National Jurist - October 2008 - (Page 24) Who dishes out the most money? The National Jurist created the list using data from the 2008 edition of the Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools. (The information comes from the ABA’s 2007 annual questionnaire, which is completed in the fall of that year.) The top five law schools in terms of grants and scholarships per tuition are: Thomas M. Cooley Law School, University of Toledo, Liberty University, Northern Kentucky University and the University of LaVerne. (See accompany- ing chart on the previous page for the remaining schools and their ranking). For example, Liberty University has a median grant award of $22,000 and an annual tuition of about $24,000. Dean Mathew D. Staver said the law school has increased its scholarship funding from $876,400 for the Class of 2007 to more than $1.18 million for the Class of 2010. He said scholarship funds are increasing due in part to the law school’s overall growth. For Thomas Cooley, it’s all about students demonstrating academic achievement. “Cooley believes that students that For Policy Shakers Only Top-ranked programs at the intersection of politics, law, science, and ethics prepare you for a future of change. Master of Laws in Environmental Law Master of Environmental Law and Policy for the community and the world www.vermontlaw.edu have demonstrated academic achievement deserve to be recognized, and we award very generous scholarships from 25 percent to 100 percent of tuition,” said Don LeDuc, Cooley president. “This past year, 55 percent of students received scholarship awards for their impressive credentials.” While no one would advocate selecting a law school solely based on financial considerations, it certainly is a pressing issue considering the rising levels of debt the average law student faces. It also can affect what career path a student follows and what job they ultimately accept after law school, especially considering the pay scale in some areas like public service. Liberty Thomas McAteer, a second-year student at Brooklyn Law School, said she has seen many friends who wanted public-service jobs take positions at large law firms — all in an effort to pay off their student loans. Brooklyn law originally offered McAteer a $25,000- a-year scholarship. She hesitated, mostly because her mother had lost her job and the costs became unreasonable. Then Brooklyn upped the ante to a full ride, and McAteer jumped. “Not having to deal with debt is incredibly freeing,” McAteer said. “Now I am increasingly exploring the possibility of applying for a position as an assistant district attorney when I graduate. I also am considering public interest law.” Caroline Payseur, a second-year law student at Wake Forest, considered three law schools: her alma mater UNC-Chapel Hill and William and Mary as well as Wake Forest. She received a full-tuition scholarship from the private university’s law school aimed at residents of North Carolina. “The scholarship money completely changed my priorities in deciding where to go to law school. I had originally planned to go to a public university for financial reasons,” Payseur said. “The scholarship opportunity opened more doors for me.” Avoiding the “golden handcuffs” of debt was a huge boon for Stephen Foland, a second-year student at Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor. Foland received a full scholarship to attend the relatively new law school. “My undergraduate grades and LSAT scores were high enough to earn admission to a lot of schools, but getting into law school and paying for it are two different matters,” Foland said. “I had planned on attending graduate school from the day I finished college,” 24 THE NATIONAL JURIST October 2008 http://www.cooley.edu http://www.brooklaw.edu http://www.avemarialaw.edu http://www.avemarialaw.edu http://www.vermontlaw.edu http://www.vermontlaw.edu
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