The Student Loan Trap

One of the scariest things about law school is student debt. If you can pay cash for law school all the better, but most people aren't in that position.

Student debt can't be discharged in bankruptcy. It will follow you like an albatross around your neck, possibly for the rest of your life. A growing number of retired people are now having their social security payments garnished to pay student loans.

You can’t depend on loan forgiveness programs, either. Many people, told they qualify for loan forgiveness, worked for years at a low-paying job only to find out that they'd been lied to. They still had nothing to show for it—and even higher debt because of interest. Astoundingly, less than 1% of applicants for loan forgiveness actually have their loans forgiven.

Student loans have an amplifying effect on your career and your life. Your goal is to get a high-paying job out of the gate, so you can pay off the loans quickly and then have a lot more room in your budget for other things. Quickly paying off your loans also yields huge savings on interest costs.