Debt (So you think you want to go to law school?)
- Total debt as of April 18, 2007 (it grows every day w/interest): $171,568.01
- Monthly take-home at $43k/year: $2311.84
- Monthly loan payment: $1134.21
- Remainder for living expenses (including rent, car payment, credit card payments, food, and entertainment): $1177.63
- Effective annual salary after loan payments: $14,131.56
On the bright side, GW has a Loan Reimbursement Assistance Program (LRAP). That is, in fact, one of the reasons I decided to go to law school there in the first place. Now, if all goes well (meaning the program has enough money for me, they decide to give me some, and their calculations come out the same as mine), that program should reduce my monthly loan payments to $532.58. That’s still a lot, but way, way better.
The point of this post is give prospective law students an idea of what law school debt really looks like once you start paying it back. It could be worse, but it’s definitely not pretty. If you’re thinking about taking on massive debt for law school, I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but I am saying that you should listen to the advice you’ll hear over and over and over again: Scrape by on the lowest amount of borrowing you possibly can, and, no matter what, don’t charge up your credit cards! Also, if you think you might want to work for the public interest, go to a law school w/an LRAPÃ¢â‚¬â€ťit just might make the difference between a little pain and a lot.
[tags]loans, lrap, gw, debt[/tags]
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May 9th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Yikes. I thought I had it bad with $110k in loans and $650/month (for the next 30 years!).
It’s a shame, really, that this kind of debt is such a burden, and forces lawyers who otherwise would want to do public service work into law firms.
May 12th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
[...] often said, there are many reasons not to go to law school. One is that it puts you in so much debt. Another is that, well, it can sort of suck. And, despite there being dozens if not hundreds of [...]
May 21st, 2007 at 7:20 am
[...] all about it here, then write your Senator today! Those of us w/buckets of law school debt will thank you! Tags: [...]
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Wow. That’s a lot of debt there. Great advice, though. Take as little as you can in loans. Your future financial self will thank you.