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Student Debt Relief: The Top 20 Law Schools with Debt Forgiveness Programs

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There is no denying the fact that law school is dreadfully expensive and that after graduating from a four-year undergraduate college, the last thing any student wants to do is take out another daunting set of educational loans. In a recent interview with Bloomberg Law, Paul Campos, professor of law at University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law, explains in great detail how financially detrimental law school can be for some students.

Alleviate student debt with Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

Tacking law school loans on to those from undergraduate education has incurred an average educational debt of somewhere between $125,000 and $130,000. Campos goes on to tell Bloomberg Law that incoming 1Ls this September will graduate with around $150,000 of educational debt.

With such a low percentage of people acquiring jobs straight out of law school that justify these high debt levels, it is more important than ever to do your research and to understand why it is that you want to go to law school. These initial steps will help you make an informed decision about where you want go and how much you are willing to pay for your legal education.

For those of you who have aspirations to attend a T-1 law school and enter big law for the high paying jobs, god bless you – if you can land one of those jobs, your educational investment will have been worth it from a pure “ROI” perspective; but what about students going to law school to make an impact in public interest law, or the not-for-profit sector? There is far less money to be made in these honorable endeavors. Does that mean you have to be independently wealthy – or attend law school on a full scholarship – in order to make a difference?

Fortunately, for these types of students, many law schools, state and local bar associations, and federal and state lawmakers forgive the loans of students who serve in public interest or non-profit positions. Through Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP), aid is given to graduates in the form of a forgivable loan to help them repay their annual educational debt. Upon completion of the required service obligation, the LRAP administrator will forgive or cancel these loans to program participants.

To help jump-start your research on the various types of financial aid for law school graduates working in the public interest sector, government, or other low-paying fields, we have compiled a list of links to the top 20 law schools that offer Loan Repayment Assistance Programs:

  1. Yale Law School
  2. Stanford University School of Law
  3. Harvard Law School
  4. Columbia University School of Law
  5. University of Chicago Law School
  6. New York University School of Law
  7. University of California Berkeley School of Law
  8. University of Pennsylvania Law School
  9. University of Virginia School of Law
  10. University of Michigan Law School
  11. Duke University School of Law
  12. Northwestern University School of Law
  13. Georgetown University Law Center
  14. Cornell University Law School
  15. UCLA School of Law
  16. University of Texas at Austin School of Law
  17. Vanderbilt Law School
  18. University of Southern California Gould School of Law
  19. George Washington University School of Law
  20. University of Washington School of Law

For a full directory of law schools that offer Loan Repayment Assistance Programs and more information regarding public interest employment, visit the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono & Public Service.