<p>obv. school is expensive and most come out with a hefty loan. The difference in salary in public sector compared to private can be quite a bit. how much does loan amount affect the amount of grads taking public sector work over private? i ask because i think i might be interested in public work, but if i have a huge loan, I don't know if I "could afford it."</p>
<p>There are several ways…</p>
<p>Some law schools, especially top private law schools, have loan forgiveness programs or income protection programs. You pay back your loan each year based on your income. I haven’t checked in a couple of years now, but Harvard’s used to provide that you paid nothing if you earned less than about $46,000 a year, a gradually increasing percentage of your income up to about $82,000, and the full amount over that. The celilings are indexed to the cost of living and thus are adjusted upwards over time. </p>
<p>Yale has a similar program, but it does count spousal income. On the flipside, Yale’s program has NO restrictions on the type of employment. You could go work for a small private law rirm in a rural area and only have to pay back a share of the loan based on your income—no need to prove it’s public interest work. </p>
<p>Harvard also has a program whereby students who have ACCEPTED public interest jobs for post-grad employment do not have to pay any tuition for their third year and never have to pay that year’s tuition as long as they work in the public interest for a certain # of years. </p>
<p>Some other law schools have a modified version of the above whereby a certain # of slots in each class are reserved for public interest lawyer wanna bes. You pay reduced or no tuition, but sign a contract saying that you will repay the $ if you don’t end up going into public service. Many of these let you get year by year credit. (So, if you take a public interest job for 3 years, you won’t have to pay all or part of the loan. If you then take a private job, you start having to pay.) Others are all or nothing–you do public interest for 10 years, you owe nothing. Quit at any time during those 10 years and you owe the entire amount. </p>
<p>Some students take the merit money or go to less expensive public Us.</p>
<p>Students who don’t have access to these programs usually spread their loan payments over a greater # of years–up to 30. You pay back a LOT more money because of itnerest charges, but the monthly payments are smaller.</p>
<p>While most of the T14 law schools have some form of loan forgiveness programs for graduates who choose to work in the public interest after graduation, many students find that they don’t qualify at some point before their student loans are completely paid off, either because spousal income is counted, because loan forgiveness programs are scaled back or changed (I hear that this is being contemplated at at least a couple of law schools) or because one changes careers at some point in the future, either by choice or because the current employer no longer has funding/no longer needs the employee. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, regardless of any loan forgiveness programs, it can be difficult to live on a lower income for many years into the future, especially as one wants to purchase a home, get married and start a family. It can be even more difficult to live on a lower income knowing that one could earn a much higher salary by choosing a different career path based on an already-obtained education.</p>
<p>The tremendous amount of loans that burden many law school graduates do indeed often influence the career decisions that those law school graduates make. I, myself, know many law school graduates who had grand ideas of the wonderful career they would have helping others through public interest work after graduation, who ended up working at private law firms because the money they would make in public interest just wouldn’t pay the bills.</p>
<p>A gentleman I know works for a big, private firm in Philadelphia. In his spare time he’s become very involved in the anti-defamation league. The latter satisfies his interest in using his skills to provide for a more just world. The former pays his bills.</p>
<p>in addition to school-sponsored loan repayment programs:</p>
<p>a) some jobs include a loan repayment component. There are public interest fellowships that pay off loans for the 2 years you do them. Some government jobs (military and civilian) offer assistance too.</p>
<p>b) There’s also a federal law which says if you make 120 monthly payments while employed at a nonprofit (they don’t have to be 120 consecutive payments, so you can move in and out of public interest) the rest of your federal loans will be forgiven. It doesn’t have to be a legal-related job, and the payments can be on the income-based or income-contingent method. Here’s a good site on that: [College</a> Cost Reduction and Access Act ? Public Service Loan Forgiveness | Equal Justice Works](<a href=“http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/resources/student-debt-relief/public-service-loan-forgiveness]College”>http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/resources/student-debt-relief/public-service-loan-forgiveness)</p>
<p>also, some people come from rich families who pay for law school.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information, guys. I appreciate it.</p>
<p>"also, some people come from rich families who pay for law school. "</p>
<p>I recommend this plan, if you can swing it.</p>
<p>Be sure to carefully review whatever loan repayment program a school has. They may only enroll a small number of students (as is often the case at lower-ranked schools with more limited resources and lots of students in public interest jobs) and may only end up saving you much if you plan to have a very low salary for a long time.</p>