Where to Get Your JD, ASAP

(NEWSER) - The sluggish economy has more law firms deferring offers of positions to graduating law students, Time reports. The idle young lawyers join more than 3,000 attorneys who have lost jobs since January 2008; the industry is expected to earn up to 10% less this year than last. One upside: Firms are offering as much as $75,000 to those who defer for a year. More»

Lots of new grads, but big salaries are hard to come by

(NEWSER) - Lawyers are entering the work force in record numbers, but demand—and salaries—aren't keeping up. Law schools advertise six-figure starting salaries for grads, but these wages materialize only for those from elite schools or at the top of their class, the Wall Street Journal reports. For the rest, $20-an-hour contract work may be the best they'll get. More»

Education linked to better health, longevity

(NEWSER) - Sure, college costs a lot of money and you won’t necessarily get a job after you graduate, but good news! At least you'll live longer in your loan-induced poverty, because higher education is linked to longer life. An annual report from the CDC shows that those who obtain a bachelor’s degree or above live about nine more years than those who never graduate high school. Education is also linked to other healthy habits, USA Today reports: More»

Calls Obama academic 'snob'

(NEWSER) - Rick Santorum has a bone to pick with college. This weekend, he called President Obama "a snob" for wanting "everybody in America to go to college"—perhaps a bit strange coming from a man with more degrees than the president, the Washington Post notes. Added Santorum: “There are good decent men and women who go out and work hard every day that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor trying to indoctrinate them." On ABC yesterday, Santorum noted that "a lot" of Americans "have no desire or no aspiration to go to college." More»

Money invested will be paid back, and then some: Henry M. Levin and Cecilia E. Rouse

(NEWSER) - In his State of the Union address , President Obama called on all states to require that students stay in school until they graduate or turn 18. It's a good start, but it doesn't go far enough, write economics professors Henry M. Levin and Cecilia E. Rouse in the New York Times . Since 1970, the US has dropped from the top spot all the way to No. 21 when it comes to high school completion. Just seven out of 10 ninth graders will graduate, and that dropout rate "imposes a heavy cost on the entire economy, not just on those who fail to obtain a diploma," they write. More»