I keep running into the same notion on this sub: "Attending HYS etc. is worth it at sticker price over going to [INSERT T14 or T20 with similar if not identical exit outcomes] with $$$".

I'd kindly like to point out a few things:

• ~300k is a lot of money.
  • This is a down payment on a house. Or six nice cars. Invested in the S&P 500 for 30 years, this would nearly guarantee an early, comfortable retirement.
  • This debt will incur interest, and rates will not be as low as they were the in early 2020s (federal loan rates will likely continue hovering around ~8%).
• Junior associate Biglaw salary is not the same as discretionary spend.
  • You may make ~$250k. But your take home after taxes, 401k, insurance, COL expenses etc. will likely be ~70k annually.
  • Even if you're disciplined, and put all ~70k toward debt repayment each year (unlikely), that ~8% APY in interest will fight against you every day.
  • Your hypothetical ~70k loan payment will really only be worth about ~50k, because -- even if your 300k loan is only accruing simple ~8% interest -- it will still accrue ~20k per year.
    • Note: The above bullet assumes you only took out federal loans, which is unlikely (private loans compound, and charge more interest).
• A lot of people quickly burn out or are fired from Biglaw positions and never achieve 300k paydays.
  • I direct you to the r/biglaw sub for further reading.

TLDR: If you go to a school at sticker price, you may be financially treading water for a long time afterward and will never reap the rewards of a stressful career. A lot of schools across the T20 (and beyond) offer similar opportunities (note: 100 firms pay Cravath scale, their work product is indistinguishable, and they hire from a variety of different schools) and the marginal, superficial benefit of going to a school ranked higher by U.S News website editors will not outweigh the financial burden that could follow you around for a decade plus.

If you intend on incurring significant debt, have a clear justification for doing so and a plan to pay it off. When you're a staff attorney at Meta, Walmart or Hines Ketchup in 20 years, few people will care whether you went to Stanford, Georgetown, or George Washington.