Is Law school without scolarships and $ worth it? Forum

[danicloud]

hi everyone so i am still new to the forum, which was incredibly helpful to really understand what is law school and the legal career is really like. I've always been passionate about the law and my dream has always been to become a lawyer one day.
I am starting my first semester of undergrad this fall and i know is really too soon to start thinking about law school, lsat etc, but i was just curious if you think that law school will be worth it if i have it to pay full price(tuiton,rent, food, books, etc) on only students loans.

Unless we win the lottery i know my parents would not be able to even pay for my dorm in law school but i am willing to take student loans and pay them back in a few years. I aiming for a T10 so for the sake of the discussion let's assume i get into a top 10 law school.

My question is if its worth it to still go to school if i don't get any scholarship, financial aid, or anything else.

thank you

[bk1]

If you're talking about sticker that the T14 or so, it depends on what your other options are and how risk averse you.

[cinephile]

My question is if its worth it to still go to school if i don't get any scholarship, financial aid, or anything else.

If you score well enough to get into a T10, then you'll be able to get scholarships at lower ranked schools.

It's really a matter of personal level of risk aversion. I wouldn't pay sticker, but that's just me. And student loans will take a lot more than a few years to pay back.

[flexityflex86]

My question is if its worth it to still go to school if i don't get any scholarship, financial aid, or anything else.

If you score well enough to get into a T10, then you'll be able to get scholarships at lower ranked schools.

It's really a matter of personal level of risk aversion. I wouldn't pay sticker, but that's just me. And student loans will take a lot more than a few years to pay back.

you're still paying a lot to attend BU with the COL. You are saving 60k, but six figures is still a big risk regardless.

you're right that we'll be paying back law school loans for the next decade to thirty years, but we'll be paying taxes for the next 100 years. life deals you expenses. breathing isn't free. if you're good at something you might as well enhance your earning potential in it as much as you can.

[cinephile]

you're right that we'll be paying back law school loans for the next decade to thirty years, but we'll be paying taxes for the next 100 years. life deals you expenses. breathing isn't free. if you're good at something you might as well enhance your earning potential in it as much as you can.

I wasn't trying to discourage the OP, just to clarify as s/he said s/he'd pay back the student loans in a few years, which is unrealistic. And I'm pretty sure that breathing is free.

[shoeshine]

Unless you get into HYS, probably not.

[Aberzombie1892]

Unless you get into HYS, probably not.

My question is if its worth it to still go to school if i don't get any scholarship, financial aid, or anything else.

If you score well enough to get into a T10, then you'll be able to get scholarships at lower ranked schools.

It's really a matter of personal level of risk aversion. I wouldn't pay sticker, but that's just me. And student loans will take a lot more than a few years to pay back.

Basically, if you get into HYS, sticker is acceptable. However, if you get into HYS, or any other T14, odds are you have nice scholarship options at schools in the T50. Because no one knows what they want to do post law school before they enter law school (i.e. no one even knows that they would even enjoy the practice of law, let alone at a large law firm), balancing debt with job opportunities is a must. Prospective students that go all (paying $150K+ for law school) in hoping for big law/PI are at the minimum reckless.

[buckilaw]

hi everyone so i am still new to the forum, which was incredibly helpful to really understand what is law school and the legal career is really like. I've always been passionate about the law and my dream has always been to become a lawyer one day.
I am starting my first semester of undergrad this fall and i know is really too soon to start thinking about law school, lsat etc, but i was just curious if you think that law school will be worth it if i have it to pay full price(tuiton,rent, food, books, etc) on only students loans.

Unless we win the lottery i know my parents would not be able to even pay for my dorm in law school but i am willing to take student loans and pay them back in a few years. I aiming for a T10 so for the sake of the discussion let's assume i get into a top 10 law school.

My question is if its worth it to still go to school if i don't get any scholarship, financial aid, or anything else.

thank you

It's good that you are asking this question now. But, for now just concentrate on keeping your GPA as close to 4 as you possibly can. Also consider earning a degree that is actually marketable straight out of undergrad. If you do these two things you can keep your options open and confront the decision about where/if to go to law school from the best position possible.

Also, if you are seriously thinking about paying sticker for law school, work to keep your undergrad debt to the absolute minimum, law schools care little if at all about UG prestige.

[danicloud]

hi everyone so i am still new to the forum, which was incredibly helpful to really understand what is law school and the legal career is really like. I've always been passionate about the law and my dream has always been to become a lawyer one day.
I am starting my first semester of undergrad this fall and i know is really too soon to start thinking about law school, lsat etc, but i was just curious if you think that law school will be worth it if i have it to pay full price(tuiton,rent, food, books, etc) on only students loans.

Unless we win the lottery i know my parents would not be able to even pay for my dorm in law school but i am willing to take student loans and pay them back in a few years. I aiming for a T10 so for the sake of the discussion let's assume i get into a top 10 law school.

My question is if its worth it to still go to school if i don't get any scholarship, financial aid, or anything else.

thank you

It's good that you are asking this question now. But, for now just concentrate on keeping your GPA as close to 4 as you possibly can. Also consider earning a degree that is actually marketable straight out of undergrad. If you do these two things you can keep your options open and confront the decision about where/if to go to law school from the best position possible.

Also, if you are seriously thinking about paying sticker for law school, work to keep your undergrad debt to the absolute minimum, law schools care little if at all about UG prestige.

thank you i know is too early but i am just considering my options. thankfully i have a full ride at cuny baruch in nyc so i will come out of college with no debt. in the next 4 years i will just try to get the highest GPA i can possibly get and then we'll see what happens

[firemed]

If you're talking about sticker that the T14 or so, it depends on what your other options are and how risk averse you.

Um.... aren't we all, compared to the average, very risk averse? Like some more so than others, but none of us go all in on a pair of twos either, you know?

Anyway, to answer OP: For a few very lucky people paying sticker outside of the T14 it works out. For a decent number of those paying sticker at T10 and above it works out. For everyone else paying sticker... well, this isn't the lounge but I will say that they are in a situation similar to that of Lot's guests had he been less hospitable.

ETA: Do not, under any circumstances, plan on being in those for whom it works out, IMO. Luck plays a huge factor in this, and it is simply never a risk I would personally take to pay sticker anywhere outside of HYS.

[bk1]

Um.... aren't we all, compared to the average, very risk averse?

Some people find a coinflip's chance to be acceptable, some do not. I mean we're all risk averse but some people are willing to take sticker at a T14 though many find that to be an insane amount of risk.

[Wildcat6]

I was going to make a new topic, but since were already on the subject I'll just jump in here since people are already commenting.

I think I know what the answer is going to be, especially on this site, but owell. Is $150,000+ worth of loans worth it or a tier 2 law school? I'm in for a mid 80's ranked school right now, got a decent scholarship of 8k a year, but with costs of living it's looking to cost about 60k a year total. I'm really looking at the finances of it all and the amount of debt is scaring the crap out of me. I'm also considering Public Interest which doesn't pay anything. I know they have IBR and Loan forgiveness, but I'm looking at 20+ years of paying off debt that could reach over $250k total with all the interest. Any thoughts? Do it and fight like hell to network and be a top student? or push it back yet another year... try to take tests again and get a better school with more money?

[bk1]

I think I know what the answer is going to be, especially on this site, but owell. Is $150,000+ worth of loans worth it or a tier 2 Law School? I'm in for a mid 80's ranked school right now, got a decent scholarship of 8k a year, but with costs of living it's looking to cost about 60k a year total. I'm really looking at the finances of it all and the amount of debt is scaring the crap out of me. I'm also considering Public Interest which doesn't pay anything. I know they have IBR and Loan forgiveness, but I'm looking at 20+ years of paying off debt that could reach over $250k total with all the interest. Any thoughts? Do it and fight like hell to network and be a top student? or push it back yet another year... try to take tests again and get a better school with more money?

Absolutely not worth it. Retake/reapply or don't go is generally the credited answer. If you absolutely cannot improve your score to get a larger scholarship or a better school then go your first year and drop out if you don't get stellar 1L grades.

[firemed]

I think I know what the answer is going to be, especially on this site, but owell. Is $150,000+ worth of loans worth it or a tier 2 Law School? I'm in for a mid 80's ranked school right now, got a decent scholarship of 8k a year, but with costs of living it's looking to cost about 60k a year total. I'm really looking at the finances of it all and the amount of debt is scaring the crap out of me. I'm also considering Public Interest which doesn't pay anything. I know they have IBR and Loan forgiveness, but I'm looking at 20+ years of paying off debt that could reach over $250k total with all the interest. Any thoughts? Do it and fight like hell to network and be a top student? or push it back yet another year... try to take tests again and get a better school with more money?

Absolutely not worth it. Retake/reapply or don't go is generally the credited answer. If you absolutely cannot improve your score to get a larger scholarship or a better school then go your first year and drop out if you don't get stellar 1L grades.

I would agree that it is unlikely to be worth it.


Let's put it this way: I am going to a T2 for a total debt of about $60-70K after living expenses.- and I am somewhat nervous. That is a lot less than what you are talking about taking.

[Wildcat6]

I think I know what the answer is going to be, especially on this site, but owell. Is $150,000+ worth of loans worth it or a tier 2 Law School? I'm in for a mid 80's ranked school right now, got a decent scholarship of 8k a year, but with costs of living it's looking to cost about 60k a year total. I'm really looking at the finances of it all and the amount of debt is scaring the crap out of me. I'm also considering Public Interest which doesn't pay anything. I know they have IBR and Loan forgiveness, but I'm looking at 20+ years of paying off debt that could reach over $250k total with all the interest. Any thoughts? Do it and fight like hell to network and be a top student? or push it back yet another year... try to take tests again and get a better school with more money?

Absolutely not worth it. Retake/reapply or don't go is generally the credited answer. If you absolutely cannot improve your score to get a larger scholarship or a better school then go your first year and drop out if you don't get stellar 1L grades.

I would agree that it is unlikely to be worth it.


Let's put it this way: I am going to a T2 for a total debt of about $60-70K after living expenses.- and I am somewhat nervous. That is a lot less than what you are talking about taking.

I think that's where I'm heading right now, just looking at the breakdown of costs over the next 10-20-30 years is insane. I think I can do better on the LSAT, and have a bit of a stronger resume right now, just sucks waiting another year to go back to school (it'll be starting my third year out from undergrad now). Though I think that's a lot better then going just because and then being in debt $200,000 in this type of economy.