I just finished law school at Hastings in california and have been admitted to Georgetown’s Masters of public policy in D.C.

My current debt is 150,000 from law school and undergraduate loans. I recently received my financial aid from Georgetown and it was all loans totaling 40,000, each year, for three years. This is compromised of Unsub Direct loan and grad plus loans. This will put my student loan debt to 270,000.

I have no credit card debt. And all my other previous school loans range from Direct sub/unsub, federal Perkins and grad plus loans.

Is having this much debt still manageable? Or is it not worth getting the degree? Is this debt worth getting a degree from a school like Georgetown? I still intend to enter the public service workforce and/or nonprofit world and/or doing some international work after this schooling.

I am having serious doubts and reconsidering my admission to Georgetown because of the debt. But also thought posting here maybe helpful.

Hello.  My name is James and I am Heather’s Communications Director (and husband).  As you noted, excessive student loan debt can have lifelong consequences in terms of possibly limiting you from taking on a mortgage, paying for your children’s education, buying a car, etc., due to your high debt-income ratio.  You mentioned that you plan to enter public service and/or a nonprofit so Public Service Loan Forgiveness could be a possibility for you as well.  For PSLF, borrowers earn forgiveness by making payments.  A borrower has to make the right kind of payments, on the right kind of loans, while working in the right kind of job.  For more about that, start by reading through Public Service Loan Forgiveness in 5 Easy Steps and the other one-pagers on our tools page under Essential Tools for Student Loan Borrowers.

As you may know, because of laws preventing attorneys from practicing law outside of their licensed jurisdictions, Heather cannot provide personalized legal advice to you without first formally associating with local counsel in your state.  She is only able to give you general legal information, hence she can’t advise you as to whether or not you should go to Georgetown.

Best to you in your decision.

With kind regards,

James D. Jarvis
Communications Director
Heather Jarvis, Student Loan Expert LLC