By now, future lawyers will have received decision letters from the law schools they applied to. Over the years, I talked to many law students and recent graduates and asked what made them choose their schools. While everyone had a unique reason, they generally fall under several categories.
I deliberately did not include the most popular answer by far: rank and prestige. This is worthy of a column of its own in the future.
Their Dream School
These lucky few were accepted to the school they really, really wanted to go to for one reason or another. They gladly pay the $80,000 annual tuition and spend an equal amount of money on school merch. Every day, they post a selfie at a different part of the school.
Outcome: Regardless of the size of their student loan balance, they will gladly pay it. They choose to mail a check every month because every one they write reminds them of the great time they had there.
The School Closest To Home
They chose the law school in the area they want to practice and live. They spent the first two years of law school getting to know local attorneys at events. They may have worked for a few over the summer. They are also getting to know business owners and even local politicians. They hope to be in a position to either work for someone or start their own practice with an established mentor and referrals sources.
Outcome: Their spouse got a job at Bain & Company which required them to move to a new state. They enroll as a visiting student at the nearest law school in the area where they will complete their final year. But they plan to return one day because they are unhappy where they live now.
The Financially Savvy
They have read the student loan horror stories and do not want the same to happen to them. These people chose the law school that gave them the biggest tuition discount after months of negotiation. To minimize expenses, they either lived at home or lived with multiple roommates. Their student loan debt was minimal which gives them the option to pay their loans back in full, use the money for investments or to live a little. In short, while they may not drive a flashy sports car, they also don’t worry about money.
Outcome: Their gravestone reads: “When I borrow money, I pay it back.” Hopefully they can transfer their credit score to the afterlife.
The Backup Plan
They went to law school because their post-college career master plan didn’t take off due to circumstances beyond their control (or because something they wrote on social media 15 years ago is now offensive to at least five marginalized groups). Their LinkedIn page shows stints at the local DA’s office, a bankruptcy firm, a personal injury litigation firm, and a lawyer in Papua New Guinea.
Outcome: They tell all of their friends and social media followers (more like angrily demand) to vote for the party whose sole platform is to forgive all student loans and make education free. This will be paid for by imposing a 10% wealth tax and a 90% marginal tax rate for corporations. A few years after their party controls the government, gas costs $20 per gallon, rent has tripled, a Netflix subscription costs $100 per month, and the newest iPhone costs $4,000 plus a mandatory iOS monthly subscription fee. And Google (after recently becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of ByteDance) has begun charging $1 per internet search.
But at least their student loans are forgiven.
The Transfer Hopeful
For whatever reason, these people don’t have the grades and the test scores to be admitted to the schools they want to attend. So they are hoping to go to a different law school and transfer in their second year. They may or may not know that many of their classmates have the same goal and transfer spots for top law schools are few and far between.
Outcome: The B you got in Property class killed your transfer chances to Stanford. But two flagship state schools have expressed interest in your transfer application. You schedule a meeting with your school’s assistant dean to negotiate a mutually beneficial scholarship for the remaining two years.
Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at stevenchungatl@gmail.com. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.
