First-Generation Students Get Screwed The Most By Law School Loans

Why? Because law schools do a poor job educating first-generation students about student debt.

As most of us know from firsthand experience, the law school admissions process is very complicated.  Indeed, it is oftentimes difficult to evaluate whether an individual should attend law school, which law school one should attend, and how much student debt should be borrowed to finance a legal education.  In fact, even if someone has parents, career counselors, or other people in their lives advising them throughout this process, it can still be difficult to make the correct decisions.  Of course, first-generation students typically do not have many resources upon which to rely when navigating the law school admissions process. This situation can oftentimes leave first-generation students saddled with crippling amounts of student debt.

While I was applying to colleges and law schools, I did not know many people whom I could ask for advice.  The only family members advising me throughout this process did not attend college or graduate school themselves, and any information I reviewed on the internet was not specifically tailored to my own particular situation.  All things considered, I was lucky to end up with only around $200,000 of student loans after graduating from law school.  In any case, it is important to understand that first-generation students have it worse than most when it comes to student loans.

Individuals typically rely on family members and those in their communities for advice for all types of life decisions, including whether to attend law school and which institution to choose.  However, if people giving advice did not attend college or graduate school themselves, they could be perpetuating myths that first-generation students might take as gospel.

For instance, throughout my early adulthood, I had been told that more education means more success in life, and I should try to earn as many degrees as possible, no matter the cost.  This is a simplistic idea that myself and other first-generation students who have emailed me over the past several months have been told to our detriment.  Of course, it does not always make sense to earn more degrees, and this myth is one reason why some first-generation students amass crippling amounts of student debt.

Another myth that many first-generation students and myself have been told to our detriment is that student loans are simply an investment, and an education is like other investments we might make throughout our lives.  Of course, having more degrees can lead to a higher income potential and have a number of other benefits.  However, student debt is unlike any other investment, and it is indeed far worse than any other type of debt one might borrow.  Indeed, student debt is not backed by any type of collateral, has higher interest rates than most debt, and cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.  Nevertheless, first-generation students likely received simplistic advice about student debt that might have led them to amass crippling amounts of student loans.

The decision to attend law school in the first place is also a lot more difficult to make for first-generation students.  From my own personal experience, I can relate that many individuals who did not attend college or graduate school are unaware of the employment difficulties of recent law school graduates.  Indeed, many of the people I talked to about the law school admissions process who did not attend college or law school themselves just assumed that all lawyers make six figures.  This flawed perception can drive first-generation students to attend law school even though they have fewer employment opportunities than they previously thought.

In addition, the choice of which law school to attend is also much more difficult for people who are first-generation students.  Although this website and others regularly discuss the factors that should be considered when choosing a law school, individuals who did not attend college or law school themselves might give more simplistic advice.  Indeed, I was told many times by people in my life who did not attend college or graduate school themselves that I should just attend the best institution that accepted me and think about money later.  Of course, this is the wrong approach, and first-generation law students might lack information that is necessary to make good choices about where to attend law school and how to minimize student debt.

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Furthermore, colleges and law schools do a poor job educating first-generation students about student debt and the process to become an attorney.  If I remember correctly, my college did have a program through which first-generation students received support and resources.  However, after my first month of college, I did not receive any help from this program, and I was basically on my own when it came to applying for law school and selecting which institution to attend.  Many law schools also do not have resources available for first-generation students, and I cannot remember either of the law schools I attended offering any kind of support for these individuals.  This lack of resources compounds the issues faced by first-generation students and might further lead to such individuals being more burdened by student debt.

All told, it is difficult to be a first-generation student who wants to be a lawyer.  Such individuals oftentimes do not receive any advice or support from family members when deciding whether to attend law school, which institution to attend, and how to finance a legal education.  As a result, first-generation students oftentimes get screwed the most by student debt.


Jordan Rothman is the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a personal finance website discussing how he paid off all $197,890.20 of his college and law school student loans over 46 months of his late 20s. You can reach him at Jordan@studentdebtdiaries.com.

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