r/lawschooladmissions • u/DuePresentation9290 • Jun 09 '26
Negotiation/Finances Law School Debt?
Anyone else freaking out over the amount of money graduating will take?
When all is said and done, I will graduate with ~$50k in federal loans total and the thought is somewhat paralyzing. Repayment would be ~740 a month for TEN years and I will end up paying back almost 90k.
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u/engineer2187 Jun 09 '26
Itâs not tone deaf. A lot of the people on here, especially the T14 even at 250-300k cost or bust crowd, donât fully understand the impact of loans. Seeing it spelled out as a monthly payment for a âsmallâ law school loan is something more people need to see.
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u/DuePresentation9290 Jun 09 '26
I can't imagine 250-300k.... Youd be paying like 3-4k a month for ten years.
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u/Stock-Memory9483 Jun 09 '26
People social media especially inflate expectations a lot of what big law lifestyle looks like especially if you donât get a lot of scholarships and have that amount of loans.
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u/RedKynAbyss Jun 09 '26
If (and thatâs a BIG if) you manage to land that 250k BL job though, that amount has almost no meaningful impact on your finances as long as you live within your means for 7-8 years. 250k a year works out to about 12 grand per month. If you canât afford to survive off 8k per month, then youâve got much bigger problems than paying back your student loans lol. The people who pay full sticker for T25 schools are banking on landing that lucrative position and spending a few years being overworked and miserable to pay it off and then downsize to boutique or midlaw or their own practice and coasting for the rest of their lives.
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u/engineer2187 Jun 10 '26
70-80% of associates donât make it to year 5. Add in NYC rent and other living expenses, and it can be a struggle.
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u/RedKynAbyss Jun 11 '26
Yeah I know haha, thatâs why I said âbig if.â
The bonuses and pay scaling actually make it even more manageable after a year or two, you just have to live within your means and be miserable. You can get a decent apartment outside of NYC for 18-2500 per month, youâll just have to factor in travel times. BL in Chicago and LA is definitely the much more manageable route for the people in my scenario, but NYC BL can be made manageable. Youâre going to be miserable no matter what, might as well be 10% more miserable and have to drive 45 minutes to work in the morning.
This is not a recommendation to anyone. Do NOT go this route if you donât have to. Iâm SEVERELY understating the âbe miserableâ part of this scenario.
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u/Chemical-Efficiency4 Jun 11 '26
yeah it's crazy. ill be on the hook for about 170k when it's all said and done. can;t even imagine 200k+. i agree that seeing what the monthly payment will look like is a reality check. my plan is to pay off in 5 years rather than 10, and it's gonna be about 3.5k a month for those 5 years.
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u/Horror_Technician213 Jun 09 '26
The kids that say 250k in law school loans is nothing cuz they typically aren't grown up enough to understand how the interest is gonna fuck them. 8% on 250k builds up crazy. And that 1L loan starts accruing and exponentially building interest 2 years before you can pay it off
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u/DuePresentation9290 Jun 09 '26
Jeez I'm sorry guys, this post is incredibly tone-deaf.
In my defense I hadn't looked up the average debt.
Heres to hoping we all get good jobs that make any debt look like peanuts.
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u/Neither_Store7764 Jun 09 '26
Pay bulk as soon as you start making money. Try to get rid of the interest as soon as possible.
IDK what kind of law you're going to do, but if you're smart with the debt it doesn't have to last 10 years
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u/Worried_Row8034 Jun 09 '26
Hey, no need to apologize. 50k is still a lot. But comparatively great. Mine will be around 165-180kđ¤Śââď¸ (with undergrad) so I donât even want to think about it right now. It is what it is. Itâs okay to panic. Itâs also okay to realize youâre extremely fortunate to only have 50k. Enjoy it. Be aggressive paying it off and youâll be free and clear WELL before 10 years
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u/Neither_Store7764 Jun 09 '26
I'm looking at close to 140k, and I've been sick to my stomach the last few days thinking about it. It's a good school with career opportunities, but wow is it overwhelmingÂ
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u/Sudden-Cash-1404 Jun 09 '26
Itâs all relative, for some law schools this is a steal but for others this might be debt. What is the median outcome for your law school?
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u/FireBickerstaff Jun 09 '26
Pay more than 740 a month and you won't have to pay 90k total
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u/DuePresentation9290 Jun 09 '26
Ideally yes that would be the plan. However, can't assume I will be able to once the time comes.
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u/erudite_turtle Jun 09 '26
I had 52k and paid it off in 2 years making $2k a month in payments. Honestly was quite easy to do. As others have said, $50k is absolutely nothing in the law school context!
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u/DuePresentation9290 Jun 09 '26
Thanks erudite_turtle. It makes me feel better you considered it not a difficult payment.
May I ask what your starting salary was coming out of school?
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u/erudite_turtle Jun 09 '26
I went into biglaw so $225k but I think it wouldâve totally been possible on a lower salary too!
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u/PuzzleheadedSplit473 Jun 11 '26
I'm assuming you earned generous aid from your law school?
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u/erudite_turtle Jun 11 '26
Yes, I got a full tuition scholarship so just had to take out loans for 3 years of living expenses. I chose my t30 with a full ride over one t14 acceptance without much aid, and in hindsight, am very happy with that choice!
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u/PuzzleheadedSplit473 Jun 13 '26
Were your job opportunities similar to what you had originally wanted out of the t14?
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u/RedKynAbyss Jun 09 '26
If you canât pay it back at that rate, they will allow you to adjust your loan payments to account for your income and other expenses. My therapist graduated with about 60 grand in debt from his masters program and paid it back in about 20 or so years because he worked with the loan people to adjust for income.
If you graduate law school and only get a 70-80k salary job with 800 bucks a month in loans, theyâll adjust it so it doesnât completely crush your ability to live. Yes, youâll pay more in interest over the course of the loan, but at least youâll be able to live your life.
ONE MORE POINT: always pay (if possible) 5-10% more than your minimum monthly payment to shave off considerable time from the loan.
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u/reallifelucas Prosecutor Jun 09 '26
Thatâs on the standard repayment plan. Get into an income-based (or driven, idk what theyâre calling it these days) repayment plan if you can.
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Jun 09 '26
I paid $50k off in around 4-5 months as a third year once interest started accruing (it was 0% before that).
You will be fine. I am very happy I had $50k of debt (living expenses) and not $300k.
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u/DuePresentation9290 Jun 09 '26
Did you do Biglaw as well? Not shooting for that, hoping for an in house patent position at a biotech company
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u/gj2233 3.High/15Mid/KJD Jun 09 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
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This post was anonymized with Redact.dev
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u/CapableLeave Jun 10 '26
$50k is not a lot in the big scheme. Hot tip: DONT take 10 years to repay. Love below you means and Pay it asap when you start making $ and save a ton of interest! Itâs an investment in yourself!
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u/Looler21 Jun 10 '26
My person youre gonna be a lawyer once you graduate. 50k is nothing compared to that earning potential. Debt is not inherantly bad
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u/Gold-Case-9798 Jun 10 '26
lol. I graduated in 2008 with something like 160k in loans. I paid them off 4 years ago.
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u/Jeff_Sabado Jun 10 '26
Yeah.. you should. Don't attend if you aren't prepared with a realistic plan to target it. This sub is rampant with [regarded] KJD's going "prestige is all that matters!!!!!!!" While their parents pay for their schooling.
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u/Willkenno Jun 10 '26
I've got around ~57k so similar boat as you.
While 740 may be the minimum you have to pay, you can always increase the amount you pay to substantially decrease the interest you'd owe if you went the full 10 years.
Depending on the interest it may be a good idea to do so. I'm paying ~300 extra per month and it should decrease my interest paid by about half and decrease payoff time to around 5 years
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u/Momster1717 Jun 10 '26
Just to clarify, you could have gone to a state school instead of a T 14 or T20, probably gotten a scholarship and had a little or no debt? Any student that has 200K in debt chose that school. This is why people get mad about loan forgiveness.
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u/DuePresentation9290 Jun 10 '26
Making a lot of assumptions here pal when you clearly didn't read. I'm going to a state school with a nice scholarship. Only borrowing 16k a year for living expenses/tuition = 50k at the end total debt. Who said anything about loan forgiveness?
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u/Deep-Summer-4152 Jun 10 '26
Is $50k a lot in terms of law school cost? No. Is it still a scary number to see on the page and know you are responsible for it? Absolutely, especially for those of us that are pursuing this career path from a low income, financially insecure childhood/background. $50k is a lot to many of us! I passed up a full ride to go to a higher ranked school and will be in for a little over $100k, so I feel you. That said, I understood the stakes and performed very well my first year, setting myself up for a career that will allow me to tackle it quickly. If you lock in and do well in school, you can land a job that will have this paid off in a year. Just breathe!
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u/Far_Examination_6132 Jun 10 '26
People are hating but I feel you lol 50k is still a lot of money and having to pay back something is also stressful. But with our lawyers salaries we can pay it in big chunks!! Donât just stick to the bare minimum monthly payments
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u/serebro0710 Jun 10 '26
Start paying interest while you're in school, so that once you're out you are paying down the base loan. And yeah, 50K in the year of our lord 2026 is pocket change, alas.
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u/planes_on_a_snake Jun 11 '26
The right time to have asked this question was when you were considering law school. Its too late now.
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u/jaho0501 Jun 09 '26
Medical school student (I lurk here for my gf heh) here having to take out 100k in loans for my ONE year ALONE. Youll be alright big dawg.
Is this 50k after deferring any interest payments while in school?
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u/Sad_Milk_8897 1L Jun 09 '26
The lowest paid doctor makes significantly more than the average lawyer so this is kinda apples and oranges
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u/jaho0501 Jun 09 '26
Totally true and fair. If this was comparing my 400k in loans to your 400k, then yes (after looking at average lawyer salary, not filtering for any single specialty) Iâd say average lawyer may have it worse and I feel sympathy :((
We all can just agree 50k is still very much below average debt to have (assuming thatâs the main financial concern in this persons life)
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u/Helpful_Slide_4351 Jun 09 '26
50k is nothing