Overview

Anyone Can Do It

Only you can tell whether Lex will be as impactful to you as it has been to many of our alumni. If you decide, as many of our alumni have, that Lex is one of the highest return on investment opportunities available to you, one thing is certain: essentially anyone can make finances work. That challenge isn’t very big, even if you don’t have family sources of support. Countless of our Alumni have been able to successfully fundraise their program fees, and it’s simple enough for you to do too.

Here’s the overview of our paths to finance Lex, which we’ll summarize in more detail below this section:

Two Ways to Pay

Pay in full (upon signing up)
Monthly payments (between signing up and the actual program)

Two Forms of Financial Aid

Vocation-Driven Fundraising (possibly the best of these)
Scholarships

Our Alumni Enter Great Law Schools

View more alumni profiles & testimonials

How To Pay

Despite the advantages of the other options, particularly fundraising, most students choose to pay directly to Lex. Both options below start by reserving your spot with a $900 deposit (which is included in the listed program price).Two Payment Timelines

Pay the balance upon signing up, together with your deposit. Paying in full does not have any impact on the refund policy (detailed in a later section on this page). It just means that you take care of the full payment in one transaction.
After paying the $900 deposit when signing up, pay the balance in equal monthly installments, with no additional fees, finishing a few weeks before your program starts.

Financial Aid

We believe everyone on track to law school can afford Lex. It just takes the same “analysis and problem solving” skills that law schools will also want you to have in order to admit you. If you’re determined enough to pursue law school, and believe Lex fits your path well, then Lex is possible for you – and we’re here to help.

If you do not plan on simply paying for the program using one of the two options above, you have two additional options for how to cover (or partially cover) the cost of your Lex program: fundraising and scholarships.

Two Forms of Financial Aid

Fundraising may seem daunting, but it’s actually one of the fastest, easiest ways to pay for your program. Pre-law students, we believe, greatly underestimate how much they can fundraise, and so we are constantly reminding prospective students about this. All it takes is an authentic story and being brave enough to ask. Starting a GoFundMe and mailing support letters is a winning combination for reaching your goals.
If you share how Lex fits into your personal story – and how it will help you in pursuing your vocation to the legal field – people will be excited to help you.
Based on online activity and anecdotal evidence, we believe that the average student who follows our fundraising advice raises over $2,000, sometimes much more, and many students raise the entire cost of the program. Plus, you can consider using the story of your fundraising efforts in your law school applications (personal or diversity statements).
When you apply, our admissions team can give you some ideas on how to get started with fundraising. . If you’d like to learn more about this before applying, feel free to sign up for updates to get in touch with a Lex representative who can give you first hand insight on the program.
Many students apply for scholarships and grants through their university or through outside organizations/law firms. There are programs that sponsor students for valuable educational experiences domestically or abroad, so be sure to search for these. For some universities, there may be funding for summer experiences through their study abroad office. In applying for these, consider explaining how Lex has impacted many of its alumni, and explain how Lex will help further your legal education. Lex also offers a limited number of need-based partial scholarships to certain programs, which you can apply for here.

We Can’t Emphasize Enough How Well Vocation-Driven Fundraising Has Worked For Many Of Our Alumni

Lex Alumni Very Often Fundraise with GoFundMe (Usually Very Successfully)

Don’t let money keep you from participating in Lex, if you deem it to be a fit with your path. Check out the GoFundMe pages started by past students and ask about our Fundraising Guide for pro tips.

Fundraising Success Story: Lex Alumna, Hannah M.

Below, Hannah has written her own words about her vocation-driven fundraising success with GoFundMe and gives her best tips and advice. Hannah completed her Lex Fellowship in Rome, Italy in Summer 2023, graduated from Texas A&M in 2022, and is currently applying to law schools.

"I was hesitant to create a GoFundMe, as asking others for money can be a very uncomfortable feeling. However, after examining the indisputable benefits of the Lex Fellowship, and being encouraged by trusted family and friends, I decided it was worth it to step out of my comfort zone and advocate for my future. In the end, I couldn’t be more grateful that I did.

“After sharing my GoFundMe link on Facebook, I was shocked at how many people wanted to support my pre-law endeavors, some that I didn't even know. This is because when you share your true passions and goals with others, it becomes undeniable that your journey is something worth contributing to. I believe this concept applies tenfold when it involves working toward your future career goals.

Hannah & fellow Lex students visiting the Colosseum during their program (Rome, Italy).

“For people like myself, who had never created a personal fundraiser, websites like GoFundMe make the process simple. They provide a step-by-step guide throughout the entirety of the setup process, and even give advice on proper language to use in your fundraiser description.

“Personally, I found the key to a successful fundraiser was to be upfront and honest about your need for raising money, without setting unrealistic goals or being too pushy toward your audience. You want to get the importance of your fundraiser across, while still being sincere about how much any kind of support means to you. Whether that support comes through donations, or simple words of advice and encouragement for your journey, you’ll come to find out that anything helps.

“Another tactic I found helpful was to attach URL links straight from the Lex website, so potential donors could see more information on what I would be involved in during the program, as well as what they were actually contributing to. I included the links to “Why Do Lex”, “A Week in the Life”, and “For Parents”, that viewers could easily access through my fundraiser description.

“Furthermore, I went into great detail about how impactful this program was for my future career goals. I shared about the prestige of Lex, specific aspects of the program that were invaluable for my path to becoming an attorney, and what I planned to gain from the experience.

“Just so there are no surprises at the end, one last tip to keep in mind when you do a fundraiser through a third party website, like GoFundMe, is that they will take a small percentage of the funds you raised. GoFundMe is not the only website for vocation-driven fundraising; however, it is the one I found to be the most well known, thus leading to further success."

-Hannah M., Lex Fellowship '23 (Rome, Italy), Texas A&M '22

Value for Money

Why Law Immersion with Lex?

Rotations to different law firms each day give you hands-on experience with diverse cases, fields, and lawyers, and guidance by someone from a U.S. JD background. This lets you study abroad in single or multi-city program tailored for pre-law, understand the life of a lawyer across a variety of legal fields, and stand out on law school applications with a unique experience abroad, while freeing your time at home to focus on your GPA.

Watch Video: The Lex Experience

Two Stats on the Importance of Knowing Your Vocation

“during Lex was the first time I could really see myself succeeding in law school and actually belonging in the profession.”

-Lauren, Lex ‘18, Rome, Italy

Alumna's Take On How Lex Played a Big Role In Her Admission to Harvard Law School

“By having that experience on my resume, Lex helped me get a paralegal job that subsequently helped me get into Harvard Law School.”
- Camille Brunetti, Lex ‘19, Wellesley College ‘20, Harvard Law ‘25

Read more about Camille’s perspective and experience here.

Lex Can Contribute to What Law Schools Want In Their Applicants:

Take the Quiz: How Are Your Extracurriculars Relative to Expert Advice?

We’ve built the “Law Pre-Application Readiness Score” calculator to allow you to look at several expert statements and track to what extent your current extracurriculars follow best practices. We believe this exercise to be very useful regardless of whether you end up considering Lex.

Take Quiz

The Cost of Lex Compared with Other Study Abroad Options

Study abroad programs (not Lex, but all other programs) cost on average $14,295 for a semester, which is much more than Lex's average. However, Lex only runs shorter programs, during college breaks, given the importance of GPA to pre-law students , and given the need pre-law students have for taking core classes in the U.S. instead of abroad. This is just one of many ways in which Lex is designed around what matters most to pre-law students.

Our single-country programs cost roughly the same as other short-term non-semester programs (mid single digit thousands, for several weeks). However, The Lex Fellowship isn’t the right option if you just want to go abroad just to travel and have fun for the most time possible for the cheapest per-day price. For that, there are average semester programs, and lower-end summer programs, that are cheaper per week. You could also travel on your own, which may be even better than that, if you just want to travel.

Lex is the best fit, however, for the serious pre-law student: someone whose main goal is to be a great lawyer or other legal professional, but who wants to study abroad as part of their journey, both for its own sake and because it can help with law school admissions. And such students want to make the most out of their limited time. Lex is a leader in pre-law study abroad programs precisely because is one of the only ones truly tailored to serious (yet adventurous) pre-law students, and this has enabled many alumni to be very successful

Lex students during a firm visit (Rome, Italy).

A group excursion during a Lex program (Madrid, Spain).

Anyone Can Do It

What’s Included

Lex programs are robust in terms of the law firm exposure, legal training, and extended learning opportunities that prepare students for the law school admissions process and first year of law school. Housing accommodations, law firm visits, Legal Associate with a U.S. JD background, 24/7 on-site support staff, travel health insurance, cultural excursions, and more are included. View the full list here.

Read the full list of what's included here

Refund & Program Credit Policy

The $900 deposit is not refundable, but it will carry over as program credit (except in the case of last minute withdrawals, as seen below). See the full policy below:

>90 days before program: Full refund, deposit counted as credit toward future programs.
<=90 (but >45) days before program: No refund, 100% of paid fees (including deposit) counted as credit toward future programs
<=45 days before program: No refund, 20% of paid fees (including deposit) counted as credit toward future programs <=45 days before program

Questions & Answers

Flights cost less than you might expect. In fact, students who search smartly can usually find flights for under $800 total. That might not be the first price you see on the first search you do, and it depends on where you’re flying to and from. We encourage students to research flying from various U.S./Canadian cities and to look at various departure dates, as you may want to take advantage of traveling before or after your program – especially if it will drastically reduce the price of your plane ticket.
View our available programs page here for that information.