A couple of months ago, about eight years after graduating from law school, I used my tax refund to pay off the remainder of my law school loans. It felt amazing. I have a few student loans left from undergrad, and I’m on track to pay those in full by the end of this year. (I paid the law school loans first because their interest rate was higher.) Watching the balances shrink as I’ve thrown money at them has been exhilarating, and I’m excited to be able to focus more on saving and meeting other big financial goals going forward. I began attending college in 2002, and more than sixteen years later, I’m finally almost finished paying for it.
It’s undeniable that the rapidly rising student loan numbers are a problem of national significance, and I hope we continue to have important conversations about what can be done to improve the situation for the sake of our country’s financial well-being. But amidst all the talk about defaults and young people shouldering crippling debt, it’s important to recognize that student loans do serve a purpose. I am a student loan success story, and I imagine that there are many others out there.
Student loans are what allowed me to achieve the fabled American Dream — literally. I was a first-generation college student. As a kid, I was smart and academically inclined, and my parents always encouraged and expected me to go to college. But when the time came to apply and enroll, there wasn’t any money to pay for it. Fortunately, my high school academic performance and SAT score had qualified me for merit-based aid in addition to need-based grants and a work-study job, but those funds didn’t cover the full amount of tuition, room, and board. We borrowed (both student and parent loans) to pay for the rest.
I could have made different decisions that might have reduced my total debt burden, such as starting at a community college or attending a school close to home so I could live with my parents for free. I’m glad I didn’t do those things, though, because my undergraduate experience was truly transformative. I’ve often said that I would not be the person I am today had I not stepped out of my comfort zone and attended a small, single-sex school in another state with a dynamic student body and robust alumni network, where I was challenged to think differently and push myself every step of the way. I left college with well-honed critical thinking and communication skills and the confidence to make my way in the world. I’d also forged wonderful friendships with people who continue to inspire me to this day. To me, college was worth the cost.
My first full-time salary was a tiny bit more than the total amount I owed in student loans at that point. Though I didn’t know it then, I had complied with the advice of many experts not to borrow more than you expect to make in your first year after graduation. I only stayed in that job for a year before deferring most of my undergraduate loans and matriculating in law school. I was again awarded a scholarship and negotiated a larger one. Even so, for the next three years, I borrowed the maximum amount allowed for federal student loans. I didn’t approach my loans as intelligently as I should have. I didn’t calculate what my payments would look like after graduation. I just knew that I needed money and assumed that my degree would allow me to earn enough to pay the bills later. I started law school in 2007, when jobs in the legal field were still abundant. Although I may not have been entirely prudent in my borrowing, in a way, it’s good that I didn’t crunch the numbers and let the sticker shock scare me away. Immediately after graduating from law school, I was earning three and a half times what I had made in that first job after college. I now make more than four times as much, and I’m pretty close to the median in my field. Even though I haven’t pursued the highest-paying legal jobs, my monetary return on investment has been phenomenal — far in excess of what I would have earned by investing the same amount of money in the stock market.
This is something I tell my colleagues who discourage young people from attending law school. Yes, seven years of post-secondary education is expensive in the U.S., and many lawyers end up in stressful jobs they find unfulfilling. But it is very possible to find (or create) a legal job you love, and obtaining a law degree will pay lifelong dividends in terms of earning potential. In my mid-twenties, I was earning more than either of my parents did at the end of their careers. Once my debt is repaid, I will be able to enjoy many more years of high and increasing income if I choose. Student loans made this socioeconomic mobility possible for me.
Perhaps even more importantly, student loans have allowed me to build a career in which I feel empowered. I can use my degree and my skills to the benefit of others and to bring about change. I can contribute to society in a meaningful way. I enjoy the work that I do now. But if that were to change, or if I found myself without a job, I could work for myself. My law degree and licensure would allow me to set up a website and start working directly for clients. I never really need to worry about finding myself unemployed. After watching my father lose his job in his mid-fifties and experiencing the toll it took on him individually and on our family, knowing that I will always be able to support myself without relying on an employer is incredibly important to me.
I didn’t put my life on hold to repay my loans, despite the fact that deferring certain expenses would have allowed me to pay them back sooner. I still bought a house, got married, had a child, took vacations, paid off other debt, and saved for retirement. I didn’t want to let aggressive student loan repayment make me miss important opportunities, so I managed to make all of these things happen at once. But my monthly loan payments did train me to live below my means and avoid excessive lifestyle inflation. When my loans are gone for good, I plan to funnel all the money I’ve been used to paying toward my loans into savings instead. Doing so should allow me to make big strides toward long-term financial security.
I know that in addition to hard work, determination, and talent, my success is due in no small part to being in the right place at the right time. Borrowing so much money was a gamble, and while it worked out well for me, not everyone is so lucky. I’m not suggesting that anyone should take out huge student loans without seriously thinking about how the debt might impact them in the future. But sometimes the reward really does justify the risk, and I think the calculated risk of borrowing money to pay for higher education is often worth taking. Yes, I’m eager to shed the financial weight of my student loans, but I’m also really glad I had them. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
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