Law school is a huge investment, there’s no doubt about it.
With law students graduating with an average student loan debt of $145,550, it’s critical to know whether or not your investment will pay off.
Wesley Whistle, a contributor to Forbes, recently looked at data released by the Department of Education to see the debt and earnings for law schools across the country.
“Examining this data provides just a small picture of the outcomes of law graduates both in debt and salary,” Whistle writes. “The salary data is limited in that it is just one year after graduation and many graduates will see their earnings rise over time, some at a very high rate.”
LAW SCHOOLS WITH HIGHEST MEDIAN DEBT
According to the data, the highest median debt of a law school was $198,655. The law school with that number? Florida Coastal School of Law, a law school that has run into quite a few roadblocks with the ABA in terms of compliancy.
Out of the five law schools that landed on this list, two were private, for-profit law schools.
Check out which law schools had the highest median debt below.
LAW SCHOOLS WITH HIGHEST MEDIAN SALARY
On the flip side, there are a number of law schools that do a fair job at return on investment. Given how high student loan debt is for law students, it’s important to know the median salaries of grads at each school.
Columbia University saw the highest median salary for grads at $180,300.
Check out which law schools had the highest median salary for grads below.
Sources: Forbes, Nerd Wallet, Department of Education, Tipping the Scales
