Georgia State Is Top-Ranked ‘Best Value’ Law School
Georgia State University has secured the No. 1 spot on National Jurist’s 2010 list best value law schools.
A total of 60 law schools made the best value list based on three criteria: a bar pass rate that is higher than the state average, average indebtedness after graduation that is below $100,000, and an employment rate nine months after graduation that is 85 percent of the class or more. The schools are then weighted based on those factors and in-state tuition costs, National Jurist explains.
Most law schools in the top 20 are located in the Midwest and Southeast, and most are public schools. However, out of the top 60 schools, 11 are private, including No. 2 ranked Brigham Young University. It manages to keep tuition low with support from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The top five law schools are:
1) Georgia State University
2) Brigham Young University
3) University of Louisville
4) University of Nebraska at Lincoln
5) University of Kansas
Most students who attend value schools end up working in the same geographic area as the school. “What that means is that when you choose a law school, it might be well to consider whether it’s in an area where you want to spend a few years, if not your entire career,” National Jurist says.
The ranking is not intended to identify the schools that give the best return on investment, according to the magazine. Rather, the best value schools are aimed at helping students who want a quality legal education at an affordable price.
Above the Law would like to see a list of schools that provide the best return on value. “Clearly this list isn’t designed for those who are able to get into Yale Law School,” the blog observes. Georgia State is ranked 60th by U.S. News, the blog says, and those without Yale credentials might want to consider that kind of a low-tuition school, “providing, of course, that you want to work in Georgia for the rest of your life.”
