law school debt is always managable right? Forum

[redgreenpaper]

Don't worry about it. Your in H.S. right? Go to college, drink beer, and get laid while getting the best GPA you can in at least a semi-marketable degree and you will be fine. Hopefully, you will think it over 100 times before you need to cross that bridge and look to see if there is anything else you might rather do. I didn't finally decide to go to law school until last year around this time and had spent my whole time gearing up to apply for PhD programs.

ya man but the thing is i wanna go to the university of toronto and the campus that's in the heart of the city and all the programs like business and accounting require like mid 80's to low 80's. i fucked up in the beginning of this semester and now my average is gunna be like 83 at best. the only other thing i can get into in UofT is psychology or philosophy and once im down that road i guess theres no turning back?

[thegor1987]

is question this serious? No, 100K is not that much to pay off, thus it is manageable

yeah man, you can totally pay off 130k debt in 2 years on a 65k salary

It's possible to pay off if your parents support you for a couple of years so you can place 100% of your income towards a student loan.

Though I could have phrased it less jackassedely to avoid the heated responses to my annon quote

[AreJay711]

Don't worry about it. Your in H.S. right? Go to college, drink beer, and get laid while getting the best GPA you can in at least a semi-marketable degree and you will be fine. Hopefully, you will think it over 100 times before you need to cross that bridge and look to see if there is anything else you might rather do. I didn't finally decide to go to law school until last year around this time and had spent my whole time gearing up to apply for PhD programs.

ya man but the thing is i wanna go to the university of toronto and the campus that's in the heart of the city and all the programs like business and accounting require like mid 80's to low 80's. i fucked up in the beginning of this semester and now my average is gunna be like 83 at best. the only other thing i can get into in UofT is psychology or philosophy and once im down that road i guess theres no turning back?

I'm not sure in Canada. In the U.S., it is usually easy to transfer between colleges in a university as long as you have the minimum requirements. Law is a graduate program in Canada, not an undergrad like in the UK, right?

[General Tso]

is question this serious? No, 100K is not that much to pay off, thus it is manageable

yeah man, you can totally pay off 130k debt in 2 years on a 65k salary

It's possible to pay off if your parents support you for a couple of years so you can place 100% of your income towards a student loan.

Though I could have phrased it less jackassedely to avoid the heated responses to my annon quote

That's a huge "if." I'll be 28 when I graduate and even if my parents were in a position to pay my bills (dad laid off), they wouldn't do it because I am an adult. Also after taxes, 65k is more like 45k. And I don't think there's any way you will come close to paying 100% of your cash towards a loan. At most 50%, and that is a stretch for most people.

Even on a very aggressive pay-down plan, I don't think you can get rid of 100k+ of debt in less than 5 years. Unless you make biglaw that is. Then 3 years would probably be the quickest.

[rayiner]

that's what many people tell me. even if you're in $100k debt, you'll still be able to pay it off in the future right? even if it takes like 5 years, it will eventually go away?

also, how much are the debts usually after law school?

To pay off $100k in 5 years, you'll need to pay $2,000 a month after taxes towards your loans.

[prezidentv8]

that's what many people tell me. even if you're in $100k debt, you'll still be able to pay it off in the future right? even if it takes like 5 years, it will eventually go away?

also, how much are the debts usually after law school?

To pay off $100k in 5 years, you'll need to pay $2,000 a month after taxes towards your loans.

OUCH!

[redgreenpaper]

so how long would u guys say it would take to pay off $100k debt on an average lawyer salary?

[krad]

law school debt is always manageable right?

awesome thread title.

[Saltqjibo]

Dude, you are lucky I stumbled on this thread. I will give you invaluable advice: do not go to U of T if you have plans for graduate or professional programs!!!

I've taken courses at a few other unis in canada, and the grading curve here is brutal (I say this with a great GPA so its not just sour grapes). C+ to B- average max in every course (often much lower). Go to York, get a 4.0, and cruise on to better things.

If you don't listen, here's a preemptive "i told you so"

[redgreenpaper]

Dude, you are lucky I stumbled on this thread. I will give you invaluable advice: do not go to U of T if you have plans for graduate or professional programs!!!

I've taken courses at a few other unis in canada, and the grading curve here is brutal (I say this with a great GPA so its not just sour grapes). C+ to B- average max in every course (often much lower). Go to York, get a 4.0, and cruise on to better things.

If you don't listen, here's a preemptive "i told you so"

thanks for the insight man. but what if i do something easy like psycholoy?

[General Tso]

so how long would u guys say it would take to pay off $100k debt on an average lawyer salary?

depends on your situation. you could be living at home and suckling your parents' teats until you are 35 like the "135k debt in 2 years" guy up there. or you could be married with kids and a mortgage and struggle to pay it within 10 years.

[ISTAND]

That's what it seems like on the surface- get a 100k job and pay it off in 5 years with 20k (and change for interest) payments, but in reality your first job might pay less and you'll have other bills otherwise it would be common for someone to pay off their 200k mortgage in 10 years when in reality 90% will never pay off their mortgage in their lifetime. It Might be possible but not realistic or common I'd imagine.

[Saltqjibo]

<---- Psych student *but all the programs have the same curve

[redgreenpaper]

<---- Psych student *but all the programs have the same curve

dam time to research

[Saltqjibo]

That being said, U of T is a great school, but it will murder your GPA unless you work yourself to the bone. I do 2-3x the amount of work here that I did at my 2 years at other schools (one was also considered an "elite" canadian school on par with u of t, but I dont want to leave too much bio on here) and I get the same marks.

It will prepare you well for the pressure of law school though i would imagine.

[redgreenpaper]

That being said, U of T is a great school, but it will murder your GPA unless you work yourself to the bone. I do 2-3x the amount of work here that I did at my 2 years at other schools (one was also considered an "elite" canadian school on par with u of t, but I dont want to leave too much bio on here) and I get the same marks.

It will prepare you well for the pressure of law school though i would imagine.

but wouldnt law schools look at the school you went to and be consider it went admitting students? like doesnt a 3.6 gpa from u ot t look better than a 3.9 from york or ryerson?

[The Real Jack McCoy]

No, the 3.9 from York will look better; this is less the case for Canadian law schools (for the US it is almost entirely true, outside of Yale/Stanford and maybe Harvard), but it is, by and large, true. Schools care more about GPA than quality of schools. For Canadian schools and admissions I suggest you check out:

http://www.lawstudents.ca

That said, U of T with a good GPA will help you with some of the harder to get career tracks (for instance, a 3.8 U of T degree will do much better in elite grad admissions than a 3.8 York degree).

[Columbia Law]

That being said, U of T is a great school, but it will murder your GPA unless you work yourself to the bone. I do 2-3x the amount of work here that I did at my 2 years at other schools (one was also considered an "elite" canadian school on par with u of t, but I dont want to leave too much bio on here) and I get the same marks.

It will prepare you well for the pressure of law school though i would imagine.

but wouldnt law schools look at the school you went to and be consider it went admitting students? like doesnt a 3.6 gpa from u ot t look better than a 3.9 from york or ryerson?

no

[Royal]

It's always manageable. Many schools will allow you to borrow 65-70k per year to cover tuition + CoL. I suggest maxing that out. 70k * 3 years = $210,000.

$210,000 at 7% is only $2,438.28 per month for 10 years. That's only ~$30,000 per year. That's only about the cost of a brand new, loaded, Dodge Challenger R/T every year for 10 years, paid in full.

If you're making $60,000 a year and keep $48k a year after taxes, then subtract your $30,000 per year indentured servitude payment, you'll be living off of $18,000 per year. In other words, less than a full-time Walmart greeter.

If this was the UK we'd be rioting.

[AreJay711]

It's always manageable. Many schools will allow you to borrow 65-70k per year to cover tuition + CoL. I suggest maxing that out. 70k * 3 years = $210,000.

$210,000 at 7% is only $2,438.28 per month for 10 years. That's only ~$30,000 per year. That's only about the cost of a brand new, loaded, Dodge Challenger R/T every year for 10 years, paid in full.

If you're making $60,000 a year and keep $48k a year after taxes, then subtract your $30,000 per year indentured servitude payment, you'll be living off of $18,000 per year. In other words, less than a full-time Walmart greeter.

If this was the UK we'd be rioting.

Yea but there s no need to only repay it over 10 years. The gov't loans have extended pay options and hopefully you will get a raise at some point. You can also hold out for hyper inflation but (unfortunately?) that is unlikely with foreign demand for the dollar being what it is. There is also the option of not paying and using the money to run to South America just in case all else fails

[Royal]

It's always manageable. Many schools will allow you to borrow 65-70k per year to cover tuition + CoL. I suggest maxing that out. 70k * 3 years = $210,000.

$210,000 at 7% is only $2,438.28 per month for 10 years. That's only ~$30,000 per year. That's only about the cost of a brand new, loaded, Dodge Challenger R/T every year for 10 years, paid in full.

If you're making $60,000 a year and keep $48k a year after taxes, then subtract your $30,000 per year indentured servitude payment, you'll be living off of $18,000 per year. In other words, less than a full-time Walmart greeter.

If this was the UK we'd be rioting.

Yea but there s no need to only repay it over 10 years. The gov't loans have extended pay options and hopefully you will get a raise at some point. You can also hold out for hyper inflation but (unfortunately?) that is unlikely with foreign demand for the dollar being what it is. There is also the option of not paying and using the money to run to South America just in case all else fails

I tried absconding to Bolivia, but Sallie Mae's goons intercepted me at the airport and broke my kneecaps

On a serious note, though, the debt situation is not terrible with federal loan forgiveness if you truly want a career in a nonprofit or government agency. However, I have doubts that the program will be around for new generations of students in the coming years.

[redgreenpaper]

wow my parents wont tell me whether they can loan me money for law school or not. they say, "just worry about your marks, not about money." im stressing out like crazy over the money issue.

[thegor1987]

so how long would u guys say it would take to pay off $100k debt on an average lawyer salary?

depends on your situation. you could be living at home and suckling your parents' teats until you are 35 like the "135k debt in 2 years" guy up there. or you could be married with kids and a mortgage and struggle to pay it within 10 years.

Ya but if your parents already been supporting you for 4 yurs through college what's an extra 2 years if it gonna make the difference between being burdened with debt for 10+ yrs vs. Place 100% income in that piece and get that thing out the way in 2. Especially if you're not making big law it's perfectly appropriate and just makes sense. Maybe according to you it's 'suckling teats', to me it sounds completely rational.