There are law schools that are relative bargains. There are law schools that are functionally debt factories. Figuring out which is which before you waste tens of thousands of dollars chasing a profession that’s never going to pay you back should be every prospective law student’s first priority.
The Department of Education took a break from grinding a boot into the neck of public school teachers to release a report on law school graduate indebtedness. Over at Forbes, Wesley Whistle has a thorough, professional analysis of what students can learn from the figures, but we’ll be more blunt: don’t go to Florida Coastal.
The final remaining stone in the for-profit Infilaw gauntlet — with Charlotte closed and Arizona Summit closing — is obviously a bad deal, but these numbers put in stark relief exactly how much of a bum deal it is. The median debt for Florida Coastal grads is $198,655, an eye-popping amount before you notice that the median salary for graduates is $35,300 a year. A student debt to gross income ratio of around 5.6 to 1 is… not great.
Contrast this with Columbia, which leaves grads with a median $165,314 debt, but at least gives grads a median salary of $180,300 and the dream of being debt free in their 30s. That Florida Coastal can land students in more debt than Columbia is a travesty.
Some law schools have incredibly high median debts, though the salaries of those schools can have extreme variances. The three law schools with the high debt loads—all over $195,000—have median salaries below $40,000.
The good news, I suppose, is that of the five worst offenders in this regard, only at most three will be around to continue inflicting this trauma on students next year. Florida Coastal and Southwestern are both still kicking, but Whittier and Charlotte have closed, and Thomas Jefferson School of Law just lost its accreditation, which ups the chances that it may close next.
If you’re considering law school, please, please, please don’t go to one of these joints. Everyone likes to pretend that they’re the outlier who will beat the odds at the school, but betting on yourself requires a dash of realism.
On the other hand, if they’re almost $200K deep for a $35K payday gambling might not be their strong suit.
Is Your Law School Worth It? [Forbes]
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.