LSSSE Insights Blog

In each survey year, respondents who expected to owe more than $120,000 were noticeably less likely to respond favorably to the satisfaction questions. In 2006, 75% of these respondents had favorable views of their law school experiences, compared to the overall rate of 80%. Similar differences were observed in 2011 and 2015.

For each LSAT grouping, the proportion of respondents who expected to owe more than $120,000 was higher in 2015 than in 2006. But the intensity of these increases was greater for respondents with LSAT scores of 155 or below.

In 2006, there were only marginal racial and ethnic differences in expectations of more than $100,000 in debt. In 2015, however, intense disparities were observed, with 61% of black respondents and 56% of Latino respondents expecting debt at this level, compared to about 40% of white and Asian respondents.

In 2006, 38% of private school respondents expected to owe more than $100,000; in 2011 and 2015, that proportion exceeded 50%. While high-debt expectations were lower among respondents attending public law schools, the increases over the survey years were more dramatic.

In 2006, 32% of respondents expected to incur more than $100,000 in debt during their law school matriculation. By 2011, that proportion had increased to 44%, a level at which it remained in 2015. The differences in expected debt were particularly acute at the highest level—more than $120,000. Roughly 30% of respondents in both 2011 and 2015 expected debt above $120,000, compared to 16% in 2006.