<prompt> Human: Ill preface this post by saying that I would normally take this kind of question over to lawschooladmissions sub or an online forum like TopLawSchools or something. But those clusters of folks tend to be hyper focused on specific things that would derail the discussion from being a financial one. Thats been my experience at least. So I hope that is okay. So Ive been accepted to a number of really decent law schools and a really great one so far. Many of the really decent ones gave me a lot of scholarship, so much so that I may only have to worry about costs of living. The really great one - I dont think I need to conceal its identity, the University of Minnesota 23 in the nation gave me about half off tuition. When I estimate some of the cheaper schools in areas that I feel largely indifferent about working, Ill likely owe between 50k and 80k in student loans. Minnesota in a city I would love to work in would be between 110k and 130k, depending on some factors. Minnesotas median starting salary for an attorney in the private sector is 110,000. I may play it safe and assume I wouldnt get a job with better pay than their 25th percentile for grads, which is 97,000. None of the other schools come close to that. Some medians are as high as 70,000, but many are 60,000 or so. My question: Can I make this work? 100k in debt is something Ive always wanted to avoid. I have no debt of my own besides a 5k loan I took out to finish an otherwise completely free undergraduate education. But Minnesota is frankly my dream school and the outcomes for graduates not just salary but types of jobs and how far the degree could take you are muuuch greater than any of the financially safe schools. Im not too experienced with this sub, so if you need more info, please ask. I have recently a few months ago established credit, its good, and I pay everything off on time.  <response>: I took on that debt to go to law school. Not worth it. I know plenty of people earning more money than me with much less debt that went into other careers. If youre going to run your own firm, maybe. But then you need to have experience in running a business as well as being an attorney. It also matters a lot where youre looking to practice, both physically and area of law. Here in South Florida theres so, so many attorneys, that many attorneys out of law school earn less than a car sales guy with no education. I started at 42K, then 45K, then 60K and after 3.5 years Im at 75K bonuses. Sure, my choice of field also affects income, but there are very, very few jobs nowadays in the legal field where you start at 100K. So take your time and think about it. 