Law School Tuitions in Past Decade? Let's Say They're "Upwardly Mobile."

March 11, 2010 at 1:00 pm · Filed under Career Resources, Public Interest Jobs, The Legal Industry and Economy

The National Jurist reports that, largely on account of expanding faculty sizes, tuition at both private and public law schools has risen sharply. 

Tuition increased by 74 percent at private schools and a 102 percent at public institutions from 1998 to 2008.

A Cause: according to the story, U.S. News and World Report rankings are a big driver.  Schools bolster their faculty ranks in order to promote scholarship and lower student-to-professor ratios.

An Effect: the PSLawNet Blog has posted before about how rapidly rising tuitions lead to more borrowing by students, making lower-paying public interest careers less viable options.  Those students who are committed to pursuing public service career paths and who are paying their own way must be knowledgeable, savvy and prudent in managing their borrowing and plugging into loan repayment options.