A recent report on law school tuition shocked those of a certain age: having been admitted to the school(s) of their choice, students at many of the top schools in 2022 now face the challenge of how to pay the $100,000 plus annual tuition and board bill. The average appears to be two-thirds of that — small comfort.

There is hope, though. Two top schools, Yale and Stanford, this year announced that students with family and personal assets and income below a certain level would have tuition forgiven. For other students at these and other law schools, as many as half will receive financial assistance to allow them to attend; loans may be delayed or forgiven for those who take public interest jobs. Even then, the burden of work-study or loan programs may be a significant deterrent to attending. The debt burden carried by new graduates explains much of the draw to large corporate/international law firms with starting salaries exceeding $200,000.