WEST CHESTER, PA — AccessLex Institute has awarded its first MAX Pre-Law scholarships, providing four incoming law students with $15,000 each as concerns about the cost of legal education and student borrowing continue to shape enrollment decisions.
The West Chester-based nonprofit said the scholarships are tied to participation in MAX Pre-Law by AccessLex, a free program that offers financial education and admissions guidance to prospective law students.
The inaugural recipients are Kendahl Gottes of the University of Richmond School of Law, James Greco of the University of California, Davis School of Law, Elizabeth Overberg of the University of Virginia School of Law, and Zarah Vidriezca of American University Washington College of Law.
AccessLex, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization focused on legal education, said the scholarships are intended to help students better navigate the financial realities of pursuing a law degree.
“As the student loan landscape continues to evolve, this scholarship, along with the financial education behind it, helps ensure these aspiring lawyers can move forward with confidence and clarity about their investment in law school,” Jennifer Schott, vice president of the organization’s Center for Education and Financial Capability, said in a statement.
The MAX Pre-Law program provides resources designed to help students through the law school admissions process and evaluate the costs of legal education. The organization also offers tools including XploreJD, a law school search platform, a student loan calculator, one-on-one financial counseling, and a scholarship database containing more than 800 scholarships and writing competitions representing more than $3 million in aid opportunities.
Scholarship recipient Kendahl Gottes said the program helped clarify the financial implications of attending law school.
“Through MAX Pre-Law, I’ve gained a stronger sense of financial confidence and turned uncertainty about cost into a clear, manageable plan,” Gottes said.
The scholarship program comes as law schools and advocacy organizations increasingly focus on affordability and debt management amid continued scrutiny of rising graduate education costs and student loan burdens.
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