regional law firms provide GDL and/or LPC sponsorship to those students whom they have selected for training contracts. Sponsorship is sometimes (although rarely) available from other bodies that take on trainee solicitors. For instance, the Government Legal Service offers limited financial help for trainee solicitors who have secured a training contract with the body.

If you are recruited during your degree and the firm offers to sponsor you through your postgraduate course(s), it will probably recommend a particular provider. You’ll thus receive several modules tailored to the firm’s practice.

Further support 
Some grant-making trusts and charities may offer financial assistance to those seeking to qualify as a solicitor. You can find information about these funds at www.support4learning.org.uk.

There is a Trainee Solicitors' Group (TSG) helpline which can provide all prospective and current students with information regarding financial help. Call the TSG on 08000 856 131.