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Things are getting shaken up in the law school world aside from Yale and Harvard’s virtue signalizing by leaving the US News rankings at a time that has nothing to do with how recent judicial boycotts may impact their place on the list. Washington University School of Law has unveiled a new policy that promises to make learning torts in St. Louis a bit more bearable — free tuition!*
https://twitter.com/Dean_WashULaw/status/1592979046723629056?s=20&t=TaT0VX-HiCYN2nl6bqsuag
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The economic relief comes at a great time — WashU clocks in as one of the most expensive law schools in the nation with a tuition of $64,000 a year. The terms come with a few caveats, of course. For example, if the person comes from a four-person household, tuition would be covered if the household brings in less than $55k a year. And while it is great that this high-ranking school is opening its doors to more people, let’s not forget that WashU has an almost $14 billion endowment. You’d think a school that could buy a fourth of pre-Elon Twitter could increase the window a little bit — a four-person household with two people making $15 dollars an hour are by no means millionaires approximate, but their combined annual income would put them at about $60k a year. The two-breadwinner household would have to make around $13 an hour at most for their family members to qualify for the full ride. Others have also drawn attention to the facially seeming generous criterion of the scholarship.
https://twitter.com/bakingbarrister/status/1593097732922609664?s=20&t=TaT0VX-HiCYN2nl6bqsuag
Baking Barrister probably definitely has a point. If the minimum wage kept in line with American productivity, it would be about $24 dollars an hour, a massive improvement from the $15 people are fighting tooth and nail for.
The good news is that the financial assistance does not stop at 200% of the federal poverty line:
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In addition to the funding for low-income students, the school has announced that all admitted students will receive a scholarship designed with their challenges and goals in mind.
Each dollar counts. I personally can attest that without the scholarship WashU gave me I would have a lot more personal debt from school than I do now. I can also attest that the ~$180k price tag that came with my JD remains a heavy burden.
School Of Law Announces Tuition-Free Legal Education For Students From Low-Income Households [WUSTL.edu]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.