DISQUS

I attended the local community college, an upper division state university, and, finally, a state law school along the way I picked up an A.A., B.S., and J.D. One of the things I learned was that I did just as well, if not better in many cases, in law school as did the kids who had gone to more "prestigous" institutions. In fact, I had one close friend who graduated from the very prestigous and expensive University of Pennsylvania and took a class one summer at my community college. She reported that the community college used the same textbooks and covered the same subject matter as at Penn. She was amazed. The bottom line is that through scholarships, working while going to school, and "bargain" shopping, I graduated after 8 years with no debt and it only cost my parents was $200 in tuition and some of my living expenses.

In contrast, I hired a recent law school graduate who foolishly insisted on paying big money for private schools (because they were more "fun"). She has more than $100,000.00 in student loans. The monthly payments are $1000. Her starting salary was $40,000. She has to live with her parents to make ends meet.

You can get an education and a good job without going deep into debt, but you have to be wise about it.