T14 - How much debt would you accept to go Forum

[AMDG05]

I've seen a lot of talk comparing schools/offers, but never really a generic evaluation of one school to the next. Hypothetically, for each of the T14 if your goal was BigLaw (let's remove regional consideration for a moment, how much debt in a raw number would you be willing to accept if you were above both the LSAT/GPA medians and still feel like it was worth it?

[03152016]

inb4 everyone just posts how much they took out

truth is, there are just too many variables for anyone to give you a real answer
it would vary depending on whether the student wanted pi vs biglaw, the market they're targeting, their ug debt, their numbers, the other offers on the table, among other things

one thing is for sure though
there are very few situations where sticker would be a reasonable option at any t14

[TheSpanishMain]

My personal ceiling would probably be about 150k at the T6, 100k at the rest. Rough guess.

[Yea All Right]

Borrowing about 135k-140k (projected annual increases in COA factored in), I got a scholarship and parents will pay for food/rent.

[Mal Reynolds]

Nothing above 150k. I'll end up with less than that, but that's my ceiling. It's retarded to go into more.

[Tiago Splitter]

Nothing above 220k. I'll end up with less than that, but that's my ceiling. It's retarded to go into more.

[Nomo]

It really depends on the school. I would say 80k debt at repayment for Georgetown. At Columbia, 180k.

[koval]

I think under certain circumstances an argument could be made for any T14 at sticker including Georgetown.

Personally I chose a T14 with scholarships over a T14 at sticker, but I don't think the other T14 at sticker would've been the most unjustifiable option.

[Mal Reynolds]

I think under certain circumstances an argument could be made for any T14 at sticker including Georgetown.

Nope

[McAvoy]

truth is, there are just too many variables for anyone to give you a real answer
it would vary depending on whether the student wanted pi vs biglaw, the market they're targeting, their ug debt, their numbers, the other offers on the table, among other things

Also add (maybe most importantly) your current career path/prospects and earning power.

It doesn't take an extremely high pre-law school salary to make most T14s a stupid financial decision.

[Serett]

Debt </= Annual Starting Salary

[jingosaur]

Just to shoot out some arbitrary numbers for what I'd feel comfortable with:
$220k at YHS
$180k at CCN
$160k at P
$150k at VB
$120k at MDNCG

[ymmv]

Debt </= Annual Starting Salary

Basically this, except I would substitute "actual takehome" for "starting salary" when you're talking about biglaw pay range.

[Tiago Splitter]

Debt </= Annual Starting Salary

Basically this, except I would substitute "actual takehome" for "starting salary" when you're talking about biglaw pay range.

That's cool, but to be clear it means you need pretty close to a full ride to justify any school.

[ymmv]

Debt </= Annual Starting Salary

Basically this, except I would substitute "actual takehome" for "starting salary" when you're talking about biglaw pay range.

That's cool, but to be clear it means you need pretty close to a full ride to justify any school.

I think for those not planning to use LRAP that's a pretty decent rule of thumb. Especially if there's still UG debt.

[CFC1524]

close to a full ride to justify any school.

TCR

[Tiago Splitter]

close to a full ride to justify any school.

TCR

(LSDAS GPA: 3.9)

[Johann]

if i was making less than $12/hour and no prospects to do better i would probably take out infinite loans at a T100 school. if your career alternative is shit shit, you have next to no risk to go to law school.

if i had a decent income $40kish with mobility up, probably $150k.

[ymmv]

close to a full ride to justify any school.

TCR

(LSDAS GPA: 3.9)

Don't need a 3.9 to get a full ride at a regional flagship.

[Tiago Splitter]

close to a full ride to justify any school.

TCR

(LSDAS GPA: 3.9)

Don't need a 3.9 to get a full ride at a regional flagship.

Not in a lot of regions. Sure, if your region is Minnesota then great, but what happens if your region is Los Angeles? You're much better off not going than taking the 3/4 offer from Loyola.

When you have a mediocre GPA like mine and plan to start in Biglaw you either need to pony up some cash or pick a new career. Heading to the shithole state flagship shouldn't be an option. Telling someone with biglaw goals to take the full ride at Alabama over 100k at Penn is just terrible advice, the kind of garbage people read that pushes back the whole anti-law school movement.

[ymmv]

Don't need a 3.9 to get a full ride at a regional flagship.

Not in a lot of regions. Sure, if your region is Minnesota then great, but what happens if your region is Los Angeles? You're much better off not going than taking the 3/4 offer from Loyola.

When you have a mediocre GPA like mine and plan to start in Biglaw you either need to pony up some cash or pick a new career. Heading to the shithole state flagship shouldn't be an option.

I mean, yeah, this is wholly credited. But not all 0Ls know half as well as you what they're getting into.

[ymmv]

Telling someone with biglaw goals to take the full ride at Alabama over 100k at Penn is just terrible advice, the kind of garbage people read that pushes back the whole anti-law school movement.

And I guess I wasn't including TTTs in my definition of "state flagship." Obviously it's important to realize that many if not most states don't even have anything that deserves to be called a flagship law school. At least not for biglaw purposes.

[Tiago Splitter]

I guess the point is that hard and fast rules don't work. It's fun to try and put a single number on things but it all comes down to what the alternatives are. I'm jealous of the splitters who happen to want to practice in states with solid flagships that pay good money for high LSAT scores.

[Yea All Right]

So only attend a T14 if you get a full ride? Lol ooooooook. Your mileage may vary indeed.

[ymmv]

So only attend a T14 if you get a full ride? Lol ooooooook. Your mileage may vary indeed.

There is years' (of debt repayment) worth of mileage between "full ride" and "close to a full ride."