Next month, the 2013 edition of the ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools (Official Guide) will hit the Internet (and maybe some store shelves). The Official Guide attempts to provide law school applicants with the “basic information in a simple format that will facilitate comparisons among schools [and] … information intended to help individuals prepare for the rigors and costs associated with attending law school.” (page i) Although many people will find it useful, the 2013 edition of the Official Guide will again omit one crucial piece of information: the average amount of student loan debt recent graduates at each law school have incurred (which says nothing of dropouts).
Instead, the Official Guide will likely give the same generic example it did last year, namely that $100,000 of debt translates to $1,187 per month in a 10-year standard repayment plan (which implies an interest rate of 7.5%). (page 36) This dearth of information creates a few problems for prospective law students, for they need the following information to effectively make the decision about law school:
