<p>Calmom: </p>
<p>Sorry that it took so long to reply. Just as a stat (not saying that it’s good or bad or anything), but about 35% of law school grads have over $100k in debt. Obviously, 35% of them aren’t going to be on Wall Street. I think that a lot of them will end up extending their loans out for 20 years or so just to pay it (which will also really up the amount of interest that they pay)… not fun. </p>
<p>Most law schools run about $50k/year now. A fair amount of states (Mass. being one of them) just don’t have public law schools. You can do the reciprocity thing, but that would have been in-state + 50% tuition. Not a bad deal, but not a great one, either.</p>
<p>Anyway - from my experience, I figured out my montly repayments (which, at my “cheap” school, are still darn scary) and figured my worst case scenario: I can return to being an engineer - and, with a ton of scrimping, I could pull it off on a 10-year loan. Most people, though, really don’t have that type of fall-back (or any type of fall-back), so I see where you are coming from. Yes, there are too many lawyers, and there are too many law students. </p>
<p>$750/year… I imagine that, even adjusting for inflation, that would not be a debt the size of a mortgage, which is what a lot of student loans look like. Now, it’s almost impossible to go to law school, paying your way through, and get out for less than $80k in debt (that’s assuming a lot of scrimping, a lot of saving, a cheap school, and some scholarship). Paying your way through the expensive schools will run most students about $160k total.</p>