LSSSE in the News

Law school students who expect to owe more than $80,000 in student loan debt by the time they graduate are more likely to experience high levels of stress or anxiety while attending school, and their plight is becoming the norm — especially at private law schools. That’s according to a survey of more than 20,000 students attending 80 law schools in the U.S. and Canada, conducted annually by Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research.

An increasing number of law school students expect a hike in debt and debt-related stress, according to findings from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE), a ten-year study conducted by the Indiana University Center for Post Secondary Research.

The cost of a higher education has increased significantly over the last several years, and law school is no exception. But the proportion of law students who say they’re expecting to take on high levels of student loan debt has spiked in the last decade, according to a new report.

Education opens doors. In law schools, we have tried for decades to open one particular door: the one that welcomes more minority graduates into the profession. In some ways, we have succeeded admirably.

Law students are borrowing more and feeling more stress about that borrowing, according to the latest edition of the Law School Survey of Student Engagement, released today.

The highly regarded Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) just added an alarming data point to this analysis. LSSSE reports that 52% of law students with the lowest LSAT scores (145 or less) expect to incur over $120,000 of debt for their legal education. In contrast, only 20% of students with LSATs above 155 will owe that much.

A report published recently by Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research — based on its annual Law School Survey of Student Engagement — details the impact of debt on law students. The reports paints a grim picture that is getting steadily worse: 30% of 2015 survey respondents expect to owe in excess of $120,000, compared to “just” 16% in 2006.

New research has found a correlation between race and law student debt, as well as a correlation between LSAT score and law school debt. Considers these facts: 44% expect to owe more than $100K when they graduate, and 30% think that their debt load will be over $120,000.

According to a recent survey of almost 22,000 students, just over 40 percent of law school students fully expect to have over $100,000 in loans when they graduate. Sixty-seven percent of those expect to have at least an additional $20,000 more.

Black and Latino law students are suffering the most stress levels associated with law school debt, suggests a survey. Law school debt levels are rising, and so is law student stress. But, in a finding that won't surprise many, minority and low-income students suffer the most.