America's most expensive Law Schools - and how much their graduates can earn

The University of Chicago is the Law School that leaves graduates with the biggest loan debt, a new study has found.

The study, conducted by digital marketing agency Hennessey Digital, collected data on 183 Law Schools across America and how much 2020 graduates had to borrow in order to attend their courses. The data was then compared to how much they are expected to earn in their first year of working after graduating.

The University of Chicago sits at the top of the list, with an average graduate loan disbursement of $191,117, and a median earnings of $173,847 in the first year in the business.

Southwestern Law School in California takes second place, requiring a graduate to leave university with a debt worth $190,184, but with an expected median annual salary of only $62,192 - the second lowest of wage of the ten law schools with the highest average loan.

The top three closes with Columbia University, one of East Coast’s most famous Law Schools, with $190,141 worth of loan per single graduate, who could then expect to earn an average of $185,760, the highest median salary on the list.

The list features one public school, the University of Virginia in seventh place, for which a single student taking a loan will need an average of $165,911. UVA ranks behind Harvard, which comes in sixth with $170,866 worth of loan per graduate. Both schools are in the top 10 for best earnings after graduation, with median earnings of $175,653 out of UVA and $172,423 after graduating from Harvard Law.

California Western School of Law has the eighth highest average graduate loan disbursement in America, at $164,918, but a median salary of $60,643 – the lowest in the top ten.

“It is not by chance that the schools highlighted in this study are at the top of the list” a spokesperson for Hennessey Digital commented.  “When it comes to a young person’s education and their future, it is often essential to aim for a school that is proven to give graduates a chance at their dream jobs. When someone decides to take a loan of the size we’ve seen in this study, they want to be sure that it is money well spent.

“The data demonstrates that if students are willing to invest in their education and secure a spot in the best Law Schools in the country, then their sacrifice will be rewarded with well paid jobs which will in turn make it much easier to manage the repayment of those loans.”

The study was conducted by Hennessey Digital, a digital marketing agency for the legal industry. For additional information, visit: https://hennessey.com.