Price of Success

I have wanted to go to law school for as long as I can remember.  When I gave up my childhood dream of being a veterinarian (which I gave up when we had to put my first pet to sleep), and after I realized that it would be difficult to make a living as a freelance writer, "lawyer" was the first and only other profession that I considered.  I am so happy that I got into WVU's College of Law, and it has been an amazing experience. I've done better than I thought that I would, and I have had more fun than I could have ever hoped for. I have been fortunate enough to make the National Moot Court Team, serve as the PR Liaison for the Moot Court Board, work in the Child & Family Law Clinic, and serve as a class officer in my second year.  To top all of that off, I landed a job after graduation as an Associate at an amazing, widely-respected defense litigation firm in my hometown of Charleston.

Unfortunately, all of that comes at a price.  Now, let me preface the rest of this post with a disclaimer: I am extremely fortunate - My parents have helped me in ways for which I can never repay them - I am also incredibly fortunate to have gotten hired by an amazing law firm that is reimbursing me for several of the expenses that I am about to discuss - I am well-aware that many students have had it harder - I also understand that there are thousands of people in world with FAR bigger problems, and I am not insensitive to that fact.  I am just writing this post to address the very real problem that is the cost of college, grad school, profesional certifications, etc.

Now, with all of that being said, I have recently learned just how much law school/actually becoming a lawyer costs the in-state WVU law student hoping to practice in WV.  Yesterday, I submitted my bar application.  I have to send the State Bar a copy of a recent credit report, so I got online and requested one of my three free credit reports for the year.  What I learned made me a little bit nauseous.  I will graduate owing $90,000 in student loans.  To me, that is a lot of money.  As I mentioned in my disclaimer, my parents have helped me a LOT, and I was extremely fortunate to have them pay all of my living expenses in undergrad.  I was also lucky enough to have my entire undergrad tuition paid by the State of West Virginia through the Promise Scholarship. So, that $90,000 debt is just from three years of law school at an in-state, public law school.  Even though this price tag causes me a bit of stress, I cannot imagine what my classmates who are paying out-of-state tuition are facing. I cannot even begin to imagine the stress on my colleagues who are paying out-of-state tuition and ALSO have undergrad loans to tackle.

And that's just the beginning.  To apply to the WV State Bar, the applicant has to send an application to the National Conference of Bar Examiners and the State Bar. Grand total for the application process thus far:  $600.  That isn't so bad, right?  It really isn't that bad, and I am sure that other professions and other state bars require more.

Then comes the bar review course . . . From what I have heard, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to pass the bar exam (which is required to practice law) without taking the bar-review course.  For those of you who do not know what the bar exam entails, it requires memorization of every aspect of 13 subjects/areas of law. The WV exam consists of multiple choice questions, essay questions, and practical writing assignments, all under extremely tight time constraints. So, again, the bar review course is basically required.  I enrolled this week - after taxes - almost $2,900.

And I'm still going.  We also had a graduation fair last week at the school. The cost of our "hood" (we don't have caps, we have hoods) and gown, after taxes, $140.  The diploma frames cost $125 - $200.  I didn't even bother looking at class rings or graduation announcements.  My announcement will likely be made by phone call to my friends & family members!

Those are just the fees and expenses that I have encountered so far.  So, when I walk at my graduation on May 14, I will have spent approximately $93,700 to get my J.D. and attempt admission to the Bar.  I'm sure that I am probably on the lower-end of the debt spectrum.  Again, I am so fortunate to have had my parents' help in undergrad and my firm's assistance with bar application fees and review courses. I am also an in-state student. So, I will try to keep my complaining at a minimum.

The main reason that I am writing this post and that I am frustrated with the amount of money it costs to become a practicing attorney is this:  how many more attorneys (and doctors, dentists, pharmacists, physical therapists, etc.) would we have if these costs WEREN'T a necessary evil to overcome in order to achieve our goals?  And for students who will do anything to achieve their goals, especially those without the assistance that I have been fortunate enough to receive, they are rewarded with the daunting task of repaying $100,000 + of loans for the next however many years.  Also, this isn't the greatest job market to be graduating in. Jobs are difficult to come by, and I think that there is a misconception that all lawyers make a lot of money right out of the gate.  That is not the case for every attorney.  However, no matter what your starting salary, your debt is the same.

I am only talking about law school because that is the only experience that I have had.  I am sure that it is the same for any profession that requires more than a four-year degree.  For that matter, people are forced to undergo a great deal of debt in a shaky economy and questionable job market to get their four-year degree.  To people who take on this debt because they want to better themselves and achieve a personal career goal, kudos! We need that determination in this country.

I guess, as my dad would say, "the bottom line is" we need our lawmakers to do SOMETHING to help the youth of this country attend college and professional graduate programs without digging themselves into a hole that will take a lifetime to fill.  We need more scholarship opportunities.  More loan-forgiveness programs. We need more companies to offer certain services, so that students can choose a less-expensive alternative. While I understand that Universities are businesses, too, I really wish that I understood how tuition has risen as much as it has.

At the end of the day, it is all worth it.  To bite off of the credit card commercials: J.D. and Bar Admission, $93,700.  Achieving my life-long goal of becoming an attorney, priceless.