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Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:45 pm
by JCougar
http://abovethelaw.com/2012/11/parent-c ... cide-note/
The New York Times brings us the story of Teresa Tosh, her son Jacob (who apparently has a different last name), and Teresa’s husband, George Tosh. Jacob took out $200,000 in federal loans to go to law school, and another $100,000 in private loans that his mother co-signed.
Jacob wasn’t able to pay off the loans because he couldn’t find a high-paying legal job, and the creditors starting calling him and his mother. Her husband, who I think somewhat obviously was probably already in some distress, didn’t handle the situation well:
And the ABA continues to do nothing to stop the tuition/loan debt arms race.
This article is chilling and sad, but yet it is important to consider.
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:49 pm
by gaud
I don't understand why he would need that much money.
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:55 pm
by patrickd139
gaud wrote:I don't understand why he would need that much money.
Probably includes UG debt as well.
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:55 pm
by JCougar
gaud wrote:I don't understand why he would need that much money.
When you add up all the money you need for living expenses in an expensive city ($60,000+), tuition ($150K), living expenses over the summers where you usually are working unpaid internships ($10K in an expensive city combined for 1L and 2L summers), and then bar exam loans ($10K), and accrued interest, it could easily end up being $300K.
The point is, this very well could have happened with $200K in loans, anyway.
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:56 pm
by gaud
Yea, maybe. I still don't have much sympathy for him.
ETA: I feel bad for his family though
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:53 pm
by JCougar
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/busin ... d=all&_r=1&
A few months after the suicide, Jacob moved to Dallas and got a document-review job. The pay is not enough to meet his loan payments — or even full interest — but his creditors agreed to let him make partial-interest-only payments for two years. While his balance continues to grow, that arrangement protected his mother from payment demands for two years.
“It’s made my life so much more stressful and guilt-filled because I know that it affects her,” Jacob said. “I barely have enough money to pay the bills, but if I miss by a day, they call her.”
Jacob pays about $1,200 a month toward the debt, more than he pays for rent. He and his mother are carefully rebuilding their relationship, after a period of great tension. Ms. Tosh traveled to Dallas for his birthday.
Think twice about paying sticker for ANY school. The better the school, the more crushing the letdown will be if you're one of the ones to lose the law school gamble. Remember that even schools like Virginia and Columbia are stuffing unemployed graduates into temporary, school-funded "jobs" to boost their numbers.
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 4:37 pm
by fatpeopleavenger
bump
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 5:16 pm
by jkpolk
JCougar wrote:Think twice about paying sticker for ANY school. The better the school, the more crushing the letdown will be if you're one of the ones to lose the law school gamble. Remember that even schools like Virginia and Columbia are stuffing unemployed graduates into temporary, school-funded "jobs" to boost their numbers.
oh you
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 6:13 pm
by senorhosh
gaud wrote:Yea, maybe. I still don't have much sympathy for him.
ETA: I feel bad for his family though
How can you say that?
This was before there was as much transparency as today.
Schools were fudging numbers and there was no LST.com.
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 6:28 pm
by xjustyoursmile
senorhosh wrote:gaud wrote:Yea, maybe. I still don't have much sympathy for him.
ETA: I feel bad for his family though
How can you say that?
This was before there was as much transparency as today.
Schools were fudging numbers and there was no LST.com.
It's possible to have no sympathy because of the fact that he committed suicide, which is a separate issue from taking out loans to pay through law school.
I feel for him and his family, but taking one's own life is a decision many disagree with.
EDIT:
One other thing to consider is, if you read the article carefully, the husband who committed suicide had more reasons to do it than just the stress from the debt. So although it was a factor in his decision, it wasn't the sole reason.
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 6:35 pm
by romothesavior
fatpeopleavenger wrote:bump
What was the point of this bump?
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 10:53 pm
by wert3813
.
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:00 pm
by hume85
wert3813 wrote:romothesavior wrote:fatpeopleavenger wrote:bump
What was the point of this bump?
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:03 pm
by Big Dog
And the ABA continues to do nothing to stop the tuition/loan debt arms race.
And the feds had nothing to do with it? (If the feds would not encourage/enable this much debt....)
Re: Another suicide due in part to law school debt . . .
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:05 pm
by laxbrah420
Big Dog wrote:And the ABA continues to do nothing to stop the tuition/loan debt arms race.
And the feds had nothing to do with it? (If the feds would not encourage/enable this much debt....)
Fucking feds