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How much does the law school cost really - revealed
Law school is not cheap and the cost of law school tuition is one of the two biggest disadvantages of going to law school. According to a poll by Gallup
About price tag. I have seen people asking questions like how much is a law school in California or how much is a law school in Texas. Geographical location by state generally does not affect law school tuition.
On the other hand, I tend to think that in several instances rural law schools in locations far from large cities generally tend to be less expensive less than law schools in large urban job markets.
I think historically educational institutions in large cities attracted better talent, both students and faculty, because of better local job prospects and a better network of connections.
Also, it is less expensive to live in a rural area, unless there is a shortage of housing.
The average cost of law school
Law school cost in the USA includes not only law schools tuition but also room and board, textbooks, transportation, and recreation. The cost of law school tuition varies among different law schools.
So, how much is law school a year? According to US News, the average cost of private law school attendance was $49,095, and about $40,695 for public schools, making an overall average of about $45,000 per year. (Source for these numbers)
That included only tuition and fees. Let’s do some law school tuition comparison between several institutions. The Columbia University School of Law had the highest private school tuition among almost 200 schools surveyed by US news – $69,916 (and the total annual tuition for attendance is about $85,000. Source for this number).
The University of Tulsa School of Law had the lowest tuition among private – $25,254. As you can see, the average cost of law school among private ones is usually high. (Source)
Hint – Columbia is one of the highest-ranking law schools, and shall you be accepted there, this tuition may be justified.
Interestingly, the out-of-state tuition by public schools was similar to the regular price of private schools. But, the advantage of public school is that you can become a resident usually within a year and enjoy lower in-state tuition for the last two years of law school, or any other type of college. This does not apply to foreign students – their tuition will stay the same because they are not US residents.
Law schools by tuition – how much is law school per year?
How much is law school cost does not have a simple answer because law schools tuition ranges a lot. What is a law degree cost now at Harvard School of Law, for example?
Let us look up some law schools by their tuition. Well, the annual cost of law school Harvard is $62,792, with the total price of attendance $85,950 (including room board and transportation). However, the Harvard School of law itself estimates the total annual price for attendance as roughly $99,000. (Source)
Law schools vary by their tuition depending more on demand than value. One would think that law school in New York or law school in Washington DC would would be significantly more expensive than law school in Vermont, for example. As I mentioned earlier it is true, but there is little difference when taking into consideration factors other than location.
Let’s continue review of law schools by tuition. The law school tuition Georgetown in DC is $59,850, with the total price for attendance of roughly $80,000. While the Vermont law school tuition is $49,279, with $58,279 total price tag per year. But the ranks for these three schools are 3, 14 and 136, accordingly. See here and here. Both of them are private law schools.
There is an important difference between law schools rank 3 and 14, for example. But the difference between ranks 3, 14 and 136 is simply huge for job prospects after graduation. You can look up law school rankings 2020 or 2021 for detailed information.
In my humble opinion, half of the law schools in the US must have been closed a while ago to improve job prospects for graduates. But I digress.
Let us see how much is law school at top university. Well, law school Yale will charge over $64,000 plus over $17,500 room and board. Law school Yale rank is 1, I think. Finally, law school at Vanderbilt will hit the wallet for about $57,595 in annual tuition plus $15,710 room & board. How about this for answering about how much law school?
Law school Vanderbilt is ranked about 25. Rank 25 is below the top 14, therefore, a noticeable difference in employment prospects. But still better investment than Vermont law school, in my opinion.
Law school in California, Texas, Florida, Vermont or North Carolina usually charges about the same. The point is that when calculating costs for law school one should include not only tuition but all other essential expenses. Law schools and colleges usually provide their price calculation which they provide on web-sites or in advertising materials.
You can see law schools rankings by tuition from most expensive to least expensive here. Yes, there are some very cheap law schools by tuition, but they are usually lower-ranked schools.
If you want to see in more detail how much is law school in New York, California or Florida, you can check out this article.
Another additional expense few media sources are talking about is law school supplements. Those alone can be worth several hundred dollars per year and student loan does not cover that. Plus, anywhere from $1000 to $6000 for bar preparation after graduation. Yes, there are loans for that expense too, but you will have to qualify.
Shall you decide to go to law school – check my detailed reviews of recommended LSAT preparation courses for getting a top LSAT score.
Is Law School Worth It?
Having said all that – the self-training and knowledge obtained in law school are quite valuable in developing self-discipline and self-awareness. It is a super experience. But, the question – is law school training worth the money and three years of life?
Simply analysis on how much is law school vs. job prospects upon graduation pretty much directly answers the above question. But it is not that simple and results can be quite individual. The total price for attending law school over three years can range from about $80,000 to $150,000, and this difference is not negligible.
Plus, one must add student debt remaining from an undergraduate degree, which is about $60,000-$70,000, for a total cost of law school and undergrad of $200,000 plus. That is a house, and paying it off is like a mortgage, except you do not own anything except for owing the debt. Many factors go into law school choice and decision besides the cost of attendance.
One the one hand, job prospects for young attorneys are pretty slim. The fairy tale of getting own clients and opening own office are usually countered by the realization that inexperienced attorney will make a million of legal mistakes which is a great way to lose the license to practice law and face malpractice lawsuits, or loose cases for clients.
On the other hand, if one does well in law school and is quite active, energetic and driven, such a young lawyer can eventually find a good legal niche and build a lucrative career around.
The main question is – is the daily practice of law is what you want to do for the next 10 years? If not, then law school is not worth the money. If that is what you want – then law school is worth it. Your motivation or lack of it is key. But, it is very important not to base motivation on false assumptions about what daily practice of law is.
Daily practice of law is difficult, grueling work. It is not TV or courtroom glamor. I had no idea initially how many unfavorable details are there in legal work and preparation of a litigation case. Just millions upon millions of little details, technicalities, sleazy lying opponents, and so on.
Law is quite conservative and very technical nitpicking profession, and I tend to think that it chills down creativity. I think very creative people should do something else. Law is not like a catwalk fashion show, it is more like spending 2-3 months 12-15 hours a day sewing that dress or suit to wear it only once at the party or that someone will get paid to wear it – you law firm’s partner. And it is like working on 15-20 such dresses or suits at the same time. And God forbid you to make a mistake in that very expensive dress or suit.
The only thing stopping is if one dislikes the practice of law. That is what happened to me – I still enjoy the intellectual side of law work, but I kind of do not find it as exciting anymore. But a number of my former classmates are quite contempt. They have a job, a career, a family, a house, a car and respect from others. That makes them happy and drives their performance bringing in green bucks from their work.
So, the question is law school worth it is very individual. In many aspects, it is well worth it on many levels. Intellectual challenge, superb knowledge which makes me stronger when dealing with others, and other things are quite positive. The only negative issue is, well, the law school cost.
I highly suggest that law school candidates research the topic of daily legal work well. I suggest reading both personal accounts written by disgruntled lawyers who quit practicing law, and articles written by lawyers who are quite happy about doing technical legal work daily.
You can read about law school calculators in my articles on this blog.
Law School Opportunity Cost
When evaluating how much does the law school cost should also prompt a candidate to calculate opportunity cost. How much is lawyer school depends on things law student forgoes while spending three years in law schools, such as a job or other opportunities.
Opportunity cost is an economic concept which means, for example, that if you give up your current job with an annual salary of $50,000 and go law school for three years plus 6 months of bar prep and obtaining results, you will have to forgo at least $175,000. That is your minimum opportunity cost. Plus, losing bonuses, career advancements, extra 3 years of work experience on your resume, etc. All that can be calculated. Is law school worth it?
If a candidate already has work and career which he or she can do until retirement and live comfortably, then it may not be worth to switch to law. Although, some professions may be a great benefit for future lawyers – STEM, for example. I have a separate article about good backgrounds and undergraduate degrees for law school.
I suggest not to believe all these statistics about the average attorney salary upon graduation. The average take-home pay is about $40 an hour – I cannot recall and cite the source now, but it was authoritative. They do not count lawyers who left the profession because of a lack of employment opportunities. But surely count partners in top 100 law firms which make millions per year, statistically raising overall average attorney salary across the country.
For example, here is an authoritative source – US News – citing average attorney starting salary as $48,000 – $150,000. (Source) Well, this number is simply wrong. Have they looked at job search sites to see what’s offered there? I searched this and found out that many rural counties offer assistant public defenders a starting salary of as low as $25,000-$35,000 per year. (Source)
Yes, since it is a public service one does not need to repay student loans and in 10 years of such work student loans may be forgiven but it this a good life that we see on TV? Hardly so. I am simply trying to show the staff that media generally does not reveal – these little details where the law school devil hiding.
So, one should be aware that attorney jobs in the government or public sector generally pay low, but there is an opportunity to cancel your loan after 10 years of public interest attorney work. But even that public service student loan forgiveness is not guaranteed – many applications get rejected.
And even good government attorney jobs are hard to get. Having said that, many private law firms exploit a lousy job market and offer young attorneys starting salaries as low as $15 an hour. I am not kidding you – this is quite common.
Do not even both to work for such law firms – better switch profession to programming or something. I know, it is like an internship, but screw them – have self-respect. Better to teach yoga or something.
For perspective, anyone should know that well-paid jobs for corporate attorneys or attorneys in large top 100 law firms are extremely hard to get. They hire either grads from the top 14 law schools (T14 law schools), or they hire experienced lawyers.
As revealed to me by one top tax attorney, major law firms like Paul Hastings used to like to hire young tax attorneys who had spent at least 3 years working for a big 4 auditing companies like Ernst & Young. They did not even hire right from law school, with some exceptional exceptions.
The $100,00 – $200,000 total price tag is not worth it for many law students who go to law school just in case, or just for money, or just to get a job. It is simply may not work out well for them.
And I definitely would not trust employment after graduation rate self-reported by law schools. They often simply lie. Look at job sites.
If you can get into the top 14 law schools (T14), then it is very worth it due to prestige and connections that you can make. Plus, solid $125,000-$175,000 starting annual salary – just to pay off student debt, if anything.
Yes, the price tag will be $200,000-$300,000, but T14 is worth it. Top 15-25 law schools are ok if you can manage the price tag. But, for any lower-tiered schools, you must do hard cost v. benefit analysis. The lower is the price tag, the better.
Final thoughts
Here is my opinion which I keep repeating in most articles: shall you decide to go to law school, either try to shoot for the most highly ranked law school you can get, or, if you cannot get into top 25 or top 50 law school, make sure that you pay as low tuition as possible. School location does matter – the local job market is important because local law schools have large alumni networks.
I am being negative. I do know a couple of my classmates who set up their law firm after graduation and are making good money. I do know someone who went to lower-end law school and is making LOTS of money by doing criminal law like DUIs. It is all very individual.
Law school itself does not teach how to set up and practice law and do self-marketing – these are separate skills which you will need to learn on your own if you want to succeed.
The legal profession does offer to attorneys’ prestige and power in society. Knowledge is power these days, and attorneys usually are much better at fighting for their rights than non-law people. If you are an attorney, people usually are more dealing more carefully with you, and usually do not try to take advantage because they know you can screw them if you want to.
And there is another negative side of the law – many attorneys for lack of employment start seeking clients and file frivolous lawsuits to make a buck. This is killing our economy. We have too many overpriced law schools.
But the law school is well worth it if one truly wants to be a lawyer, has genuine interest in law, and can either go to top law school, where price tag does not matter, go to law school with cheap tuition, or can afford a regular private law school tuition and has a backup plan or a backup profession or skill if this law thing does not work out.
