December 21, 2025
How to Use the Hey Future Lawyer Law School ROI Calculator
Picking a law school should not simply be "Where can I get in?" It should also include "What am I paying, and what am I realistically getting back?"
Our ROI Calculator is built to answer that with four outputs you can compare across schools.
Step 1: Choose your school
Start by selecting the law school you're considering. This unlocks the school-based outcome projection, which uses placement data to estimate a realistic first-job mix. You can also select your intended career path, and the tool will tell you what percentage of the class from that school goes to that job.
Step 2: Enter your costs
In the School & Costs box, you'll see the big drivers:
- Annual tuition
- Scholarships/grants (3 years total)
- Annual living expenses
Use your actual scholarship offer if you have it. If you're early in the process, you can start with the autofilled scholarship estimate and then rerun later with real numbers. You can also estimate. If you are a strong candidate at that school, you are likely to get higher offers. If you are a weaker candidate, you are likely to get a lower offer.
Step 3: Pick the calculation mode
At the top, you'll see two options:
- School's Projection: estimates your expected salary based on the school's employment outcomes (BigLaw %, federal clerkships %, and other outcomes).
- Custom Scenario: useful if you want to model your personal plan (for example, "I am only going if I can land BigLaw" or "I'm committed to public interest").
Step 4: Understand the salary section
In Career Path, the calculator gives you a weighted expected salary, based on the job outcomes mix of the school. This is an average and it makes more sense to pick the category that you expect yourself to be in.
There is also a toggle for including benefits in compensation. Benefits matter for your lifestyle, but they cannot be used to pay down principal the way cash can, so use that toggle as a reality check, not a loan repayment plan.
Step 5: Read the four outputs (this is the whole point)
You'll see four headline numbers:
Net Cost (3 years)
This is what you're paying after scholarships.
Expected Salary
A weighted estimate based on outcomes, not best-case hopes.
Years to Payoff
A realistic payoff timeline using a fixed percent of income toward loans.
Debt-to-Income (DTI)
Your total debt divided by your expected annual income. Lower is safer. We personally advise keeping it as close to 1.0 (or lower).
Step 6: Use it to compare schools correctly
Run the calculator on every school you're seriously considering. Then compare:
- Which school gives you the best expected outcomes for the price?
- Which schools rely on a best-case job outcome to "work" financially?
- Which schools are only worth it with a specific scholarship number?
One important disclaimer
This tool estimates outcomes based on data and assumptions. It cannot predict individual results, and it is not financial advice. It's a way to get you asking the right questions before you sign up for six-figure debt.