With an average six-figure price tag and three-year commitment, going to law school is a weighty decision with a long-term impact.

But a new free, online program aims to help potential law students think through every aspect of that choice to determine whether or not law school is right for them. It also helps with choosing a law school, applying for it, and understanding the finances of getting a law degree.

AccessLex Institute has spent the past year developing the program, dubbed MAX Pre-Law. Its goal is to provide would-be lawyers with the information they need to manage their career expectations and weigh those against the cost of a law degree.

"We're not advocating that people go to law school," said Sherry Mason, director of pre-law services at AccessLex who oversaw development of the online program. "If the market for law school is only people who don't actually have the full story, that's a bad thing for the profession and the world. If as a result of getting full information someone makes a good decision not to go to law school, that's good news for us."

MAX Pre-Law is the latest in an expanding pool of online resources for those considering law school, including Khan Academy's year-old free LSAT test prep program and the Law School Admission Council's Discover Law campaign.

MAX Pre-Law is an outgrowth of an existing program called MAX by AccessLex that offers financial literacy education to law students, with an eye to loan repayment. That program, less than two years old, is now offered in about 140 law schools, Mason said.

But by the time law students go through the MAX program, they have already borrowed heavily. AccessLex aspired to reach prospective law students before they assume high debt to get a law degree, to help them make the best decision for their individual circumstances. (AccessLex Institute is a nonprofit organization aimed at increasing access to legal education through research and programming. It began as a private student loan lender called Access Group, but stopped issuing new loans in 2010 when the federal government expanded its direct loan program for graduate students.)

The program has four core lessons:

• The law school investment, which examines the user's personal goals.
• Paying for law school, which covers costs and the development of a strategy to pay for a law degree.
• The admissions process, with help on how to put together a successful application.
• Navigating the admissions and financial aid process.

Those lessons are delivered through a variety of means, including videos, worksheets and checklists. The program is designed to allow users to go in-depth on the topics that interest them, or just get an overview of the law school decision and application process, Mason said.

"Some people want their hands held and want a guide," she said. "Some people want really specific information. Some people want a way of organizing all the details that go with applying to law school or thinking about financial aid. We tried to create a collection of resources that would appeal to different kinds of learners in different kinds of ways."

Mason envisions that MAX Pre-Law will be particularly helpful for first-generation college students who may not have any lawyers in their families to help explain the application process and military veterans who are far removed from their undergraduate days and don't have access to pre-law advisers.

In addition to the wealth of online resources, each participant in the program is eligible for a free 30-minute phone counseling session with an AccessLex adviser who can walk them through issues such as choosing a school or negotiating financial aid offers. AccessLex also has a loan calculator that allows prospective law students to determine exactly what they would pay at each law school.

Mason, a former pre-law adviser, said there is a lot of misinformation out there and a lack of understanding of how the law school application process works. She said she frequently meets undergraduates at career fairs in January who say they plan to take the LSAT and apply to law school that spring—unaware that law schools begin taking applications in the fall.

"There are people who just don't know the rules of the game around rolling admissions and the financial and admissions impact they have," she said. "Helping spread the rules of the game to people who may not have lawyer family members or pre-law advisers who are giving them that information is a part of the mission."