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The 'Best Value' Law Schools Of 2014

What do you think of the latest Best Value rankings? Is your school on the list?

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Last year, National Jurist honored 21 private law schools for offering students the “best value.” This year, 21 22 schools made the list, and seven six that were honored last year received the boot. The schools that received a sound kick in the ass are Hamline, Lewis & Clark, Mercer, Quinnipiac, SMU Dedman, Villanova, Washington & Lee, and last, but certainly not least, Boston College. Recall that we noted just moments ago that National Jurist added Boston College to the general ranking of the “Best Value” law schools, yet neglected to include the school in its listing of the “Best Value” private law schools. Lovely.

UPDATE (06/18/14): As usual, National Jurist’s rankings are fraught with error. We were contacted today by someone at Boston College Law who let us know that the magazine screwed up and failed to include the school among the “Best Value” private law schools. The error has since been corrected online.

The schools that are new to the list this year include Brooklyn (likely due to that 15 percent tuition cut), Campbell, Ohio Northern, St. John’s, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Wash. U., and William Mitchell.

We won’t keep you waiting any longer. Here are the National Jurist’s Best Value Private Law Schools of 2014. We’ve included some employment and financial fun facts so you can measure their value:

Baylor University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $89,252.
-84% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-71% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Boston University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $110,309.
-78% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-67.3% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Brigham Young University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $56,053.
-84% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-64.6% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Brooklyn Law School
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $109,914.
-76% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-57.3% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Campbell University
-Refused to report the average indebtedness of its 2013 graduates to U.S. News.
-Last reported average indebtedness of graduates was $130,428.
-55.5% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Chicago-Kent College of Law
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $112,500.
-81% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-56% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Drake University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $108,188.
-88% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-60% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Duquesne University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $98,922.
-84% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-52.7% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Emory University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $113,656.
-90% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-83.6% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Notre Dame Law School
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $99,090.
-81% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-71.7% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Ohio Northern University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $103,031.
-94% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-66.7% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

South Texas College of Law
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $115,852.
-85% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-67% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

St. John’s University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $112,117.
-83% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-56% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

St. Mary’s University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $112,040.
-89% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-61.9% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Stanford University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $108,391.
-84% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-87.6% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

University of Richmond
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $108,157.
-89% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-57.7% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Vanderbilt University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $114,411.
-72% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-86.4% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Wake Forest University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $112,457.
-90% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-58.5% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Washington University
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $109,978.
-75% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-67.3% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

William Mitchell College of Law
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $110,177.
-89% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-59% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

Yale Law School
-The average indebtedness of 2013 graduates with law school debt was $111,961.
-80% of 2013 graduates carried student loan debt.
-78.8% of 2013 graduates were employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs.

The lesson to be learned here is simple: if you want to keep your debt low, consider enrolling at a public law school. If you don’t mind a six-figure debt load, enroll in the best law school you can get into (top 50), because those are the schools where you’ll be able to get jobs that will allow you to service your loans.

Readers, what do you think of the latest Best Value rankings? As always, your comments are welcome.

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Best Value law schools: 5 private schools make list [National Jurist]

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