Paying for law/med school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a 200k limit now for government loans for graduate school so that is going to impact a lot of people going into expensive programs for law and medical school.

I had no expectation my parents pay for graduate school at all, and they did not. They felt undergrad was enough.

These days students need to calculate if worth going to grad school with the high cost and if their career is going to pay off.

I wonder if the new limit on federal loans for grad school will reduce enrollment or create a bigger market for private, higher-interest loans, and make the situation worse for everyone other than the truly wealthy with parents willing to help.

[Anonymous]

We plan to pay for grad school if we can.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:For those who are full pay for undergrad, will you make your DC use loans to pay for law or med school or help them out? Both DCs talking about law/med, and we hadn’t planned for this. Because of our income they won’t qualify for aid.

It wouldn't matter that you "qualified for aid." That's an undergrad thing. They don't give financial aid to law students. It's merit aid or student loans.

False. Financial aid exists for law school. Once again you fill out the FAFSA.

Yea, loans.

Some law schools (not Harvard) offer merit for students they want - usually URM. Scalia Law offers full tuition scholarships for students with extremely high GPAs and LSATs, etc. The further you go down in rank, the more money you might find if your student is a strong applicant. Remember, these schools have to report test scores and GPAs. While some of the top schools claim they no longer cooperate with USNWR, they still report the scores to the ABA, and the ABA gives it to USNWR, so nothing has really changed.

You people are idiots. That’s MERIT aid. It’s not based on financial need.

many law and med schools provide merit aid to lots of students these days, and some also provide need-based aid. Top ones have their own loans for students that are better rates and higher limits than federal loans. Heck I got merit aid at a T10 med school 23 years ago as a white kid, and spouse got law school merit aid at a T5 law school. It is not new but there is more $ available now.

[Anonymous]

Do you all offer to give your kids the equivalent of grad school tuition and living expenses? Just having them invest it in an index fund would make them multimillionaires as older adults.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:For those who are full pay for undergrad, will you make your DC use loans to pay for law or med school or help them out? Both DCs talking about law/med, and we hadn’t planned for this. Because of our income they won’t qualify for aid.

It wouldn't matter that you "qualified for aid." That's an undergrad thing. They don't give financial aid to law students. It's merit aid or student loans.

False. Financial aid exists for law school. Once again you fill out the FAFSA.

Yea, loans.

Some law schools (not Harvard) offer merit for students they want - usually URM. Scalia Law offers full tuition scholarships for students with extremely high GPAs and LSATs, etc. The further you go down in rank, the more money you might find if your student is a strong applicant. Remember, these schools have to report test scores and GPAs. While some of the top schools claim they no longer cooperate with USNWR, they still report the scores to the ABA, and the ABA gives it to USNWR, so nothing has really changed.

You people are idiots. That’s MERIT aid. It’s not based on financial need.

many law and med schools provide merit aid to lots of students these days, and some also provide need-based aid. Top ones have their own loans for students that are better rates and higher limits than federal loans. Heck I got merit aid at a T10 med school 23 years ago as a white kid, and spouse got law school merit aid at a T5 law school. It is not new but there is more $ available now.

Heck, now you are working the DCUM late shift!

[Anonymous]

You can't assume you will get merit aid for law or medical school though. It's not a guarantee it will cover most of your tuition and expenses.

Most students thinking of professional school right now didn't necessarily take out money for undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Child chose full-pay T10 over a full-ride so likely not, but will help with some living expenses most likely. That’s current plan at least, business owners so won’t predict that far out.

Stupidest thing you ever did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know if school policies have changed, but when DH went to ivy law school the financial aid application required parents’ info if student hadn’t been financially independent for at least 7 years. So school expected parents to help pay.

Nope. Not any more. There are scholarships for the brightest of the bright at all law schools these days. They will pay for the right stats no matter what your income.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, biggest flex you can do is have your child graduate from a top grad program debt free. It will set them up for life. This is huge… how do you do this? You PLAN. Don’t be an idiot with where they go to undergrad.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:For those who are full pay for undergrad, will you make your DC use loans to pay for law or med school or help them out? Both DCs talking about law/med, and we hadn’t planned for this. Because of our income they won’t qualify for aid.

It wouldn't matter that you "qualified for aid." That's an undergrad thing. They don't give financial aid to law students. It's merit aid or student loans.

False. Financial aid exists for law school. Once again you fill out the FAFSA.

Yea, loans.

Some law schools (not Harvard) offer merit for students they want - usually URM. Scalia Law offers full tuition scholarships for students with extremely high GPAs and LSATs, etc. The further you go down in rank, the more money you might find if your student is a strong applicant. Remember, these schools have to report test scores and GPAs. While some of the top schools claim they no longer cooperate with USNWR, they still report the scores to the ABA, and the ABA gives it to USNWR, so nothing has really changed.

You people are idiots. That’s MERIT aid. It’s not based on financial need.

many law and med schools provide merit aid to lots of students these days, and some also provide need-based aid. Top ones have their own loans for students that are better rates and higher limits than federal loans. Heck I got merit aid at a T10 med school 23 years ago as a white kid, and spouse got law school merit aid at a T5 law school. It is not new but there is more $ available now.

Which top med schools give merit aid currently?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a 200k limit now for government loans for graduate school so that is going to impact a lot of people going into expensive programs for law and medical school.

I had no expectation my parents pay for graduate school at all, and they did not. They felt undergrad was enough.

These days students need to calculate if worth going to grad school with the high cost and if their career is going to pay off.

I wonder if the new limit on federal loans for grad school will ... make the situation worse for everyone other than the truly wealthy

obviously - do you know how many billionaires are in the Cabinet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Child chose full-pay T10 over a full-ride so likely not, but will help with some living expenses most likely. That’s current plan at least, business owners so won’t predict that far out.

Stupidest thing you ever did.

I don't think so, but understand many would choose differently. Being a standout at a top school would lead to a better outcome if they ever decided to pivot and it is 100% more of a fit. It also sets them up for a top med school in terms of odds.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Law/med/any grad school/Phd/MBA

We will pay for all. Not super rich but we have lived a frugal lifestyle to give leg-up to our kids. Education is on us.

Well, good for you and it's your money but it's also stupid. You can give your kids a "leg up" in plenty of other ways. You don't have to pay for every cent of a decades long education to do it.

No, it is not stupid at all. Especially, if you have raised great kids and given them many "leg ups". It is a waste only if you have raised substandard kids or have created a poor dysfunctional family life for them. Don't have children if you will give them a bad life.

We have given many leg ups to our children - starting from a functional, intact and happy family life, highly educated parents, loving and supportive extended family, extensive and close-knit social network, emphasis on education, healthy lifestyle, adulting skills, trilingual education, exposure to multiple cultures and travel, no abuse/addiction/adultry in family, treating all kids equally, having only two children.

So, selfish parents are quick to have sex and create children but are reluctant to pay for education? Use a condom if you cannot support your children to get the an education for a good career.

K-12 is free education in public schools, so there is zero reasons for parents to not pay for undergrad, grad and post grad education. What else have they paid for their kids? Basic needs are fulfilled by every parent. That is not the end all.

Agree.

Yep will pay if they don't other wise have scholarship. It's my right and duty as a parent. Stupid would be NOT paying for this if you can afford it. What am I going to do with the extra money anyway and what better use for it than my kid's education so they can graduate debt free. Why pay interest to a lender if we as a family don't have to. Would rather keep that interest and build family wealth.

Also so what if kid only wants to go to law school because that's how they can get gainful employment. That is as good a reason as any to go and regardless of reason, I as a parent would pay.

To a different PP - med school is NOT a "rich person profession" where most kids are paying cash. That's just a lie.

I can't understand the families who can affort to pay but don't. Seems rather illogical and a poor financial decision.

Because they may go through three years of law school and still can't get particularly gainful employment.

If you had basically no standards for your kid's undergrad, what makes you think things will improve with law school?

I'm the one you're replying to. I mean they could do anything and not find a good job I suppose. But with law school, they should get some kind of job, right? I actually have no idea about law school. My spouse and I did not do law school and neither of my two kids are interested in law school, so I haven't ever thought about that specifically.

But I raised them to value education and be smart, hard workers and to find joy in their daily lives and daily work. They are not "party-ers" but know how to have fun. They won't squander their education and they are free-loading off me. Because I didn't raise them to be that way. Like others who have posted, I have worked hard myself, made sacrifices, don't buy overly expensive things even if I could. With our paychecks, first chunk goes toward retirement, second chunk is saved for kids' education, and whatever is left is what we can spend from for food, utilities, and wants. My parents paid for my education, I will pay for my kids, and the expectation is that they pay for their kids' education. No reason to send any of our hard earned money to the bank or government as interest.

I was responding to whomever says they will pay for law school because their job prospects after undergrad are terrible.

That's not a great reason to me to go to law school. I mean, even if their job prospects after undergrad aren't great, they should still be able to get some kind of job...so just confusing why you wouldn't apply that same logic to law school for a kid that had little interest in attending law school until they decided their job prospects weren't good.

There are plenty of people that go to law school and get crappy law jobs that pay little more (or maybe less) than anyone could get just from undergrad. Only like maybe 5% of all lawyers can work at the BigLaw firms.

This may or may not be a good reason to go to law school. That's a different question altogether. That's a different conversation parent should have with kid - whether law school is the right path for them. But if they do decide to go to law school (because of poor job prospects after undergrad or because they really are passionate about law), then I as the parent would pay for it. There wouldn't be a reason I wouldn't pay for it. So they may end up miserable. They could end up miserable in any career. But I would still pay for the education because that just makes financial sense.
There should be some digging deep to try to find a profession they won't be miserable in - no parent wants their kid to be miserable.

As for end of life disability being expensive and shouldn't pay for education because may need it for end of life. I wouldn't choose. I would make sure I have enough for end of life first, and then also pay for education. It's not an either/or situation. It's this AND that. This is what people mean when they say they can afford to pay. They can afford to pay without sacrificing their own potential medical or disability needs.

(Not related to this thread, but why are so many law school grads so miserable? Would they be miserable no matter what work they did, or is it something about being a lawyer?)

So…your dumbass kid can’t get a decent job from undergrad because they screwed something up…but it makes good financial sense to double down on same dumbass that now thinks law school is the answer?

Actually, my kids are still in HS. And as I said, not interested in law school an all. Interested in STEM, maybe med. Absolutely, their major must be employable.

Kids don’t expect us to pay but it’s our duty. When we had kids, we planned and made sure we could pay for their education fully. And they are expected to pay for their kids. Doesn’t mean I tell them what to do or become enmeshed. Means our family keeps more money instead of paying the banks/govt.

But those of you who can afford to pay but choose not to and instead wish to be extra to banks/govt, that’s entirely your choice and someone else will surely enjoy your money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't assume you will get merit aid for law or medical school though. It's not a guarantee it will cover most of your tuition and expenses.

Most students thinking of professional school right now didn't necessarily take out money for undergrad.

This. Top law schools either don’t have merit at all (Harvard) or, if they do, themselves scholarships go to black students. Yes, students have access to resources on exactly this point. My kid with stellar credentials applied to five law schools and received no merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Law/med/any grad school/Phd/MBA

We will pay for all. Not super rich but we have lived a frugal lifestyle to give leg-up to our kids. Education is on us.

Well, good for you and it's your money but it's also stupid. You can give your kids a "leg up" in plenty of other ways. You don't have to pay for every cent of a decades long education to do it.

No, it is not stupid at all. Especially, if you have raised great kids and given them many "leg ups". It is a waste only if you have raised substandard kids or have created a poor dysfunctional family life for them. Don't have children if you will give them a bad life.

We have given many leg ups to our children - starting from a functional, intact and happy family life, highly educated parents, loving and supportive extended family, extensive and close-knit social network, emphasis on education, healthy lifestyle, adulting skills, trilingual education, exposure to multiple cultures and travel, no abuse/addiction/adultry in family, treating all kids equally, having only two children.

So, selfish parents are quick to have sex and create children but are reluctant to pay for education? Use a condom if you cannot support your children to get the an education for a good career.

K-12 is free education in public schools, so there is zero reasons for parents to not pay for undergrad, grad and post grad education. What else have they paid for their kids? Basic needs are fulfilled by every parent. That is not the end all.

Agree.

Yep will pay if they don't other wise have scholarship. It's my right and duty as a parent. Stupid would be NOT paying for this if you can afford it. What am I going to do with the extra money anyway and what better use for it than my kid's education so they can graduate debt free. Why pay interest to a lender if we as a family don't have to. Would rather keep that interest and build family wealth.

Also so what if kid only wants to go to law school because that's how they can get gainful employment. That is as good a reason as any to go and regardless of reason, I as a parent would pay.

To a different PP - med school is NOT a "rich person profession" where most kids are paying cash. That's just a lie.

I can't understand the families who can affort to pay but don't. Seems rather illogical and a poor financial decision.

Because they may go through three years of law school and still can't get particularly gainful employment.

If you had basically no standards for your kid's undergrad, what makes you think things will improve with law school?

I'm the one you're replying to. I mean they could do anything and not find a good job I suppose. But with law school, they should get some kind of job, right? I actually have no idea about law school. My spouse and I did not do law school and neither of my two kids are interested in law school, so I haven't ever thought about that specifically.

But I raised them to value education and be smart, hard workers and to find joy in their daily lives and daily work. They are not "party-ers" but know how to have fun. They won't squander their education and they are free-loading off me. Because I didn't raise them to be that way. Like others who have posted, I have worked hard myself, made sacrifices, don't buy overly expensive things even if I could. With our paychecks, first chunk goes toward retirement, second chunk is saved for kids' education, and whatever is left is what we can spend from for food, utilities, and wants. My parents paid for my education, I will pay for my kids, and the expectation is that they pay for their kids' education. No reason to send any of our hard earned money to the bank or government as interest.

I was responding to whomever says they will pay for law school because their job prospects after undergrad are terrible.

That's not a great reason to me to go to law school. I mean, even if their job prospects after undergrad aren't great, they should still be able to get some kind of job...so just confusing why you wouldn't apply that same logic to law school for a kid that had little interest in attending law school until they decided their job prospects weren't good.

There are plenty of people that go to law school and get crappy law jobs that pay little more (or maybe less) than anyone could get just from undergrad. Only like maybe 5% of all lawyers can work at the BigLaw firms.

This may or may not be a good reason to go to law school. That's a different question altogether. That's a different conversation parent should have with kid - whether law school is the right path for them. But if they do decide to go to law school (because of poor job prospects after undergrad or because they really are passionate about law), then I as the parent would pay for it. There wouldn't be a reason I wouldn't pay for it. So they may end up miserable. They could end up miserable in any career. But I would still pay for the education because that just makes financial sense.
There should be some digging deep to try to find a profession they won't be miserable in - no parent wants their kid to be miserable.

As for end of life disability being expensive and shouldn't pay for education because may need it for end of life. I wouldn't choose. I would make sure I have enough for end of life first, and then also pay for education. It's not an either/or situation. It's this AND that. This is what people mean when they say they can afford to pay. They can afford to pay without sacrificing their own potential medical or disability needs.

(Not related to this thread, but why are so many law school grads so miserable? Would they be miserable no matter what work they did, or is it something about being a lawyer?)

So…your dumbass kid can’t get a decent job from undergrad because they screwed something up…but it makes good financial sense to double down on same dumbass that now thinks law school is the answer?

Actually, my kids are still in HS. And as I said, not interested in law school an all. Interested in STEM, maybe med. Absolutely, their major must be employable.

Kids don’t expect us to pay but it’s our duty. When we had kids, we planned and made sure we could pay for their education fully. And they are expected to pay for their kids. Doesn’t mean I tell them what to do or become enmeshed. Means our family keeps more money instead of paying the banks/govt.

But those of you who can afford to pay but choose not to and instead wish to be extra to banks/govt, that’s entirely your choice and someone else will surely enjoy your money.

Why would the extra money go to banks and the government? Why not just provide money to your kids directly and set them up with nice investment accounts.

If your kid has crap career prospects after undergrad and is only applying to law school because they somehow think that is the answer...well, wouldn't it actually be better to take the $300k and invest it for them and tell them to go find a job.

How is it better to hand that money over to a university and your kid comes out of graduate school with similarly crappy job prospects? Isn't your duty to try to ensure your kids are never in this situation from the start?