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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a successful lawyer and I don't recommend parents pay for law school for a few reasons. First, there is a lot of merit aid in law school for applicants with good stats. Second, there are lucrative law jobs for successful law grads. Third, many people who go to law school end up miserable--it turns out that they hate being a lawyer.

Given all that, I think it's important for people interested in law school to think carefully about what they are doing, whether they are suited to it, and whether it's something they actually want to do with their lives. Having "skin in the game" is important. And I also think the ability to get into a good law school, get merit aid, and the ability to decide how much prestige you are willing to pay for are all  obstacles that somebody who wants to be a lawyer should be able to overcome. If you can't get into a good law school, pay for it with loans or scholarships, or figure out how much risk you are willing to take on, I'm not sure law is really the right career for you.[/quote]

For context: I paid for T10 law school through a combination of merit aid and loans. I turned down higher ranked law schools to go to a law school where I got a substantial scholarship. My husband, also a lawyer, made a different decision (HYS over scholarship at a T10). I was able to pay off my loans in a few years after graduating, save up money for a down payment by working in big law, and pivot to a career that has been really meaningful to me. My husband took longer to pay off his loans, but he's also doing well now too. We are doing well financially and confident in our ability to take care of ourselves as adults--which is valuable in itself.

I think my parents could have helped pay for my law school tuition, but it honestly never occurred to me to ask them. If I ended up in big financial trouble somehow, I am sure they would have been able to act as a safety net, and that is something I am grateful for. But I'm glad not to have needed that help. [/quote]

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