Is 34 too old?

[Boss]

Hey LSDers...this was posted on another board I frequent.  I'm hoping if I post it here and get some good responses, I can point the OP over here.  On the other board, a board full of newlyweds, they'll all telling her that 34 isn't the best age to be taking on student loans and at best are recommending she talk her husband into a PT program.  IMO, a 177 is worth taking on the debt and almost certain scholarships at a T14.

[Every Guy]

Hey LSDers...this was posted on another board I frequent.  I'm hoping if I post it here and get some good responses, I can point the OP over here.  On the other board, a board full of newlyweds, they'll all telling her that 34 isn't the best age to be taking on student loans and at best are recommending she talk her husband into a PT program.  IMO, a 177 is worth taking on the debt and almost certain scholarships at a T14.

Hi ladies,
I am new here but this seems like a good place to ask, since it seems there's alot of lawyers and people with student loans on here.

I graduated law school a year ago with $130k worth of debt. I don't make a ton of money, but I've been working and slowly making the debt go away.

My fiance has been unhappy with his job since we met over two years ago. He decided that he wants to go to law school too. I didn't really think much about it until he took the LSAT in Feb and scored a 177. Now he wants to go to NYU or Columbia and is hell bent on applying this fall to start next year. He wants to be a prosecutor (read: low pay).

I really want to move to NY, so that's not the problem. We've talked about it before. But, I am really concerned about the debt we'd be taking on. Best case scenario, I'd have $100k in debt and be supporting us, while he took on another $100k+ in debt.

I'm 30 and he's 34. We don't own a house and I want kids soon, before it's too late.

He is not that concerned about it because his very ill grandmother has written her will out to him and his sister, so he's set to inherit a couple hundred thousand in the short term.

I'm just confused. On the one hand, I don't think it's fair to deny him a fancy private school graduate degree when I have one. And the money he'd use to pay off would come from his family. But, I don't like the idea of counting on that money (I took Wills, I know the drama that arises), and it's just a ton of debt at a fairly late stage when I feel like we should be buying a house and having kids. I just picture us as stressed out, overworked, childless 40 year olds still renting a cramped apartment, waiting for grandma to die so we can start our lives.

We are going to see a marriage counselor a couple times before we get married in August. But I'd love some thoughts on this from outsiders to help me sort out my thoughts on this.

Thanks!

Damn this teasing thread title!  I was thinking it was more of a personal ad.  And no, 34's not too old, I love cougars.

[simonsays]

say mean things to the grandmother to accelerate her demise. on pure principle, id have mixed feelings of relying on grandmother blood money.  also, how much is the inheritance tax?

the 177 is only one part of the equation and may not be reflective of his school performance or performance as an attorney.  apparently this is the only criteria he's using to hedge his bet.  From the sounds of this dude's performanc up to the age of 34, this dude is apparently a real feminine hygiene product.  this is a better predictor than his lsat.  i say, tell him to go for it and let him get what he deserves.

[Para Legal]

If his GPA and soft factors are there, there's no reason he couldn't grab a Hamilton from Columbia, or whatever that fancy-schmancy one is from NYU (Kean something?)

I say let him apply and see where/if the scholarship money turns up- make him agree to minimize the debt (limit it to $20K a year or something) and if the financial terms aren't right, then he can't go or needs to defer for a year. Talk it over with him NOW so he's not disappointed. And tell him to pick his schools carefully- if he got a full ride to Fordham, would you consider it, since he'd land in his target market with no debt after school?

You can't count on scholarship money to come through- you just can't. He might have a phenomenal LSAT but that's one of like, 15 things that goes into it.

Also- word of advice: you will NEVER have enough money to have kids unless you are Donald Trump or the Hilton family. You can't afford them, so have them when you want them and just make it work-even if you are in a crappy apt or whatever. We were poor as churchmice when our daughter came along, and you know- she's the best thing that ever happened to us- really focused our efforts and made us grow up.

Best of luck!!

Cheers,

Para 

[road]

say mean things to the grandmother to accelerate her demise. on pure principle, id have mixed feelings of relying on grandmother blood money.  also, how much is the inheritance tax?

the 177 is only one part of the equation and may not be reflective of his school performance or performance as an attorney.  apparently this is the only criteria he's using to hedge his bet.  From the sounds of this dude's performanc up to the age of 34, this dude is apparently a real feminine hygiene product.  this is a better predictor than his lsat.  i say, tell him to go for it and let him get what he deserves.

I think you're being a bit too hard on the guy, he's certainly not the only 34 year old to be working a job he hates. That being said, disliking your job and getting a good lsat score are two of the classic bad reasons for going to law school. If he can prove to you and himself that he really wants to be a lawyer, and not just find an out, I say go for it. I'll be 34 with ~200k in debt when I graduate (going to school with 2 kids will do that to you), if you can get TWO JDs for that price, well, you're getting a bargain .

And I'll second what para said. You'll never be "ready" to have kids (but there are certainly wrong times to have children). They will shock you financially and otherwise (unfortunately the majority of that shock falls on the mother) but it's an amazing experience.

[Ranx]

I'd say that you would be better off not forcing yourself into a life schedule that doesn't fit you. Having kids before a certain date, and buying a house "before it's too late", are ideas that you won't get very much use out of except to beat yourselves up with if you don't make it under the line. Your life will come together when it comes together. You will have better luck making good decisions about the directions you choose and the areas you decide to focus your energy into. As far as the money goes, post graduate education has a very good return on investment. There is probably nothing else you can spend the money on that will have a higher pay off, provided he/you are willing to work it. It would be worthwhile if you borrowed every penny of it and had to pay it back out of your pockets. If you are expecting to stay at home and raise children while he pays your student loans, then I have nothing to say about that, but otherwise, he/you should go for it. 34 isn't just starting out, but it's certainly not too old. He will get good use of that degree and have a long time to work in the business and earn a good living. If he's willing to work, that is, but it doesn't sound to me like he's at all lazy, just dissatisfied with his profession.

[jillibean]

34 isn't too old. I don't think that is really the question you are asking- you seem to focus more on the debt aspect. He can get scholarships and such, and he is a non-trad so maybe schools will look at him differently from all of us 22 year olds. You want kids- that would be a deal breaker for me because I want at least 3 more. You are already 30 (take no offense) so I think it would be very hard to have a baby, and support  the family. The only good thing I see is that grandma may die soon enough to give you both a break or if you can wait to concieve until after 1L, he can be a stay at home dad while you work. That cuts down on child care expenses.
Do you own a home? - your combined debt load would be around the same as a 4 bedroom house in a Kansas suburb. Think of it as an investment but get a damn good prenup so you aren't obligated to pay his loan debt in case of a divorce (I've seen it before strangely)

[kratzy]

34 is by far not too old. The one word of caution that I would point out is some career services folks do not take talk of age discrimination seriously. Granted it should be the exception and probably is, but some law firms will look for a 20 something associate and will not consider anyone in the nontraditional age range for an associate position.
When deciding on a law school as a non traditional student, I would include in the points to discuss with admissions whether the school has any policy on career services / support for non traditional students. I attended a law school at which career services was informed about age discrimination during an interview and while confirming that age discrimination did occur, career services did nothing (despite having a procedure in place in how to handle such incidents).
Just a suggestion to include questions about how a school handles nontraditional student support when deciding on a law school

[DDBY]

34 is by far not too old. The one word of caution that I would point out is some career services folks do not take talk of age discrimination seriously. Granted it should be the exception and probably is, but some law firms will look for a 20 something associate and will not consider anyone in the nontraditional age range for an associate position.
When deciding on a law school as a non traditional student, I would include in the points to discuss with admissions whether the school has any policy on career services / support for non traditional students. I attended a law school at which career services was informed about age discrimination during an interview and while confirming that age discrimination did occur, career services did nothing (despite having a procedure in place in how to handle such incidents).
Just a suggestion to include questions about how a school handles nontraditional student support when deciding on a law school

If you notice Age Descrimination just sue the MFs.  You're a lawyer now grow a pair.

[kratzy]

If you notice Age Descrimination just sue the MFs.  You're a lawyer now grow a pair.

It did not happen to me - I would have done something - trust me. After all, why else go to law school if not to prepare for a career in the courtroom.