Sharp Increase in Public Law School Tuition
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it still sucks. While the definitive numbers aren’t yet in from the American Bar Association, many public schools are reporting substantial increases in law school tuition, according to The National Law Journal.
For instance, in-state law students at Indiana University will pay nearly 25% more in tuition. UC Davis has raised tuition by 19% for California residents and 10% for nonresidents. At the University of Texas, tuition has been increased by 16% and 11% for resident and nonresident students, respectively. To compare, the average increase in public law school tuition for the 2008-2009 school year was 9% for residents and 6% for nonresidents.
With endowments shrinking in the recessive economy, it’s not surprising that tuitions, always on the rise, are jumping more quickly. Besides depression, what does this mean for students currently studying for the LSAT?
Study like mad.
Here’s why. If you have a 3.9 and an LSAT score in the 99th percentile, you’ll probably be accepted to one of the top 5 schools: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, NYU, Columbia. Which means that one of the top 15 schools: Georgetown, UCLA, Duke, Michigan, etc. who are competing for the best students will likely offer you admission plus some form of scholarship. Going even lower down the ranks can result in even more money.
As an example, we know a student who was accepted to UCLA and USC (ranked 15th and 18th this year) with little or no scholarship assistance. The student ended up attending Loyola Marymount University (ranked 71st) with a full scholarship. Another student we know was accepted to law school at the University of Texas (15) and offered a full scholarship to the University of San Diego Law School (61).
This is true of lower-ranked law schools as well. We know a student who was accepted to Pepperdine (55) and Loyola Marymount University (71) but ended up attending Chapman University (Tier 3) with a full ride.
In order to take advantage of this phenomenon, you need to be the kind of student that law schools want to recruit. For many law schools, this includes a high academic index (some amalgamation of your LSAT score and GPA). Because the LSAT can be predictive of a student’s performance in law school, a high LSAT score is a good indicator of your likely success at a law school. Add in the fact that a student pool with collective high LSAT scores can also help boost a school’s US New & World Report ranking, and suddenly you can begin to see why a recruit-worthy application begins with a great LSAT score.
So study hard, kill the test, and by parlaying a great application into great financial offers, you may not have to worry about tuition increases at all.
Loading ...
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Margaret
http://grantsforeducation.info
And what kind of a readership audience are you catering to? How many people do you know that have a 3.9 GPA and score in the 99th percentile on the LSAT? Right, virtually nobody. So why don’t you talk to the rest of us instead?
James,
I think you’re missing the point of the article by fixating on the first example of an LSAT score and GPA. The takeaway is that students can often secure much better financial deals by dropping down a tier.
The 3.9/175 LSAT score Harvard accepted student might do better to take a full scholarship at UCLA. Likewise (as we noted), the 3.8/167 UCLA accepted student might do better to take a full scholarship at Loyola. In addition (as we also noted), the 3.6/164 Loyola accepted student might do better to take a full scholarship at Pepperdine.
Thus this actually applies to a significant swath of students.
umm ok i have a question, it makes sense why someone would chose a full ride with a lower ranking school in the short run but what about the long run?? wouldnt it make more sense to get into pepperdine than a 3rd tier school?? im thinking more about the benefits once we graduate, or is it virtually the same thing when it comes to job opportunities? someone please respond:)
Hi Caroline,
It’s a good question and the answer relies on several different factors, a few of which I’ll cover here. For instance, graduating at the top of the class from a lower tier school can give opportunities similar to higher-ranked schools. However, it’s difficult to know how well you’ll perform in law school prior to actually going.
Another consideration is geographic location. There are some lower-ranked schools that still have regional cache. For instance, Loyola Law School is well known in Los Angeles although it is not as well known nationally as its higher ranked neighbors USC and UCLA. If you were going to stay in the LA area to practice, this would not pose as much as a problem as if you were going to move away.
Still another consideration is whether you have job connections upon graduation. If you’re relying solely on the reputation of the institution, a higher ranked law school might be better. However, if you have a family friend who owns a firm where you’ll be working, the school ranking might be less important.
Whatever the case, a good LSAT score will maximize your options so that you can at least place yourself in a position to choose between money and prestige (for instance) and make the decision that you feel will be right for you given the type of student you are, your job prospects, and where you feel you are going to practice law.
Hope this helped.
JT
thanks JT:)
Absolutely spot on article. I applied this logic when I took the LSAT. I quit my job and studdied full time to maximize every point I could get. As a result, I have a variety of school offers from slightly more affordable public schools, and generous scholorships from slightly lower ranked schools. The wise choice is NOT to go to the highest rank school you can get into, unless you are rich. Choose one close to where you want to practice, where you are in the top 25% of applicants. Also examine scholorships closely, some have high GPA requirements that could put your hard earned scholarship at risk. Unless you get into Harvard, Yale, or Stanford, school ranking doesn’t matter very much within a school tier.
Thanks for the input, Bruce and congratulations on your acceptances!