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by archangel_one 5635 days ago
I think it is also a significant indicator that he has $16,500 in credit card debt which he also can't pay off. That sounds to me more like he has serious problems around understanding his financial responsibilities than a law student who was required to rack up a large student loan but was doing their best to control it.

I am not convinced by some of the indignant tone of the article either - maybe they have no right to tell him what he should be doing with his life, but surely the whole point of the bar exam is that they have the right to decide if he's the kind of person they want to allow to pass the bar?

2 comments

That's about $5,000/year while enrolled in law school. Is it _that_ bad?
Usually the financial aid office includes (extra) generous allowances for food, travel, and rent expenses that may be included in your student loans. Any credit card debt is on top of all of that.
He has a daughter and might be supporting his mother as well. My parents raised me and my sister off of student loans and credit cards while they were going to school. I think it is pretty common if you have a family to raise.
The article seemed to mention that he was not contributing to the family's expenses.
We obviously don't know whether his loans included those expenses, or not. Even if they did, we don't know if unexpected expenses came up; for instance, those related to having a daughter. Nor is it our business, or the Ohio Supreme Court's.
I've got to say I agree. In my last job, I trained a guy fresh out of law school to be a pizza delivery boy. From what I learned from him, law school is extremely expensive and you're in a tough spot after graduating and waiting for your bar exam, but he was still capable and determined to make enough money to keep himself afloat. Even as a pizza boy, he was making more than $12, and working more than 24-32 hours per week. I don't see any martyr here, and the entitled tone of the article doesn't help the argument either.