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Rising Tuition Costs and Money Management for Students (Part II)

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  6. Rising Tuition Costs and Money Management for Students (Part II)

published June 04, 2007

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( 4 votes, average: 3.9 out of 5)
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All is not lost, however. In recognition of the increasing financial obstacles that higher education presents for driven students, and of the fact that the success of our country's future depends on the education of its citizens, many organizations are picking up the slack by devising student assistance programs. The American Bar Association is the perfect poster organization for this type of response. Their Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs) are, according to the ABA website, "a type of back-end financial aid providing need-based aid to assist graduates working in lower-paying public service jobs" whose post-graduation incomes are not high enough for them to afford payments on the student loan debt that they accrued during their law school educations. Programs like this exist for a number of public service professions, including teaching, and offer encouragement for students who see the importance of such professions yet are turned off by the prospect of being unable to pay the bills once they start working.

The ABA boasts that about 56 law schools in eight states, as well as a few public service employers, have adopted LRAPs. The creation of LRAPs was spurred by the concern felt by the ABA that "high educational debt prevents many law graduates from pursuing or staying in public service jobs." The ABA feels that, because of educational debt, many students are forced to sacrifice their dreams of pursuing public service legal careers and their aspirations to serve their communities by delivering legal services to clients who cannot support six-figure salaries in return for legal advocacy. As the ABA laments, the average cost of tuition at public law schools rose by 134% between 1992 and 2002, and private law schools' tuition rates were not far behind, registering a 76% increase between those years. The LRAPs are the ABA's attempt to alleviate some of the burden, and it hopes they will "provide and preserve choices for law graduates." The ABA also notes that the existence of LRAPs can be an effective recruiting point for law schools. "Law schools," the ABA affirms, "should cultivate a student body with diverse career plans" by providing LRAPs.


Specifically, LRAPs help students by providing loan forgiveness, lower interest rates on loans, and deferred payments on loans for law school grads taking law-related public interest jobs. There is usually an income limit for qualifying students, and there are a number of different types of LRAPs offered by law schools, state bar foundations, and federal and state governments. The ABA approximates that many law students have post-graduation debts of at least 80,000 dollars, which translate to 900-dollar monthly payments on standard 10-year repayment plans. Although there is no doubt that LRAPs provide valuable assistance in dealing with "mortgage-size debts," the ABA laments that the number of LRAPs offered has not increased enough over the past five years to keep up with the skyrocketing debt of law students, which has more than doubled during the same period of time.

Other groups are also stepping up to the plate to offer student assistance. LawCrossing located one such organization in Texas: Grad Resources. This organization is dedicated to serving the needs of graduate and professional students, and it does so by offering a number of support services. As its website explains, Grad Resources administers informative seminars and workshops to offer advice and help students develop useful qualities such as time-management skills and academic integrity. Special events are sponsored by the organization to bring attention to the issues faced by grad students and to provide opportunities for networking. Grad Resources also has a hotline called the National Graduate Student Crisis Line (877-GRAD-HLP), which provides round-the clock counseling and intervention. "E-mentors" are also available to help students online, and they provide local help in Seattle, Michigan, and Austin. Although much of the assistance provided by Grad Resources is practical, the organization also offers spiritual and philosophical support for students who are concerned about deeper issues such as purpose, identity, and worldview. Grad Resources can be reached at 800-867-0188 or at info@gradresources.org.

Despite the growing assortment of resources available to students, the best way to guard against financial hardship may be to take preventive measures from the very beginning. The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) offers advice to help Americans quiet ever-present concerns about the financial security of their futures. Its website, which provides help in the areas of financial planning, credit and debt, saving, investing, and retirement, offers a set of 10 basic steps for "getting smart about money." These are:
  1. Get organized.
  2. Know where your money goes.
  3. Shop smarter.
  4. Look at your debt.
  5. Reduce your debt.
  6. Build a strong credit report.
  7. Save for your future.
  8. Set financial goals.
  9. Create a spending plan.
  10. Invest money to reach your goals.
Methods and tips for achieving these crucial steps are elaborated upon on the NEFE website.

Although the list above holds helpful pieces of advice for anyone looking to protect his or her financial future, planning ahead is particularly important for graduate students. LawCrossing spoke with the financial aid director of one popular grad school. She said that the number-one financial mistake made by grad students is not protecting financial health, especially by accruing credit card debt. The best tip she had to offer for helping students remain in good financial standing was simply to pay bills on time. This financial aid expert agreed that the number of students with unstable finances has risen greatly in the past few years due to the rising costs of tuition. At her college, she estimated that 89% of the student body is receiving financial aid, mostly in the form of student loans. However, as explained in the first part of this article, with the continued escalation of interest rates on student loans and the upward spiral of tuition costs, financial aid remains an increasingly inadequate form of relief for students.
  1. Legal Jobs
  2. Legal Articles
  3. Law Students
  4. Law Student Career Advice
  5. Surviving Law School
  6. Rising Tuition Costs and Money Management for Students (Part II)

published June 04, 2007

( 4 votes, average: 3.9 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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