Oh hey there,
So you just heard about what it’s like to have soul-crushing-cost-of-living debt over in LA, now you get to learn about having soul-crushing-grad-school debt. I’m your resident East Coast Dame, and while my cost-of-living is actually pretty good in the River City, my student loan debt could buy me a nice, pretty house.
Anyways, long story short, I went to a great in-state, public university where I graciously got scholarships and grants and graduated early, but I still fell short a little on money. Then, I worked full-time in the corporate world for a year to save money for grad school. I went to another great, mostly regional law school (again, with scholarships). Oh, and I worked part-time all the way through. Despite taking all of the advice ever given to us millenials about how to not end up with tons of student loans, I think those advice-givers forgot about one thing: tuition is expensive. And don’t get me started on the gross overpricing of law school and various law expenses like a bar prep course, bar exam fees, bar exam computer fees, your state dues once you pass the bar exam, and all the other things necessary to actually becoming a lawyer. You know what the worst part is? There are actually more expensive programs, like medical school.
Basically, what I’m here to tell you is that you can make your career dreams come true, but it’s going to take a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and an estimated 10-25 years of your life post-graduation. Your “East Coast, Best Coast” Dame is here to share the trials (sometimes, literally) and tribulations of trying to be a real adult, in the financial sense, with an ark-full (a boat seemed too small) of debt.
Peace, love, and lots of money,
ECD