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U.S. News Ranks Law School Debt, Everyone Cries

By Deanne Katz, Esq. on July 09, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

If you graduated from law school in the last few years, chances are you are currently suffocating under a mountain of debt. Due to rising tuition prices and decreasing job opportunities, many law school grads are saddled with what is equivalent to a mortgage, except it doesn't come with a house.

In add to all the articles out there warning people off from law school, U.S. News published a list of law schools whose graduates have the most debt.

That news comes a little late for grads and those who already started their legal education. Thanks a lot for all the help.

This list isn't even very helpful, unless what you want is to see if you have more or less than the average debt from your school.

The list doesn't seem to take into account anything other than the fact that law students graduate with debt. Plus one for obviousness.

There's nothing in the list to judge how fast graduates can pay down their debt. It doesn't mention if grads with more debt also have worse job prospects.

A prime example: Yale Law School grads have over $100,000 in debt on average according to this list. Grads from Georgia State University Law School have the least debt, averaging just under $20,000. But does that mean someone should give up a spot at Yale for Georgia State?

Maybe, maybe not, maybe a list like this doesn't actually give useful information.

Most attorneys can agree that law school loans are bad news. Rankings that compare debt without considering how grads pay it down are just as bad. On the plus side, now you know just how much debt everyone else has. Too bad that knowledge won't pay your loans.

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