Law Schools

One Day, Law School Will Cost $100,000 Per Year

Now, more than ever, students need to be more aware of how much they are borrowing.

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Now is the time when people are considering going to law school. I have refrained from writing about this lately because I am satisfied with the recent correction in law school admissions trends.

In response, the admissions process has changed. Lately, more law schools are accepting GRE scores so they can reach out to those who are having second thoughts about getting a master’s or a Ph.D. on the Philosophy of Himalayan Basket Weaving.

But one thing that has not changed is the rising cost of attendance. Tuition at the top law schools exceeds $50,000 per year, with tuition at some exceeding $60,000. And the total cost of attendance at many of these schools are slowly but steadily approaching $100,000 per year. Here are a few examples:

Harvard – $92,450

Columbia – $93,740

Stanford – $92,622

NYU – $92,906

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Note that the above is an estimated cost for tuition and nine months of living expenses, all of which can be negotiated down. But I don’t think the above are “worst case scenario” numbers. It seems to me that some of the schools’ room and board expenses are very conservative considering the average rent in the local area. Also, the numbers do not include accruing interest and the cost of living during the summer months. If these are taken into consideration, the total cost of attendance can exceed $100,000 for a significant number of their students.

But in the near future, one of these schools will publicly announce that the annual cost of attendance will exceed $100,000. And the media will eat this up. Commentators will once again question the value of law school in general and the judgment of the students who voluntarily take on these mortgage-grade loans.

The first to do so has to be an elite school. Most will not question their decision because many of their graduates are expected to have successful careers. Their peers will follow suit soon after.

But the potential $300,000+ nondischargeable problem is that the law schools in the lower levels of the U.S. News prestige pecking order will also raise their tuition, bringing them closer to the psychologically disturbing $100,000 mark. The justification for their lemming-like behavior is to “stay competitive”. But what ends up happening is that most of their graduates will not earn enough to pay their loans and will be on income-based repayment programs for life with taxpayers paying the balance.

Many of these schools will not dare announce $100,000+ cost of attendance numbers at least in the near future. Especially if the school’s post-grauduate job statistics are dismal. Doing so will invite criticism and even scatological ridicule from the blogosphere, which will scare off some applicants and their GRE scores. At least that Ph.D. program in Animation Science might give you a tuition discount and a stipend for teaching undergraduates.

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In recent years, due to lower enrollments, law schools have been more receptive to giving discounts to those who ask. However, with a few law schools closing (with possibly more to come) and others acting less predatory by enrolling fewer students, it is uncertain whether these discounts will continue.

For potential and current law students, you may have heard this advice until your ears bled: don’t borrow more than necessary and negotiate a tuition discount. But it is more imperative than ever that you know how much you are borrowing because that number could be over $100,000. Any law school where the average annual cost of attendance exceeds its graduates’ average annual first year salary should be strictly scrutinized.

If you were like me, you just signed the loan papers and ignored the letters from the lenders. You likely ignored that one letter that came at the end of November that advised you to pay the accrued interest before the end of the year or it will be capitalized into principal. That letter was such a downer since it came in the middle of the holiday shopping season.

If any law school administrators are reading this, I know you are not completely to blame for rising costs. Many schools don’t have billion-dollar endowments. Some are at the mercy of their local economy’s housing costs. And they cannot force students to be modest with borrowing. But you should be mindful of your rising costs and how it can hurt your students and the school in the long run. Unless you have a very compelling and convincing educational reason to increase tuition, don’t expect the interwebz to be supportive of your decision, especially when many of your graduates are struggling.

When I graduated law school, the average debt for all three years of law school and undergrad was under $100,000. But it seems like all law schools will eventually cost $100,000 per year to attend due to inflation. For most law schools, it will be worth it when the federal minimum wage is $100. The most effective way to control rising tuition is to call out the schools that raise their tuition arbitrarily. But now, more than ever, students also need to be more aware of how much they are borrowing.

Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at sachimalbe@excite.com and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.

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