When you’re thinking about going to college, chances are pretty good that you’re also thinking about something else: how to pay for it. There will come a time when you’re on your own, but what if you’re having your parents foot the bill? Of course, you really can’t get over the point that you’re definitely lucky. There are a lot of good things about being under your parents’ wing for the first few years of college. Your ability to pay for your education is going to be limited, and these days, not too many parents have the ability to pay for their children’s education and still handle the financial obligations in their own lives.

So if you are thinking about going to law school directly after going to an undergraduate university, there are a few things that you will need to discuss with your parents in order to get things done.

First and foremost, you will need to make sure that they know that you are actually serious about going to law school. There are a lot of people that go into law school for the wrong reasons. Law school and practicing law is nothing like what you see on TV. It can be tempting to think that this is the case, but you will only end up wasting a lot of money.

One way t show that you’re serious is to make sure that you have all of the details regarding law school — even the details that seem like they don’t make a lot of sense. You will need to make sure that your parents understand that this is not something that you just decided on the spur of the moment. You can accomplish this goal by showing them that you are already studying for the LSAT, and you will need to also think about where you want to go. Instead of just turning to the U.S World News with all of its rankings, you will need to dig a little deeper. Think about any and all of your friends on law school campuses, as well as what jobs feed from what schools. It might be nice to apply to a big law firm in another state, but if you don’t go to that school already, you won’t get accepted.

Another point that you will need to bring up with your parents is the subject of cost. Your parents already know that law school is a lot of money — that goes without saying. You will need to let them know that you are prepared to handle the financial obligations of going to law school, including looking for grants and scholarships. Now, if this is something that doesn’t make sense in your situation, you will need to still present your parents with a solid plan for how you will repay all of the money they have spent.

Don’t just look at tuition — you will need to calculate in cost of living. If you have your heart set on going to law school in a different city, you will need to make sure that you actually look at the cost of living in that city. Generally speaking, towns in the Midwest offer some of the best cost of living around, which means that you might want to look at law schools in that area before anywhere else.

Make sure that when you’re talking to your parents about law school that you don’t try to ignore what they have to say. It can be tempting to just assume that your parents will not see law school the way you do, but the truth is that they have a lot more experience that you can draw from than you might think. If your parents have already gone to school and even graduate school, they know how the system works. Don’t assume that your parents will automatically reject you — it can make you feel like it’s not worth hearing them out on what they have to say.

You have to remember that you’re not just asking your parents to invest in you financially — you’re asking them to invest in you emotionally. From that standpoint, there’s definitely a lot at stage. If you end up just expecting them to automatically accept your dream of law school, you are heading towards a lot of unhappiness. On the other hand, if you approach the subject positively and answer all of your parents’ questions, you might just find that going to law school isn’t just a dream anymore — it’s a reality!