(Photo via University of Georgia)
If you’re looking to get a J.D. and avoid accruing massive amounts of debt from which you may never truly emerge, you’re probably searching law schools seeking the best deal. If that’s your bag, the National Jurist has you covered.
They put out an annual ranking that susses out the Best Value Law School in the country. While their full Top 25 ranking won’t be out until later this month, they have revealed the law school that tops their list.
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That honor goes to the University of Georgia School of Law. (Maybe this honor will help ease the sting of Saturday’s loss to LSU — but probably not.) The National Jurist’s methodology tries to assess the school’s ability to get their students legal jobs (with no finger on the scale to weigh the quality of legal job) and get the student graduated with minimal debt. As such, the Best Value ranking system takes into account a law school’s tuition, students’ average indebtedness upon graduation, the employment rate, students’ cost of living expenses, and bar passage rate.
UGA tops the list after an effort by the law school to reduce the amount of money that law students have to borrow to obtain their degree. As they explain, that effort is a three-pronged attack on the cost of getting a J.D.:
In recent years, the law school has implemented a three-pronged strategy in pursuit of its return-on-investment vision—holding tuition essentially flat, taking a disciplined approach to spending and increasing student financial aid through scholarships funded by donors. As a result, student borrowing has declined by about $1 million annually, and nearly 70 percent of the Class of 2021 received some kind of merit scholarship, with first-generation college graduates and military veterans among those receiving assistance.
As Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge notes, it is essential for the future of the profession for law schools to find creative ways to keep costs down for students:
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“Throughout the country, commentators express concerns about the future of higher education including the seemingly unbreakable cost curve,” Rutledge said. “Our law school’s record demonstrates how to bend that curve, if not break it, for the benefit of our students. By reducing the average debt load, we are giving them the opportunity to consider a wider range of career options as those decisions are driven by their passions rather than their finances.”
Congratulations to Georgia, and to the students getting a great deal on a quality legal education.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).