Law School Tuition Increases Quicker than Inflation During Previous Decade

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There has been an increase of 73 percent in private law school tuition figures from 2000 to 2010. The tuition was $21,790 in 2000 and hit $37,702 in 2010. For public law schools, their tuition increased by 150 percent over that same time period. In 2000, tuition at public law schools was at $7,790 and in 2010 tuition hit $20,000. A National Jurist study recently released to the public has examined these increases over the previous decade.

One law school, the Massachusetts School of Law, saw its tuition increase by 22 percent this past decade from $12,300 to $14,990. The school is not accredited by the American Bar Association. The next school in line is that of public school The University of District of Columbia. This school’s tuition increased by 33 percent. In 2000, the tuition was $7,135 and in 2010 the tuition was $9,480.

  

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The next two schools on the list are St. Thomas University of Miami (45 percent increase) and St. Mary’s University of San Antonio (48 percent increase). During the previous decade, 11 law schools were able to hold their tuition increase below 60 percent while inflation increased by 25 percent for the same decade. Thirty-six schools, most of them public, have been able to keep their tuition below the $10,000 mark, but they started with incredibly low tuitions in 2000.

While they have not pledged to keep their tuition the same, the South Texas College of Law in Houston said that any increases they had would be very low, in line with how they have been historically, according to Dean Donald Guter.

Now there are schools promising no increases in tuition or offering flat-rate tuition, which means tuition will not increase for a student after he or she enrolls in school. The schools offering not to increase tuition include the following: University of Tulsa School of Law, Michigan State University College of Law, and St. Louis University School of Law. The following schools are offering flat-rate tuition: New York Law School and the University of Illinois, University of Texas School of Law and Mississippi College of Law in Jackson.

According to the study from the National Jurist, the following statistics show the percent of tuition growth by school and the tuition growth by dollars.

Tuition growth by %
Massachusetts School of Law              21.9%
University of the District of Columbia  32.9%
St. Thomas University School of Law 45.0%
St. Mary’s University School of Law    48.1%
Catholic University                                 52.6%
Stetson University College of Law      55.9%
South Texas College of Law                56.2%
University of Miami School of Law      57.3%
Boston College Law School                 58.2%
University of St. Thomas, Mn                59.2%
Loyola University Chicago                   59.2%
Nova Southeastern University            60.1%
Western State University                      60.1%
New York University                              60.6%
University of Dayton School of Law    61.7%
University of Montana                           61.7%
University of San Francisco                 63.1%
Boston University School of Law        63.1%
Willamette University                            63.2%
George Washington University           63.8%

Tuition growth by dollars
University of the District of Columbia $2,345
Massachusetts School of Law             $2,690
University of Montana                           $4,220
Brigham Young University                   $4,720
Southern University Law Center        $5,190
CUNY School of Law                            $5,200
University of Mississippi                       $5,594
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville   $5,615
University of North Dakota                   $5,655
University of South Dakota                  $5,667
University of Arkansas at Little Rock $5,891
University of Missouri — Kansas City  $6,104
University of Wyoming                         $6,644
University of Hawaii  School of Law $7,226
University of Missouri — Columbia  $7,339
Texas Southern University                 $7,615
North Carolina Central University    $7,631
Northern Kentucky University           $8,026
Temple University                               $8,188
University of Nebraska                      $8,344
University of Kansas                          $8,379
West Virginia University                    $8,466
University of Idaho College of Law $8,524
University of Tennessee                   $8,592
University of New Mexico                 $8,620
Southern Illinois University              $8,622
University of Memphis                      $8,681
Washburn University                        $8,918
Louisiana State University              $8,984
Georgia State University                 $9,070
St. Mary’s University                         $9,141
South Texas College of Law          $9,480
University of Louisville                     $9,485
SUNY — Buffalo Law School         $9,487
Northern Illinois University             $9,772
Cleveland State University             $9,887