A Question about DEBT

[MachuPicchu]

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/DebtABitterPillForFutureDoctor.aspx?page=1

This article makes it seem like 330K debt can be managed if necessary. Of course, it involves a med student who is pretty well assured 150k/year after her residency. Apparently doctors don't have the prestige school-salary link lawyers do...?

[chris3737z]

My suggestion is to study as long as it takes to max out on your LSAT potential.  Hopefully that potential is at least 170.  You shouldn't feel rushed to take it b/c the more you study, the higher your score should be and also during that time you will have paid off more debt.

If I were in your situation and did not get what it takes for top 16/sig. scholarship at lower T1 (170+ probably), I would not go to law school, or at least not until the debt is paid down.  Good Luck!

[sno]

i think the biggest mistake people make in going to law school is thinking they're gonna make big bux...if you want to make a lot of money fast, go to b school, not law school...it's a safer bet

http://mbacareers.wharton.upenn.edu/report/compsum_2.cfm

I don't understand this logic.  The total median compensation of a Wharton MBA in 2006 was $137k.  Unless you have the background and the desire to go into ibanking / hedge funds and work hours that make non-WLRK biglaw seem like a 9-5, you're probably going to be at the exact same place 3 years down the line.  I'd even argue with law you have slightly better options.

Further, if you look at the tuition reimbursement column, around 6% of Wharton MBAs are on the corporate fast-track before b-school, skewing the numbers even further.

There's no guarantee of millions, but the numbers show that a top law degree is a safer bet to $300k than a top b-school.  More b-school grads make it into the millions, but that can simply be due to self-selection into riskier career choices.

Oh, and the average MBA is four years out of school...

2 years...one less year of tuition paid, start earning money one year earlier...wharton median $137k which is around harvard law median...one less year of tuition and earn money (working for that raise) one year earlier...so i don't quite get what's wrong with the logic...unless b-school tuition is WAAAY more than law school...which i really don't know if it is...

[queencruella]

i think the biggest mistake people make in going to law school is thinking they're gonna make big bux...if you want to make a lot of money fast, go to b school, not law school...it's a safer bet

http://mbacareers.wharton.upenn.edu/report/compsum_2.cfm

I don't understand this logic.  The total median compensation of a Wharton MBA in 2006 was $137k.  Unless you have the background and the desire to go into ibanking / hedge funds and work hours that make non-WLRK biglaw seem like a 9-5, you're probably going to be at the exact same place 3 years down the line.  I'd even argue with law you have slightly better options.

Further, if you look at the tuition reimbursement column, around 6% of Wharton MBAs are on the corporate fast-track before b-school, skewing the numbers even further.

There's no guarantee of millions, but the numbers show that a top law degree is a safer bet to $300k than a top b-school.  More b-school grads make it into the millions, but that can simply be due to self-selection into riskier career choices.

Oh, and the average MBA is four years out of school...

2 years...one less year of tuition paid, start earning money one year earlier...wharton median $137k which is around harvard law median...one less year of tuition and earn money (working for that raise) one year earlier...so i don't quite get what's wrong with the logic...unless b-school tuition is WAAAY more than law school...which i really don't know if it is...

Look at the employed at graduation stats for top b-schools- they are a lot lower than the stats for equivalently ranked law schools. In addition, a lot of people at Wharton, Harvard, and Stanford are already coming in with some impressive work experience. The common wisdom these days seems to be that you shouldn't go to b-school unless you're at a point where you can't progress in your career without it.

[sno]

hmm...ok...i'll assume u're right since i don't know much about b school and don't care to find out...so...i stand corrected...

[cardeagle]

I'm in the same situation as the OP (close to $100k in UG debt, for me it was this school or a satellite branch of a state school, due to how badly i screwed up college admissions, lol).  I've taken my LSATs, and I'll be applying for law school in the fall.  I will probably be ended a T6 school, and I feel as though any additional debt I take on will be paid off, somehow, eventually.  So if you think you can land that job, and you are interested in the law and aren't just looking to cash in, I would say go for it.

I'm also looking at applying for outside scholarships to try and help for law school.

Does anyone know if law schools take into account existing educational debt when calculating financial need?