Debt

I'm always surprised to hear about people turning down big money at one law school to attend some place a little more prestigious. One of the most bewildering to me is a girl who said she turned down a full-ride at Cal to attend Penn. You can listen to her talk about it yourself here. She just off hand mentions that she'll just take a little longer to pay off her loans and attend the school that she really liked. I'm all for going someplace that feels right, but turning down free tuition? That's like turning down a free house!

This blase attitude to student debt is alarming to me. People are essentially betting their future on getting a high paying job when they finish law school. I want to go to law school, but I do not want to purchase a second house to do it. (My wife and I paid ~$125K for our first house. That's less than what it costs to attend most law schools.) This post at The Personal MBA blog makes some very nice points about the purpose (and burdens) of debt. His B school examples are valid for law school as well. Are you really all that different from an indentured servant if you have to work 100+ hours a week at a Big Law firm to pay for law school loans?