Current Law School Student - Invest?

[Zach Cohen]

Hey everyone! 

First post here on the Bigger Pockets forums after discovering the podcast a couple of weeks ago. 

I’m from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and start Law School in Miami in August. Luckily, due to my $35,000/year scholarship, I only owe $7k per year x 3 years. 

I graduated undergrad with no debt and have around $35,000 saved up from a business I ran throughout my senior year. My goal in the future is to work in law and invest my money into real estate. 

My question is, am I better off staying out of student debt and paying my tuition in cash over the next 3 years with the money that I have saved up or should I use that cash now as a down payment on a single-family and most likely have to take out loans?

I’m living at home so my only expenses are school. If I decided on purchasing a single family with $20-30k down, there’s a chance I wouldn’t need to take out any student loans over the next three years.

I don’t plan on having a job my first year of school but my 2nd and 3rd I’ll definitely be working part-time somewhere.

Let me know what you think. Any advice/input is greatly appreciated! 

-  Zach