The Law Schools That Provide The ‘Most Value’ For Students (2024) – Above the Law

There
are
many
ways
to
rank
law
schools,
but
the
way
that
the
National
Jurist’s
preLaw
Magazine
does
it
is
quite
interesting.
Rather
than
concentrating
on
the
prestige
factors
that
usually
dominate
law
school
ranking
systems,
this
ranking
focuses
solely
on
factors
that
provide
the
“best
value”
for
students.
That
said,
this
is
a
list
that
is
typically
dominated
by
public
schools,
with
a
smattering
of
private
schools
mixed
in.
Curiously,
for
the
past
few
years,
a
private
school
had
come
out
on
top
of
the
National
Jurist
ranking
—
but
that
stopped
in
2023,
and
the
new
value
victor
continues
to
reign
supreme
in
2024.

Before
we
get
to
the
Top
20
ranking,
let’s
discuss
the
methodology
used
to
suss
out
which
law
schools
are
providing
the
best
value
for
students.
The
National
Jurist’s
ranking
takes
into
account
a
law
school’s
tuition,
students’
cost
of
living
expenses,
students’
average
indebtedness
upon
graduation
(collectively
weighted
55%),
the
percentage
of
graduates
who
got
a
job
after
graduation
(30%),
and
bar
passage
rates
(ultimate
and
two-year
pass
rates)
(15%).

As
noted
previously,
based
on
these
inputs,
the
ranking
tends
to
skew
heavily
towards
public
schools,
but
private
schools
made
a
major
value
comeback
this
year.
One
private
school
cracked
the
Top
20,
while
19
others
followed
behind
later
in
the
ranking.
So
without
further
ado,
here
are
the
National
Jurist’s

Top
20
Best
Value
Law
Schools:

1. University
   of
   Georgia
2. Brigham
   Young
   University
3. University
   of
   Alabama
4. University
   of
   Nebraska
5. Texas
   A&M
   Law
6. University
   of
   Kansas
7. University
   of
   Florida
8. Florida
   State
   University
9. University
   of
   Wisconsin
10. University
    of
    North
    Carolina
11. University
    of
    Missouri
12. George
    Mason
    University
13. University
    of
    Utah
14. University
    of
    Oklahoma
15. University
    of
    Iowa
16. Georgia
    State
    University
17. University
    of
    South
    Dakota
18. University
    of
    Montana
19. University
    of
    Kentucky
20. University
    of
    Tennessee

Peter
“Bo”
Rutledge,
UGA
Law’s
dean,
attributes
the
school’s
success
in
the
2024
Best
Value
ranking
to
using
the
same
measures
(employment,
bar
passage,
costs)
as
a
form
of
accountability.
Here’s
what
that
means
at
UGA:

“For
UGA
School
of
Law,
the
aspiration
has
always
been
to
be
the
nation’s
best
return
on
investment
for
legal
education,
where
the
return
is
measured
by
the
job
opportunities
and
bar
passages
for
students,”
he
said.
“The
investment
is
measured
by
the
indebtedness
of
the
student
body.”

The
lesson
to
be
learned
here
is
simple:
if
you
want
to
keep
your
debt
low,
consider
enrolling
at
a
public
law
school.
If
you
don’t
mind
up
to
a
six-figure
debt
load,
enroll
in
the
best
law
school
you
can
get
into
(let’s
say
the top
50),
because
those
are
the
schools
where
you’ll
be
able
to
get
jobs
that
will
allow
you
to
service
your
loans.

Congrats
to
the
law
schools
that
offer
their
students
the
“best
value.”

Best
Value
Law
Schools
[prelaw
Magazine
/
National
Jurist]

---

Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
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