We
all
know
that
a
legal
education
can
land
the
average
law
school
graduate
in
up
to
six
figures
of
debt
(to
be
specific,
on
average,
2023
graduates
racked
up
more
than
$111,000
in
student
debt),
and
we
all
know
that
egregiously
high
tuition
costs
are
to
blame.
But
which
schools
had
the
most
costly
tuition
and
fees
for
out-of-state
students
for
the
2023-2024
academic
year?
The
Short
List
blog
of
U.S.
News
has
compiled
a
ranking
for
that,
and
it’s
not
at
all
shocking
that
almost
all
15
schools
that
made
the
list
are
private.
At
these
law
schools,
the
median
tuition
and
fees
for
the
2023-2024
academic
year
was
at
least
$77,000.
Just
four
public
schools
made
the
list
—
and
we
believe
that
one
of
them
is
erroneously
featured
on
the
list.
Check
out
the
ranking,
below:
-
University
of
Idaho:
$90,336 -
Columbia
University:
$81,292 -
New
York
University:
$80,014 -
University
of
Southern
California:
$78,046 -
University
of
Chicago:
$77,952 -
Cornell
University:
$77,593 -
University
of
Pennsylvania:
$76,934 -
Georgetown
University:
$75,950 -
Duke
University:
$75,738 -
University
of
California
Berkeley:
$75,031 -
Harvard
University:
$75,008 -
Northwestern
University:
$74,552 -
University
of
Virginia:
$74,200 -
Yale
University:
$73,865 -
University
of
Michigan:
$72,584
Idaho
Law
—
a
school
that
touts
itself
as
“offer[ing]
one
of
the
most
affordable
law
programs
in
the
nation”
—
does
not
belong
on
this
list.
As
noted
on
the
law
school’s
2023
ABA
Standard
509
Information
Report,
total
tuition
and
fees
for
out-of-state
students
as
$45,168,
a
far
cry
from
the
$90,336
figure
that
U.S.
News
has
ascribed
to
the
school.
In
fact,
in
Idaho
Law’s
U.S.
News
profile,
it
states
that
the
$90K
amount
is
for
“Non-LDS
Member[s].”
Hmm,
only
one
law
school
charges
different
tuition
prices
based
on
religious
affiliation,
and
that’s
BYU
Law
—
another
highly
affordable
school
whose
2023-2023
tuition
came
nowhere
near
that
$90K
number.
This
is
the
typo
of
all
typos.
That
having
been
said,
let’s
make
believe
Idaho
isn’t
on
this
list
at
all
and
crown
Columbia
as
the
most
expensive
law
school
in
the
country.
Now,
back
to
the
rest
of
the
ranking,
it’s
worth
noting
that
the
law
schools
that
made
this
list
are
among
the
best
in
the
country.
At
highly
ranked
schools
like
these,
you
get
what
you
pay
for,
and
in
the
law
school
world,
that
usually
means
a
high-paying
paid
job
as
an
attorney
that
will
allow
you
to
service
your
enormous
debt
obligations
in
a
timely
fashion
—
and
to
be
quite
frank,
with
up
to
six
figures
of
debt
to
pay
off,
that’s
priceless.
No
matter
where
you
decide
to
go
to
law
school,
make
sure
that
you
evaluate
what
your
payoff
will
be
when
graduation
time
rolls
around.
Given
the
information
that’s
readily
available
online,
will
you
be
able
to
find
a
job?
Will
you
be
able
to
make
ends
meet
while
making
payments
on
your
law
school
loans?
If
you
don’t
think
the
answer
to
these
questions
are
“yes,”
then
you
may
want
to
consider
another
school.
15
Most
Expensive
Law
Schools
[Short
List
/
U.S.
News]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
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Threads
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on
LinkedIn.