law school is expensive

[Heather Jarvis]

According to the Project on Student Debt, at least two out of three students who complete a four-year degree have student loans, and their average debt is more than $22,000. According the ABA Section of Legal Education & Admissions to the Bar, those who go on to law school then borrow an average of $57,170 for public law schools or $87,906 for private law schools (most recent data from the Class of 2007).

[Mandy.Sheridan]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/bu...r.html?_r=3&hp

An article about someone who was denied entrance to the NY bar because of the amount of his student debt. It's getting pretty out of control.

[Sarah Mahoney]

Wow, this is really extreme. I cannot help but wonder if Mr. Bowman had come from a family of wealth and influence, with that kind of debt, he would have been denied and treated the same. How can he be expected to pay back his debt when he is denied the chance to practice law and make a living in the first place?

Originally Posted by Mandy.Sheridan

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/bu...r.html?_r=3&hp

An article about someone who was denied entrance to the NY bar because of the amount of his student debt. It's getting pretty out of control.

[legalrights]

If you're thinking about going to law school, then the purpose of this memorandum is to help you keep thinking about it until you're frigging certain it is the right thing to do. During a national economic downturn such as this, undergraduates and insecure professionals are motivated to apply to law school for reasons usually boiling down to (1) generalized terror at leaving academia for the first time since age five, (2) anxiety about finding or defending a job, and/or (3) illusions about finding satisfaction and security in a lucrative, prestigious profession that does not require being good at math.These motivations feel right but they lack reasonable basis in fact. Heeded alone they lead to excruciating academic experiences, severe disillusionment and self-doubt, staggering debts requiring decades of twelve-hour days to maintain seemingly substantial but increasingly insufficient salaries, eventual obliviousness to the truly meaningful things in life, and becoming an ass.In other words, law school is worth doing right and nothing can make it worth doing wrong. So these motivations will be examined in turn, with some valuable advice thrown in pro bono.