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Law School Transparency Data Dashboard
No full textLaw School Transparency created this tool to make it easier for legal education stakeholders, policymakers, journalists, and the public to understand the current state of legal education. It will, hopefully, lead to new insights that advance legal education. After all, the foundation of reform continues to be good ideas supported by data.
On most pages, you can modify the scope to see different comparisons related the page\u27s theme. On many of those pages, you can also adjust the years compared. Together or separate, these modifications show data from a different perspective
Law School Tuition
No full textNationwide averages from 1985 to 2013 come from the American Bar Association. Starting in 2014, Law School Transparency calculates the nationwide average from individual schools, using data the schools reported to the American Bar Association. LST uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for inflation, which covers 89% of the total U.S. population. LST uses normal averages rather than weighted averages for the nationwide averages in 2014 and later. The ABA uses normal averages from 1985 to 2013
Law School Graduate Debt
No full textSchool-specific borrowing data come from U.S. News & World Report, which relies on data reported to U.S. News by law schools. In a few cases over the years, law schools did not report the percentage borrowing properly. When that occurs, the previous year\u27s rate is used unless a school reports the correct rate to Law School Transparency or a better estimate can be generated. Graduate data come from the American Bar Association. LST uses weighted averages rather than normal averages for the group and nationwide averages. Salary information is voluntarily reported and published by law schools
Living Expenses
No full textSchool-specific cost of living data come from the American Bar Association. Cost of living reflects the maximum amount a student can borrow from the federal government to cover nine months of room & board, books & supplies, transportation, and other personal expenses. Schools can use any reasonable method for determining the maximum allowable budget, from periodic surveys of student population to local real estate assessments. Law School Transparency uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for inflation, which covers 89% of the total U.S. population
Law School Net Tuition
No full textSchool-specific tuition and scholarship data come from the American Bar Association. Net tuition is an estimate based on nominal full-time tuition and full-time scholarship data. The estimates at public law schools are higher than reality because net tuition was calculated using resident tuition at public schools. In order to more accurately estimate net tuition, scholarship data, as well as enrollment data, would need to distinguish between residents and non-residents. Law School Transparency uses normal averages rather than weighted averages for the group averages
NALP Report Database
No full textEach fall, NALP-member law schools receive a report from NALP that summarizes employment data for the second-most recent graduating class. The employment data contained in the NALP report are highly valuable to prospective students. Because NALP already collects the employment data and distributes the report to schools, there is no cost associated with publishing the reports. Starting with the class of 2010, Law School Transparency (LST) requested that schools make these reports available to the public. This page tracks public NALP reports as known to LST
Federal Investment
No full textLaw students borrow from the U.S. Department of Education Direct Loan Program for school. These loans are income-generating assets for the government. The government is investing in not only law students, who will repay loans (in theory) with interest, but also law schools. Some (or many) law schools would close without federal investment because schools depend on tuition revenue to stay open and students depend on federal student loans to pay tuition and cover living expenses. Federal student loan policy dictates that the government will lend the full cost of attendance to anyone who attends an ABA-approved law school. If the government changes this lending policy, for example by limiting or eliminating Graduate Plus loans, private lenders may fill some of the lending market, though presumably not all of it.
School-specific borrowing data come from U.S. News & World Report, which relies on data reported to U.S. News by law schools. In a few cases over the years, law schools did not report the percentage borrowing properly. When that occurs, the previous year\u27s rate is used unless a school reports the correct rate to Law School Transparency or a better estimate can be generated. Graduate data come from the American Bar Association.
To calculate the amount cumulatively borrowed by law school graduates from a law school, LST multiplied the number of graduates times the percentage of those graduates borrowing loans that were processed by the school. LST rounded that number to the nearest whole graduate and multiplied it times the average amount borrowed for that school. The federal government investment figures do not include students who never graduated and those enrolled in non-J.D. programs. The adjusted federal investment figures apply group averages to the schools with unknown borrowing data. LST uses weighted averages rather than normal averages for the group and nationwide averages
Debt to Income Ratio
No full textOne common-sense rule in student lending, expressed through a debt-to-income ratio, provides that students should not borrow more than they expect to earn after their first year. Law schools of all types make observing that rule difficult. According to data released by the U.S. Department of Education in 2019, the median amount borrowed exceeds the median earnings at 11 law schools (i.e. 94.% of law schools exceeded a ratio of 1.00) for 2015 and 2016 graduates in the first full year after graduation. The median school ratio was 1.86, which means that the median amount borrowed exceeded the median earnings by 86%.
A few caveats: First, the earnings median reflects only gradutes who borrowed. Second, the amount borrowed is not the same as the amount of debt. Interest accumulates during law school, even though loan payments are not yet due. Accordingly, debt-to-income ratio is a misnomer with this dataset, although it has already become convention. Finally, debt:income is only one metric. Because loan terms extend beyond one year, it is also helpful to look at the percentage of income devoted to debt service.
School-specific borrowing and earnings data on this page come from the United States Department of Education
Conditional Scholarships
No full textA conditional scholarship is any financial aid award that depends on the student maintaining a minimum grade point average or class standing, other than that ordinarily required to remain in good academic standing. School-specific conditional scholarship and enrollment data come from the American Bar Association
Aspen Leading Edge Podcast, Episode 42: Law School Transparency with Kyle McEntee
No full textKyle McEntee talks about starting Law School Transparency and the importance of engaging with students before they begin law school. He shares details about the Law School Admissions Council and LawHub as additional resources for upcoming students.https://commons.stmarytx.edu/edge/1011/thumbnail.jp
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