"Student loans aren't to be taken lightly - the hundreds of thousands of dollars prospective lawyers take out for school can set back other milestone life goals like owning a home, having children and buying groceries. For years, relatively low interest loans from the government were a godsend for students that wanted the career opportunities law could unlock but lacked the capital needed to fund their educations."
"For tens of thousands of aspiring lawyers, the math of paying for a U.S. law degree changes on July 1, 2026, when a new cap is set to limit federal loans for professional degree programs at $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total. The change could force more students to obtain higher-interest, non-dischargeable private loans in the coming months, seven law school administrators and education financing experts told Reuters, potentially shutting out lower-income students and increasing the overall price tag of a law degree...."
""We probably will have better answers come July 1, but there's still a lot of variables we don't know," said Joseph Lindsay, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where current tuition and living costs total $104,145 and students borrowed an average of $64,087 in federal funds last year."
Federal student loan limits for professional degrees will cap borrowing at $50,000 per year and $200,000 total starting July 1, 2026. Many law students attending expensive programs will face a shortfall between federal aid and actual tuition and living costs. The shortfall will likely push some students toward higher-interest, non-dischargeable private loans and raise the effective price of a law degree. Lower-income applicants may be shut out from top schools by reduced federal support. Private lenders stand to benefit from increased demand for their loans. Some prospective students may forgo prestige or choose different schools to avoid excessive private debt.
Read at Above the Law
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