Which Top Private Law Schools Give The Biggest Tuition Discounts?

With grants like these, law school doesn't have to be quite as costly.

tuition cutLike a broken record, we’ve said this time and time and time and time again: pursuing a law degree can be an extremely expensive endeavor. In fact, according to the latest data from U.S. News, new graduates of public law schools have an average debt of $90,217, while graduates of private law schools have an average debt of $130,349. But, if you’re lucky enough to receive a grant or scholarship from your law school, you may be able to save yourself from incurring a six-figure dent in your future finances.

Which top law schools gave students the biggest tuition discounts for the 2016-2017 academic year?

U.S. News has an interactive ranking for that, listing the top 15 law schools for median grants. Head over to U.S. News to fully interact with the chart. Here’s their methodology:

The chart … shows the cost of attendance for students who receive the median grant amount from the top private law schools. Cost of attendance was calculated by subtracting median grant amount that the top schools offered from the total cost of tuition and fees, room and board, books and miscellaneous expenses. Public law schools were excluded from the graphic because the different tuition prices for in-state and out-of-state students may affect the median grant amount offered to students.

Check it out below. The larger the bubble, the higher the cost of attendance.

Law School Tuition Discounts 2016-2017

Washington University in St. Louis handed out the largest grants for the 2016-2017 school year, with most recipients walking away with amounts between $20,000-$48,300. Here’s information for all of the top private law schools, listed in order of their U.S. News rank:

Sponsored

  • Yale: full-time students receiving grants 58% /median grant $26,491 / grant range $17,817 – $34,667
  • Stanford: full-time students receiving grants 45% /median grant $24,163 / grant range $16,583 – $33,734
  • Harvard: full-time students receiving grants 50% /median grant $21,670 / grant range $10,753 – $31,723
  • U. Chicago: full-time students receiving grants 80% /median grant $20,000 / grant range $10,000 – $30,000
  • Columbia: full-time students receiving grants 51% /median grant $20,000 / grant range $12,000 – $30,312
  • NYU: full-time students receiving grants 43% /median grant $20,000 / grant range $12,500 – $30,00
  • U. Pennsylvania: full-time students receiving grants 46% /median grant $20,000 / grant range $13,906 – $30,000
  • Duke: full-time students receiving grants 87% /median grant $22,500 / grant range $16,000 – $27,000
  • Northwestern: full-time students receiving grants 73% /median grant $27,000 / grant range $15,000 – $50,000
  • Cornell: full-time students receiving grants 70% /median grant $22,000 / grant range $10,000 – $35,000
  • Georgetown: full-time students receiving grants 54% /median grant $20,000 / grant range $12,000 – $30,000
  • Vandebilt: full-time students receiving grants 90% /median grant $20,000 / grant range $15,000 – $25,000
  • Washington University in St. Louis: full-time students receiving grants 88% / median grant $35,000 / grant range $20,000- $48,300
  • USC: full-time students receiving grants 91% /median grant $30,000 / grant range $20,000 – $35,000
  • Notre Dame: full-time students receiving grants 81% /median grant $21,000 / grant range $16,000 – $27,125

With cost and scholarship information like this readily available online (along with employment information), please make sure you do your research before choosing a law school. There’s no longer an excuse for being completely uninformed about a law school’s metrics. Your financial future is on the line. Do what you need to do and learn more about a law school before committing to attend — before it’s too late.

Top 15 Private Law Schools That Give the Biggest Discount [U.S. News]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Sponsored