Last year, National Jurist honored 20 private law schools for offering students the “best value.” This year, only 12 schools made the list, and several that were honored last year received the boot. The schools that received a sound kick in the ass are Notre Dame, Emory, Campbell, Villanova, Oklahoma City, Richmond, South Texas (now d/b/a Houston College of Law), Duquesne, William Mitchell (now d/b/a Mitchell Hamline), and Yale.
Here are the National Jurist’s Best Value Private Law Schools of 2016. We’ve included some employment and financial fun facts so you can measure their value:
Boston College (Ed. note: In an article introducing the rankings, National Jurist says Boston College fell off the list, and then included the school in its ranking for best value private law schools. Please make up your mind, lest we continue to believe all of your rankings are fraught with error.)
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $112,439
– Percent of grads with debt: 72%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 77.3%Boston University
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $102,329
– Percent of grads with debt: 73%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 75.5%Drake University
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $107,649
– Percent of grads with debt: 83%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 68.4%Drexel University Kline School of Law
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $100,362
– Percent of grads with debt: 81%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 64.8%Lincoln Memorial University
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $95,495
– Percent of grads with debt: 60%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 40%University of St. Thomas – Mn.
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $101,950
– Percent of grads with debt: 73%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 55.8%University of Tulsa
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $82,954
– Percent of grads with debt: 100%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 62.8%Vanderbilt Law School
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $114,447
– Percent of grads with debt: 70%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 78.4%Wake Forest University
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $97,550
– Percent of grads with debt: 88%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 66.7%Washington and Lee University
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $110,067
– Percent of grads with debt: 76%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 75.3%Washington University
– Average indebtedness of 2015 graduates who incurred law school debt: $109,232
– Percent of grads with debt: 61%
– Percent of 2015 grads employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs: 76.3%
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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.
Best Value law schools 2016 [National Jurist]
Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.