Everything You Missed At Student Loan Entrance Counseling
The ever-lucid Matt Wakeman, Assistant Dean of Financial Aid, recently guided the newest class of hapless 1Ls through the labyrinthine and increasingly mercurial student loan process. 1Ls eager to answer the question, “Oh god what have I done” on the whole left the info session buoyed by a vague but ardent belief that things will generally work out. 2Ls and 3Ls interviewed for this piece concurred with a resounding “it really be like that.”
This year’s student loan borrowing guidance has changed dramatically from last year’s, owing to seismic shifts in the federal executive’s posture toward education borrowing. The first important change to note for the bleeding hearts among us is the narrowing of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). A recent Trump executive order now forbids students from qualifying for PSLF if their public service job substantially furthers “terrorism” or “child abuse.” Students who were planning on serving the public interest through these methods will be disappointed to hear that the elective courses A Lawyer’s Guide to Carbombing and Practicum in Shoving Toddlers have been cancelled in response to the order.
The second change briefly noted was the imminent collapse of the Department of Education (DOE). But honestly everyone in the room (and in the country) was a little out of their depth on that topic, so it went by mostly unspoken.
The third most important change to note is a dramatic restructuring of postgraduate repayment options. Until recently, graduates were required to choose from approximately $8.3 trillion repayment plans on offer by the DOE. Responding to popular frustration with this complex repayment system, the 119th Congress has narrowed down the repayment options to roughly one-third of one-half of one option. 1Ls confused about how this is even conceptually possible are reminded that they have, like, three years before it matters, so they should just chill out for now. And honestly who knows if the DOE will be around to collect on the debt anyway.
Dean Wakeman capped off the event with a daunting challenge to 1Ls: basic arithmetic. Students began by calculating an in-school budget, mulling over questions like, “How many Cookout milkshakes is it reasonable for me to buy per semester?” and, “How is it possible that one torts textbook costs the same as my monthly grocery budget?” The answers being, of course: (1) probably like fifty? And (2) just shut up and let the Invisible Hand slap you around a little. Some savvy investors in the crowd inquired whether we should dedicate any budget to investments, like mutual funds, Birkin bags, and Arabian racehorses. The answer is probably yes and that these are all very good investments, but everyone was frankly too cowardly to admit it.
Next, students projected their budgets as lawyers out in the real world. Some were shocked to learn that the “interest” on their loans was a mathematical reference and not an indication that their “high(ly) interest(ing)” loans were thinking of getting a cartilage piercing or writing a poem for a literary magazine. Some students were also shocked to learn that taxes exist and that we will eventually have to pay them (shoutout to the girl who audibly whispered “Jesus Christ” when she saw one-third of monthly gross pay deducted from her hypothetical Big Law paycheck). From reactions around the room, I’m guessing that the majority of 1L con law papers next semester will be about why the Sixteenth Amendment is actually fake and that faithful constitutional interpretation tells us that it at least surely doesn’t apply to lawyers.
Clever advice was sprinkled throughout the seminar that provided both opportunities and challenges to 1Ls seeking to economize. For example, the thriftiest among us were intrigued by a special deal that the Law School is running where the School will knock $3,000 off your annual tuition if you can stomach marrying a Virginian. As a Virginian myself (hi ;) ) I have mixed feelings about this promotion. While I’m fully on board with the concept of putting bounties on Virginians’ heads (of any kind), it’s just a little disappointing that it’s coming in the form of a bribe to get people to marry us.
The session eventually drew to a close, and the mass of students representing a debt load rivaling that of a small Baltic country shuffled out of the room feeling a little less apprehensive about loans and a lot more apprehensive about readings, softball practices, and the onslaught of club info sessions waiting for them on the other side of the door. The hour-long dose of big-boy financial realities quickly receded as we swelled into the arms of the academic playground that is ours for the next three years. Ask your favorite 3L and they will tell you to cherish it, as you should.
Contributor — Yousuf Rehman ’28
yousuf@virginia.edu