Skip to main contentSkip to footer content

Tuition and Aid

Tuition and Aid

Grad for Tuition and Aid

Tuition

Students enrolled in 12 credits or more will pay a flat rate of tuition for the academic year. Students granted permission to take less than 12 units in an academic year will pay a per unit tuition rate.  Because we are a small regional school, we do our best to keep a law school dream attainable.  Students are locked into the the tuition rates they were admitted to when continuously enrolled. *Students who withdraw and apply for readmission will be subject to the readmission tuition rate.

Our online admissions catalogue list our most current tuition rates.  Please read that for the latest rates.

Tuition Installment Plans

Annual tuition and fees are due in full at the time of registration. For students in need of additional flexibility in paying their tuition and fees, we provide an option for a Tuition Installment Program (TIP). Under the TIP program, students are allowed to pay the annual amount due in monthly installments. Students wishing to use the TIP program must notify our Business Manager, Heather English henglish@montereylaw.edu, during the Fall semester registration period.

In addition to our monthly plan, students have an option to make three equal payments throughout the academic year.

Student Loans

We are not a Title IV school so federal financial aid is not available to our students. Many of our students have had great success applying for two types of loans through Sallie Mae:

Also keep in mind that:

  • Our school is ½ or ⅓ the cost of most ABA law schools. 
  • We have a Guaranteed Tuition Plan, which locks students into a tuition rate when they first enroll and stay enrolled.
  • In many cases, with exception of transfer students, your tuition cost includes a Bar Exam preparation program cost (which could cost thousands of dollars separately).

Our Incoming Tuition Grants

Incoming tuition grants are available for incoming first-year students who have a relationship with a member of the local bar association in the county in which the student resides.  You must meet one of the following relationship criteria:

  • Receive a Letter of Recommendation from a current bar member ($500)
  • Receive a Letter of Recommendation that verifies employment by a current bar member ($1,000)
  • Receive a Letter of Recommendation from a family member of a person employed by a bar member ($1,000)
  • Receive a Letter of Recommendation from a bar member confirming familial relationship ($1,000)

*Students may only receive one of the tuition grants, not multiple ones.

Associations at each campus (after meeting one of the criteria above):

  • Monterey
    • Monterey County Bar Association
    • Santa Cruz County Bar Association
  • San Luis Obispo
    • North Santa Barbara County Bar Association
    • San Luis Obispo County Bar Association
    • San Luis Obispo Women Lawyers Association
  • Kern County
    • Kern County Bar Association
  • Sonoma County
    • Sonoma County Bar Association

External Funding Resources

Some students have had success securing funding from third party scholarships as well.  Below is a list of additional resources for funding.  This list is not a definitive list, nor an endorsement.