Hello scary debt.

The Russell Group has already advocated lifting the present cap on top-up fees of £3,225 a year and letting universities set their own fees for students. And now, some of Britain’s leading universities may consider going private if there is no increase in higher education funding.  Dr Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, told the Independent, “We would hope not to have to go there but we would have to consider seriously a more radical option.”

Which could mean we end up with an American-style system.

As in the US, law is highly competitive in the UK – there are far more students studying law and heading to law school than there are training contracts and pupillages. So if the price of admission becomes a function of supply and demand, the most popular courses such as law could get very expensive at top universities.

Which may cause a temporary dip in numbers but is unlikely to put off most of those students who believe they are capable of securing a high paying job in a decent law firm at the end. So, in the long run, law will continue attract far to many hopefuls who have actually little chance of securing that high paying lawyer job but will leave higher education with massive debts.

Which is exactly what has happened in the States. If UK students think their debts are bad now – top law schools in the States can leave students well over $100k in debt. Concurring opinions expressed the desperateness of the situation earlier this year:

I’ve been thinking hard about what advice I would give prospective students and this is where I’ve landed: Only go to law school next year if (1) you have always dreamed of being a lawyer; or (2) you are accepted by a very prestigious institution; or (3) you are offered a full scholarship.

This is not advice I’ve arrived at easily. Fifteen years ago, such advice likely would have discouraged me from even considering law school. But the economics of my decision are likely very different from the economics of the decisions that will be made this spring.

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If we do follow the States, a generation will learn the hard way by saddling themselves with mountains of debt for jobs that don’t exist. Like now but much worse.