Minority Law Scholarships

Before I talk about law scholarships, I want to talk about a little known funding secret .   Some people may not know that they can get scholarships or money for prep for the LSAT.  If you qualify for a LSAT fee waiver based on your income , you can possible get a scholarship LSAT prep. 

First I want to discuss law school funding in general before going into minority scholarships. As you may already know, in order to receive scholarships some schools offer them based on your Law School Admission Test score.  Contrary to popular belief or what you have heard, which may include that you need a score of 170 or above in order to get a scholarship.  That is not always the case. As a matter of fact, you can have a 143 LSAT score and still have the opportunity to be offered a scholarship. One school in particular that does this is Appalachian School of Law in Virginia. 

Although you can have a score in the 140s range, you are still eligible to be offered a scholarship.   Scores between 165 to 180 generally increase your chances of being offered more money and you do not have to take out so much money for loans.   Typically the higher the score, the greater your chances are of receiving a full scholarship.

There is an array of opportunities to be offered scholarships and minorities can take advantage of this.  Numerous minority scholarships for law school students give underrepresented groups a chance to pay for law school without having to worry about the burden of huge loan debt.

So I will start out with scholarships at the Historically Black College Howard University, which is the school that Vice President Kamala Harris graduated from.  Annually 75 merit scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $30,000 are award at Howard, according to the university's website. To put this in perspective, Howard's tuition for the 2020 school year was $27,206.  Around 50 percent of the Howard University incoming class receives a form of scholarship assistance. 

Another funding source that caters to Historically Black College and University students is the Honorable Arlander Keys Scholarship, which pays $10,000 for the fall semester.    This scholarship is named after Judge Arlander Keys who served the Northern District of Illinois.   In order to be considered for the scholarship you must do the following:

1. Complete a Honorable Arlander Keys Application Form

2. Submit a resume

3. Submit academic transcripts

4. Submit a legal writing sample

5. Submit three references

6. Submit a one page statement describing ethics, civility, professionalism, and how diversity has impacted the candidate 


Another scholarship that is offered for first year students is the Lloyd Johnson Jr Scholarship Program.   The program will provide scholarships at $10,000 per year for up to three years, according to the Law School Admissions Council website.

LSAC also features the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. The fund "has provided over $19 million in financial support to undergraduates and law students, making it possible for hundreds of highly qualified students to attend the nation's most competitive colleges, universities, and law schools," cited LSAC.


The Law School Admissions Council features updated scholarship information.