Fees for the Common Professional Examination (CPE) / Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) currently range from £3,070 to £7,450, and rent and living costs are usually between £6,000 and £9,000. However, loans, bursaries and employer sponsorship are all available to help with the cost.

Self-funding

If you have to pay for all or part of your training yourself, the following solutions are worth considering.

Personal savings and parental support
If you are lucky, you may have enough savings yourself, or parents who will support you financially and/or let you live rent-free while studying locally.

Loan packages and bursaries

Career Development Loans are available through Barclays, the Co-operative Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland. You can borrow between £300 and £8,000 to cover up to 80% of fees for a two-year learning programme and one year of work-related experience. Career Development Loans have fixed interest rates and a repayment period of up to five years, and offer a payment holiday after completing the course.

Graduate/professional loans are offered by a number of major banks including NatWest, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Co-operative Bank and Clydesdale.

Inns funding
The individual Inns of Court offer means-tested bursaries towards the cost of the CPE/GDL. Find out more about the role of the Inns of Court, and funding available.

Combining work and study
Part-time study plus full-time work (ideally relevant to law), or taking a year out to earn some money before the CPE/GDL, are both options. Given the demands of the CPE/GDL, full-time study and part-time work may be necessary, but this is not as easy an option as it might have been as an undergraduate.

Sponsorship
Many large solicitors’ firms offer sponsorship packages, including payment for the CPE/GDL and Legal Practice Course (LPC), as part of their recruitment package. These firms tend to recruit two years ahead, which means they will be looking for recruits before you start the CPE. If you are looking for sponsorship, start your research early, as closing dates for applications can be as early as January prior to the start of the course.

If you don’t get an early training contract and funding for the CPE, you may still be able to secure a package covering the LPC.