Spouse and Debt Forum

[charlesxavier]

What impact should income from a spouse have on choosing a law school? My issue is that at best I will be choosing between around $100,000 debt from schools in the 25-40 range or about $40,000 for schools in the 50-60 range. Those figures would include all expenses (not just tuition). Obviously, $40,000 worth of debt is a considerable amount and $100,000 is very troubling but if your spouse made $50,000 a year (including all three years in school) would it make it worth taking on extra debt? I am kind of thinking that the extra income might make it worth taking on extra debt to go to a school with better job prospects. I am just looking for input.

[sarahh]

It depends on the specific schools. A school in the 25-40 range won't necessarily give you better job prospects than a school in the 50-60 range. Does you wife already have a job? If so, you may want to prioritize schools in the area. If you are going to go to school elsewhere, you will want to consider the job prospects for her there.

[plenipotentiary]

Does spousal income factor into IBR? If so, I would consider getting divorced.

[charlesxavier]

It depends on the specific schools. A school in the 25-40 range won't necessarily give you better job prospects than a school in the 50-60 range. Does you wife already have a job? If so, you may want to prioritize schools in the area. If you are going to go to school elsewhere, you will want to consider the job prospects for her there.

No, she doesn't have a full time job yet so there are no real geographic restrictions. She's a nurse so as long as we're in a decent sized city she will be fine. With 25-40 vs 50-60 I am primarily referring to OSU vs Cincy and Wake vs Tennessee.

[charlesxavier]

Does spousal income factor into IBR? If so, I would consider getting divorced.

The boatload in grants that we received as married full-time students makes up for it

[sarahh]

If you file a joint tax return, IBR does take into account your spouse's income (but also the fact that you have a bigger family size). I personally do not know anything about those schools, so I cannot speak about their job prospects.