Does anyone know of a private lender whose credit requirements are low? Or is there anyone who knows the required score for Sallie Mae and the such.

Don't know about their standards, but when I got my private loan, I went through the Access Group. (law access loan) My credit was good at that point, though, so I'm not sure about requiring cosigners etc.

Also be aware that you'll want to clean up your credit before finishing law school -- you probably won't be admitted to the bar with bad credit.

It's a good idea to clean up your credit whenever possible, but you can get admitted to the bar with bad credit. Bankruptcies require an explanation to the board of bar commissioners, but having bad credit won't keep you from being admitted.

Actually someone was just denied admission and posted about same on another board. Without quoting the person's entire post, here's the relevant part.

"I graduated from law school in May 04, took & passed my state bar exam. BUT I cannot be admitted to the bar because of my credit issues. I fell behind and then into collections while in law school, so the black marks are fairly recent. The bar committee said I can be admitted provided 1) I show consecutive payments to the creditors for at least 3 months (which I have been doing) and 2) that I show proof of payment agreements (this has been the problem because no CA wants to give me anything in writing)."

Every state is different. Some states HAVE completely denied people for having declared bankruptcy (I remember reading about that happening in my legal responsibility class, which, yes, is a requirement in law school!!), while others are less stringent about things like that. It really depends on your state. My state's question form for the bar was over 100 pages long and required things a list of every account you'd had sent to collections or been more than either 90 or 120 days (I can't remember) late - ever. A neighboring state's form was only 3 pages and the only financial question was if you'd ever defaulted on a student loan. A lot of times what they're looking for is just disclosure -- as long as you're honest and come clean on everything, they'll accept it. But that's not always the case.

If you're concerned, you may want to check with your state's bar examiners (it's called something different in every state too). As the previous quoted poster said, his/her issues came up during law school, so if you at least start on the good path now, you'll have over 3 years of good behavior shown before you'd apply for the bar anyway.

Good luck!

Thanks Guys! I am in the process of cleaning up my credit as I type. However, where I live they are not as focused on credit issues. They do ask, however, if you have ever declared bankruptcy (which I have not). As I am on the board things are disappearing on my credit into thin air (Thank God)!

Does this also apply for physicians who pass the USMLE?

Not necessarily. State medical licensing boards and law admittance boards are two totally different entities with totally different rules. It could be better or worse (how's that for completely unhelpful!). Again, that poster's experience may not even hold for other state's even to become a lawyer.

Good luck!!

The state for the other poster was Connecticut, btw.

Does anyone else see the irony in a lawyer's board denying admission to someone because the person has had credit problems and may therefore be unethical or disreputable? I'm a law student, but I think this is ridiculous. Maybe they should worm out skunks inside the picnic before they start trying to keep out new ones...

Here ya go.....

Criteria for SM private loan
Score must be 640 or above for stand alone private loans
Score between 620 and 640 go to underwriting for an over ride if credit looks ok.
If score is below 640 or if you have a thin credit file you can apply with co-borrower

Denial reasons
Bk not dismissed, discharged or paid. If it is must supply documents stating so.
No unpaid judgments or tax liens greater than $500
No unpaid charge offs
No defaulted student loans/If paid must supply docs
No student loans with lates greater than 90 days
FYI lawloans are the most defaulted student loans

Cas

that's interesting about lawloans being the most defaulted . . .

probably because we all have these grandiouse ideas about what we'll make after getting out of lawschool, then, we get that first job and realize we're making the same amount we would've right out of undergrad! The earning POTENTIAL is there, but it takes a while for many to get there, hence, the defaults on the HUGE loan payments. (just an idea)

I think you're absolutely right!! There was an article I read a while ago about the huge problems that public interest/government agencies were having trying to hire attorneys because no one could afford to work there with the huge loans hanging over their heads. That was definitely one of my big problems. I decided to work in government and had a HUGE problem making my loan payments (okay, just ignoring the whole thing was my second problem!). I'm back paying on them, but it's still going to take forever to pay these things back and I'll never be able to save as much as I'd like for retirement/housing/etc. because of the loans. Yes, it was my decision not to work for one of the big firms, but that should NOT be the only thing open to people coming out of law school -- and I went to a public school and didn't have to worry about private school tuitions.

Definitely one of the things to think about when considering law school!!