YHS Sticker Debt Forum

[mjsjr]

For awhile now I've been really interested in attending one of the top-5 law schools, and I've been working towards making that happen every day. After a couple months, however, I began to question the costs of my ambitions. Namely, if I were to attend one of the top-5 schools-- and let's imagine that I bear the full cost of attendance over 3 years with interest-- what are my chances of quickly (within 5 years) servicing a six-figure amount of debt even with the most lucrative employment possibilities? Are the chances of obtaining one of those positions high enough to consider YHS at a sticker price?

[TheSpanishMain]

Here's the thing: going to HYSCCN will give you a very good, bordering on certain, shot at BigLaw if you want it. On paper, you'd be able to make payments on sticker debt. The catch, though, is that A) people seem to overestimate how conservatively they'll be able to live...no one actually has the willpower to subsist on ramen noodles and tap water and B) you'll be working a very punishing schedule while still living a very frugal, debt constrained life.

So yeah, it can be done, but the people who've done by and large don't seem to recommend it.

[Typhoon24]

ya u can do it but ull probably end up paying off your loans in 10-20 years like everybody else

if making money is ur top priority, i think lower t14 with $$$$ is a better bet than CCN and maybe even HS.

[jingosaur]

If your goal is to give yourself the best chance at having the most money after 3-5 years, take the money at a lower T-14. Going to a top 6 school with less scholly money is the right path for a lot of people, but the future in unpredictable and after a few years out, servicing your law school debt will take a back seat to a lot of other things in your life.

[JCougar]

Yeah, take it from a recent graduate...while a few people seem not to mind their Biglaw job, the majority seem unhappy, overly-stressed, and not paying off their loans nearly as fast as they thought they would.

It takes a lot of willpower to live in a seedier part of Brooklyn, the outskirts of the 'loin in SF, etc. and still limit your vacations/partying on the rare weekends you have off. And if you can't do this, plan on dropping around $25-35k a year on rent, another $10k on food (you'll be forced to dine out a lot cause you won't have the energy to cook, etc.), and that's before you factor in transportation costs, utilities, entertainment, clothes, furniture, vacations, girlfriends, and most of all, taxes.

If the sole reason you want to go to HYSCCN is to get the only job available that allows you to pay off sticker at these schools, you're better off taking a lower T14 for free or close to it.

And if you have dreams of clerking for a federal judge, basically anything but Yale is a huge risk...including Harvard.

[twenty]

I'm thinking if you can pick up Bickel Brewer or Susman, etc. in Texas or some equally-low-COL state you could probably pay off sticker in 3 or so years. But the key is NYC pay in a sub-NYC area.

[cotiger]

What specifically about the "top 5" law schools is it that interests you? And how is it distinguished from the number 6 law school?

If you're taking out sticker loans to go to law school, you're doing it wrong.

[DELG]

you save a lot of money eating prestige every night

[jingosaur]

I'm thinking if you can pick up Bickel Brewer or Susman, etc. in Texas or some equally-low-COL state you could probably pay off sticker in 3 or so years. But the key is NYC pay in a sub-NYC area.

Sticker today is $275k to a little over $300k, so to pay it off in 3 years, you'll have to pay off more than what your after-tax income will be to do that.

With financial aid, a debt-dependent YHS grad will be around $180k in loans on repayment assuming they don't have parents who are rich AND refuse to contribute anything to your tuition. A lot of people have this BS "oh if I'm taking out $180k I may as well be $100k more in debt" but that's a really awful approach for paying actual sticker because that extra $100k more takes about 3 additional years to pay off in Biglaw "living like a monk" mode.

[cotiger]

It sounds like you're aiming for generic biglaw. Literally the only reason you should end up at YHS is if you get max need based or you have a really funky cycle where you get into YHS but get limited money from T14.

Eta: and honestly, I just wouldn't go to law school if my only option was 300k debt at Harvard. So IMO, the only reason you should end up at YHS would be near max need based.

[mjsjr]

What specifically about the "top 5" law schools is it that interests you? And how is it distinguished from the number 6 law school?

If you're taking out sticker loans to go to law school, you're doing it wrong.

What interests me are two things off the top of my head, neither of which, sadly, I have thoroughly analyzed. Luckily, I'm still in the very early stages of planning for law school! Anyhow: 1) I am attracted to attending the top schools purely because of their rank amongst the other schools--which sounds sort of silly. I suppose I assumed that because those schools are ranked higher, they must be the best of the best--and they must give one a better opportunity to succeed in the future. 2) I was under the assumption that the top-5 schools would put me in the best position to secure a job where I could make a lot of money, or at some point secure a job in the public sector while simultaneously receiving need-based loan repayment funds from whatever law school.

I'm really glad to receive so many thoughts on the topic, though it does leave me with even more things to think about .

[cotiger]

If'd recommend using the forum search feature for a bit. There's been a lot written on these topics. Also, the web site law school transparency has a lot of employment data for you to peruse.

Long story short, yes YHS are the best, but not that much better than schools ranked below them to justify a ton more debt. Also, never go into 300k debt for any school. It's a bad decision.