The Law Schools That Leave Grads With The Lowest Debt Loads
According to U.S. News and World Report data, the average debt carried by law school grads is $108,815. And that figure pales in comparison with the findings from the New America Foundation’s Education Policy Program, which pegged average law school debt at $140,616.
Now, those numbers wouldn’t be terrifying if they were derived from schools like Columbia Law, with its 97% placement rate and its $146,900 starting salaries. In reality, these larger debts are generally carried by students at schools like New York Law, where the average debt load is $164,739 (with 84% of graduates carrying debt and only 55% holding full-time legal jobs within nine months of graduation).
Last month, U.S. News reported on the schools with the highest average debt loads. Now, they’re back with the schools where graduates face the least amount of debt.
And the winner is the Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia. Though the overall school is unranked, Clarke offers one of the top-ranked clinical training programs and one of the best salary-to-debt ratios for new grads. Its $34,645 average debt is the lowest on the list by far.
Brigham Young University was the top-ranked school in the list. Ranked at #36, BYU also produced the best salary-to-debt ratio, with new grads earning $100,000 to start against an average debt of $56,053 (a better ratio than Stanford and Yale).
Looking for a strong up-and-comer? Consider the University of Nebraska, which, over the past two years, has leaped 35 spots in the U.S. News rankings to #54. The median starting salary for private work ($55,000) is lower than the average debt ($63,435), but the 82% placement rate of grads within nine months of graduation means that students can start paying off their debt faster. And #61 University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) is another big value school. Here, Razorback grads enjoy a $70,000 starting salary in the private sector (and $56,000 in the public) against a $62,185 average debt (and, more importantly, an enviable 85.6% nine month placement rate).
Here is U.S. News’ ranking of the ten law schools with the least debt:
School | Average Debt Load (Class of 2013) | U.S. News Law School Rank |
University of the District of Columbia (Clarke) | $34,645 | RNP |
Barry University (FL) | $47,799 | RNP |
University of Arkansas-Little Rock | $52,205 | 121 |
University of South Dakota | $54,352 | 145 |
Brigham Young University | $56,053 | 36 |
University of Arkansas-Fayetteville | $62,185 | 61 |
University of Nebraska | $63,435 | 54 |
University of North Dakota | $66,763 | 129 |
University of Wyoming | $67,733 | 129 |
Southern Illinois University—Carbondale | $67,966 | RNP |
Source: U.S. News and World Report
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