The introduction to the collection of papers produced for or generated by a 1988 symposium titled "Law Student Debt, the Salary 'Gap' and Their Impact on the Legal Profession" notes the response of New York University (which adopted a loan forgiveness program) to the dilemma posed by the symposium. (DB)

Three law students at New York University (NYU) detail components and implementation of NYU's loan assistance program for graduates with low earnings (usually employed by public interest firms, the government, or small firms). NYU's program is intended to preserve student body diversity and minimize debt concerns as a factor in career choice.…

The paper reviews and critiques the 13 existing (1987) law school assistance programs and proposes a national repayment-assistance debt-forgiveness program which would involve an income-contingent repayment "tax" coupled with an assurance to creditors of repayment by means of a "guarantee" or "insurance" fund. (DB)

The article presents an econometric analysis of the interrelationships between law school tuition levels, law school quality, law faculty salaries, and the starting salaries of graduates. It then analyzes recent data and concludes that, while tuition increases have outpaced starting salaries, law school attendance is still a good investment.…

The financial aspects of college loan burden are analyzed, based on the view that loan burden is a function of a borrower's capacity to repay the debt obligation. The following components of a financial model of indebtness are addressed: the stock of education loans at the time repayment begins, the repayment flow associated with each stock of…

The paper details likely incomes and living costs of law graduates as related to educational costs and debts. Concern is expressed about the deterrent effect of potential high debt on minorities and an approach to financial aid which would take minority status into account is urged. (Author/DB)

This study examined college graduates' earnings and indebtedness one year after graduation. First, data from the first follow-up of the Baccalaureate & Beyond study (which followed a nationally representative sample of baccalaureate graduates from 1993) were used to describe the earnings distribution of full-time workers from various academic…