@Dustyfeathers has a good point about loan forgiveness programs for working (and staying) in public interest law. Again, it is usually T14 schools that offer good loan forgiveness programs which are available to all graduating students working right away in public interest. In contrast, some 20-50 schools I know don’t offer it universally, it is only awarded through a competitive application process to a few graduating students. Not a good risk to take.
Also, as the availability for law jobs has contracted, public interest law jobs have become highly competitive, they are not jobs that a student can just walk into.