There’s really not a lot to say here.
After Charlotte School of Law’s declining standards prompted the federal government to pull the plug on access to student loans, and then the school rebuffed a negotiated agreement to open up funds for students to help them complete their education, everyone expected things to get rough for the students left high and dry without funds in the midst of their legal educations. But very few — especially among older attorneys with a sepia filter over their sense of the weight of modern student debt — fully grasped the human cost of putting students through a few years of law school tuition and then cutting them off without job prospects.
Perhaps this will drive home what this means:
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A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Charlotte School of Law students with their living expenses after a recent U.S. Department of Education decision that they will not receive federal loan money for the spring semester.
Many of these students need help eating now. Professor Scott Sigman started the fundraiser to help alleviate the pressures now heaped upon Charlotte students just trying to get out of school and face their equally grim prospects on the outside.
ABA Journal reports that the school is handing out interest-free, $1,000 loans. I know $1,000 gets you more in Charlotte than it would in New York, but I’ve got a feeling this isn’t going to help much.
Especially when you juxtapose this move with the negotiated “teach out” settlement they brushed off. The school could have helped the students get their degrees through their partner… but apparently they’ve opted for getting students into further debt.
Keeping Law School Accessible When Federal Loans Fall Short
As federal borrowing caps tighten financing options for law students, one organization is stepping in to negotiate the terms they can't secure alone.
But at least it’s interest-free.
What a mess.
Charlotte School of Law prof seeks donations to help students with food and rent money [ABA Journal]
Earlier: Law School DENIED Access To Federal Student Loan Dollars
Charlotte Law School Pulls Rug Out From Students
Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.