<p>Compared to most schools they graduate with a relatively small ammount of debt?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/webextras/brief/sb_law_debt_brief.php[/url]”>http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/webextras/brief/sb_law_debt_brief.php</a></p>
<p>Many probably receive minority fellowships and similar scholarships/awards.</p>
<p>I disagree. Simply put, Howard is mad cheap.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.law.howard.edu/654[/url]”>http://www.law.howard.edu/654</a></p>
<p>Tuition is $17,000/year. That is HALF of what tuition is at other schools in DC, which come in at roughly $35,000/year. CoA at Howard is $36,000/year, which is about $20,000/year less than many other urban schools.</p>
<p>Howard seems like a good deal…doesn’t wachtell recruit at Howard?</p>
<p>So, Howard Law runs for approx. $108K for all three years. And 95% of students graduate with an average debt of $9K. I still think that scholarships and fellowships probably cover the rest.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that just because a company “recruits” at a school, (ie physically sends recruiters to a campus), doesn’t necessarily mean they “hire” people there on a yearly basis, (ie actually extending an offer).</p>
<p>Furthermore, if you check the average salary for Howard grads you’ll see it is around 70K – not 130K. So, very,very few (if any for that specific year) are entering corp law with top firms.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.law.howard.edu/652[/url]”>http://www.law.howard.edu/652</a></p>
<p>Still, $20k/year differential * 3 years = $60,000 less. If Howard cost the same as other schools, you would assume that their grads would have about $70,000 in debt, which is close to the median (really roughly). </p>
<p>Obviously, though, someone is making up the difference.</p>
<p>Wildflower and Arisathena;</p>
<p>There are plenty of Howard Law students whom are getting by on quite tight budgets and with simply ordinary financial aid packages (or less than ordinary).</p>
<p>Well, you can say that about students at any law school. I’m paying my way through solely on loans. </p>
<p>I’ve explained this on another thread a few months ago, but, as hard as it is to believe, a “tight budget” doesn’t help all that much in law school. For example:
$30,000/year in tuition, fees, etc.
$1,000/year in books (sure, you might be able to knock that down to $800 if you get used ones, but that’s not always feasible)
$1,000/year in health insurance
$500/year transportation (look, you have to get around somehow - Metro, car, get home for X-Mas by the Greyhound - varies widely, but this isn’t a bad estimate of someone who is very careful with money)</p>
<hr>
<p>$32,500 total. Now, assume that we have two students, one of whom is on a very tight budget and the other of whom isn’t. I go to school in the South, where rent is cheap - so I used good estimations.</p>
<p>Student 1:
Lives with four other people. No cell. No car. Doesn’t eat out.
Rent = $250/month * 12 months = $3,000/year
Utilities (living with other people, so it’s not like you can get all 5 of you to agree to no TV, no internet) = $50/month = $600/year
Food = $40/week = $2,000/year
__
$5,600 per year. Bare-bones living. Add this to our other number, and this student is spending $38,000/year or $114,000 for three years.</p>
<p>Student 2:
Sharing with one other person, $400/month (yes, that’s what I paid) = $4,800/year
Utilities = $100/month = $1,200/year (they don’t go down that much, because more people = bigger house, same water usage, more laptops, etc)
Car = $600/year to insure
Food = $60/week, with some eating out = $3,000/year</p>
<hr>
<p>$8,600 total. Plus $32,500 = $41,600 total. Three years = $124,000.</p>
<p>That’s a difference of about 9% in loans. That is also really, really bare-bones living - you’re probably far away from campus to get that cheap of rent, then walking (i.e. no car) a few miles each way. That also leaves very little, if anything, for incidentals, fun, hell, even resume paper. </p>
<p>Just saying that it’s nonsense to attribute huge loan differentials to living habits.</p>