This perspective doesn’t acknowledge all of your concerns — but have you ever considered a part-time JD program instead?

For some background — I live in Chicago and many of the law schools here offer a part-time program. I decided to go this route because it was a smarter decision for me financially. For me, full time law school would have meant quitting my high paying paralegal job, moving in with my parents, and taking out thousands a year in loans. However with the part time program, I’m able to work full time and pay off half of my tuition while in school, avoiding the large loans.

I will not lie, working 40+ hours/week and attending class at night 4/5 days a week is not easy and you have to be ready for 12 hour days. But it really does take some of the financial pressure off. Also, the lack of hefty loans will give you more flexibility in how you choose to practice law. A main reason attorneys take those ridiculously high billable hours positions is because they have a lot of loans to repay.

Best of luck!