National Jurist - January 2008 - (Page 13) LAWSCHOOL Another No. 1 for Columbia New York school carries nation’s highest tuition costs mately 1,200 J.D. students enrolled across all three years of study. Still, the percentage difference between Columbia, Yale (No. 2 on the list) and Northwestern (No. 3) is minimal. Tuition is $40,900 By Karen Dybis at Yale and $40,680 at Northwestern, according to the Internet Legal Research Group. What is startling is how fast those expenses have increased over the past decade. Consider this: In 1997-98, Columbia students paid about $25,666 for their legal education on an annual basis. But as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Notably, 99 percent of the most recent graduating class — the Class of 2006 — was employed by graduation. Nearly all members of the class reported that they were living in their first-choice location, as well as working in their chosen area of legal practice, Columbia officials said. And more than two-thirds of the Butler Library on the Columbia University campus. class said they are working for their first-choice employer. “In return for their investColumbia Law School tuition rates over the past 10 years ment, our students receive exceptional training that is $45,000 recognized worldwide,” Dean David M. Schizer said. Tuition Inflation “Changes in curriculum and in teaching bring new $40,000 costs to the school, which we are working to offset with increased funding from private and corporate donors, founda$35,000 tion gifts and grants,” Schizer added. “Over the course of the past five years, we have more than doubled the amount of $30,000 money we raise for student and faculty support, so tuition increases are only a modest part of our efforts to enhance $25,000 what we do.” 1997-'98 '98-'99 '99-2000 '00-'01 '01-'02 '02-'03 '03-'04 '04-'05 '05-'0 '06-'07 Rising costs are an issue •Information provided by the ABA Journal •Information computed from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Continued on next page… January 2008 THE NATIONAL JURIST 13 olumbia University’s Law School regularly garners the top spot in prestigious lists like best legal facilities and most qualified professors. But there’s another category in which Columbia invariably gets recognition for being No. 1: It has the highest tuition costs in the nation. Organizations such as U.S. News and World Reports rank Columbia as the most expensive law school based on its tuitions and fees for the 2006-07 academic year. Students pay more than $41,226 in tuition and fees each year, according to the magazine’s rankings of U.S. graduate schools. Add to that another $14,400 for room and board, $1,100 for books and $3,300 for other expenses and it’s easy to see why Columbia tops the list of most expensive law schools. Founded in 1858, Columbia is one of the first law schools established in the United States. It also is one of the university’s largest degree programs with approxi- PHOTO BY DANIELLA ZALCMAN
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