Boston Law Student Wants a Tuition Refund
October 22, 2010
A third-year student at Boston College Law School recently posted a letter online, offering to leave law school without a degree in exchange for a full tuition refund.
The letter, which was written anonymously and posted on EagleiOnline, the school's online student-run newspaper, noted that the majority of law students are facing a dismal job market. "We are discouraged, scared, and in many cases, feeling rather hopeless about our chances of ever getting to practice law," he wrote.
The student added that his wife is expecting a baby, and he goes to bed every night "terrified of the thought of trying to provide for my child AND paying off my J.D., and resentful at the thought that I was convinced to go to a law school by empty promises of a fulfilling and remunerative career."
"I'd like to propose a solution to this problem:" the student continued. "I am willing to leave law school, without a degree, at the end of this semester. In return, I would like a full refund of the tuition I've paid over the last two and a half years." The student pointed out that his solution would also benefit the school, since it would help BC's U.S. News & World Report ranking by not having to report another graduate's unemployment.
Needless to say, Boston College is unlikely to consider the student's offer. "As a Jesuit law school we are deeply concerned about the job prospects and general well-being of our students and our recent graduates," said Nate Kenyon, BC's director of communications, whose statement was quoted by ABC News. He acknowledged that the legal job market is the worst that it's been in the past 70 years.
"But no institution of higher education can make a guarantee of a job after graduation," Kenyon continued. "What we can do is provide the best education possible, and work together to provide as many career opportunities as possible."
Glen Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee, told the Boston Herald that the letter probably would not result in a tuition refund, but it "underscores the plight" of many law school graduates who took on mountains of debt with the expectation of eventually landing a good paying job.
"Now, they have all these student loan debts that they can't even escape in bankruptcy and their employment prospects look a lot bleaker than they looked when they were enrolled," he said.
Compiled by BrainTrack.com Staff
Sources:
"BC Law Student Asks for Money Back," Boston Herald, October 20, 2010, Jessica Heslam
"Open Letter to Interim Dean Brown," EagleiOnline.com, October 15, 2010
"Unemployed Law School Student Pens Letter to Dean Asking for His Tuition Money Back," ABC News, October 21, 2010, Emily Friedman
