Want to Save Money? Try Attending 'Fast Track' Law School Abroad
Oxford University. Image from Shutterstock.
If you are considering law school or read the ABA Journal, you may already be aware of much of the information on a new list of “10 things law schools won’t tell you.”
The list by SmartMoney.com includes: “Lawyers are a dime a dozen,” “Salaries are shrinking” and “You’ll be paying off your student loans for years.” Not so well known, however, is No. 10 on the list: “You’re better off going to law school abroad.”
The article cites the example of Nashville, Tenn., native Christopher Schuller, who knew he wanted to study law when he applied to undergraduate school. He chose Oxford University in England, where he could “become a lawyer on the fast track.”
According to the article, students like Schuller can attend an English university for three years, then complete their undergrad studies and qualify for the bar exam in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Schuller graduated in 2008 and will be sworn in as a New York lawyer this month.
Average university tuition for international students in England ranges from $13,000 to $21,000, the article says. “To be sure,” SmartMoney.com says, “in most of those 27 states that permit taking the bar, students will need to meet extra requirements, like attaining additional education at an ABA-approved law school that can include a Master’s program in law, but that still wouldn’t wipe out their savings.”
Prior coverage of the job market and law school debt:
ABA Journal: “Law Job Stagnation May Have Started Before the Recession—And It May Be a Sign of Lasting Change”
ABA Journal.com: “The Law School Bubble: How Long Will It Last if Law Grads Can’t Pay Bills?”
