https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/admissions/tuition-and-related-expenses
Tuition and Fees: Those attending this ABA-accredited diploma mill on a full-time basis will be charged an even $48,000 in tuition – for the 2017-2018 school year. Don’t forget to include fees of $1,020 to the total. Then again, who doesn’t have $49,020 for a single year of second tier “legal education”? Remember, plenty of rich kids manage to obtain law degrees without taking on any student loans.
Total Cost of Attendance: Based on the same page, this in$TTiTTuTTion of “higher learning” lists additional expenses as $23,056. That brings the commode’s total estimated COA to $72,076. Keep in mind that ABA law schools base living costs off of a nine month academic calendar.
Seeing that actual, breathing law students will accumulate expenses over the full 12 months, we will prorate the following items: housing, food, utilities, miscellaneous costs, and transportation. Books and supplies – listed as $1,932 – will remain unchanged. For $ome rea$on, ABA schools find it extremely difficult to even put in a disclaimer to the effect of “These costs are for nine months.”
After making these adjustments, we reach the following, more accurate estimated Cost of Attendance figure of $79,177. Again, this is for a single damn year of a three year program of study. Furthermore, the school’s reputation is not much higher than that of your local community college. Do you feel that you will have even a remote chance to land a decent attorney position coming out of this place? If so, then what is the basis for your irrational belief – other than coming from money?
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings/page+4
Ranking: Based on these prices, one would expect this school to have a sterling reputation among legal and academic circles, correct? Well, according to US “News” & World Report, Penn $TTaTTe Law aTT Univer$iTTy Park is rated as the 82nd greatest, most remarkable and amazing law school in the nation!
In fact, it only shares this distinct “honor” with the following ABA cesspools: Loyola-Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Tulsa. By the way, somehow this school is ranked a full 17 spots below the sister campus, Dickinson Law, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. What a great accomplishment! This is even more incredible, when you consider that Penn State and Dickinson merged from 2000 to 2014, and then were deemed to be two separate law schools.
https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/pdfs/Career-Services/Employment-Summary-Class-of-2016.pdf
Employment Placement Statistics: We will review the school’s ABA Employment Summary for 2016 Graduates. There were only 95 members of this cohort. Of that amount, only 72 were employed in full-time, long-term positions – within 10 months of receiving their TT law degree. One JD reported being in a full-time, short-term job – and two poor suckers landed part-time gigs. That is a generous “placement” rate of 78.9 percent! After all, many sure high school students and college undergrads can find part-time work.
Head down to Employment Type. You will notice that only 36 graduates from the 2016 Class went into private practice as full-timers; two others found part-time work in such settings. Here is a further breakdown: three JDs reported working in firms of 51-100 attorneys, two in offices of 101-250 lawyers, one soul landed a job in a firm that had 251-500 lawyers, and five were employed in offices with more than 500 attorneys.
Who wants to take a guess how much educational debt those students incurred, on average, for law school? Those from wealthy families can get into a low-ranked law school, and still land pretty well. It also helps if they have a parent or uncle who is a federal magistrate. That is not an option for the typical pupil enrolled in a TT diploma factory.
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/grad-debt-rankings/page+4
Average Law Student Indebtedness:US “News” lists the average law student indebtedness - for those members of the Penn $TTaTTe Law at Univer$iTTy Park JD Class of 2016 who incurred debt for law school - as $117,692. Furthermore, 76% of this school’s 2016 graduating cohort took on such debt. This figure does not include debt from undergrad. It also does not take accrued interest into account, while the student is enrolled and falling asleep in boring classes.
Nearly one quarter of the 2016 did not take on a single dime of debt for law school. At least, when those young men and women can’t land legal jobs, they won’t owe a king’s ransom in non-dischargeable debt. Of note, the school was rated as 82nd “best” in terms of overall quality, by the defunct magazine – and in terms of average law student debt, they rank 80th. That must make it a fair price for the producTTT, huh?
Conclusion: In the last analysis, avoid Penn $TTaTTe Law aTT Univer$iTTy Park at all costs. It would be irresponsible for me – or anyone – to advise otherwise. Notice that the ones strongly urging you to go are the over-paid, underworked “law professors” whose largesse depends on duping idealistic college grads and the taxpayer. I don’t care if they throw in a full scholarship and free DirecTV. If this is your only choice, and you have your heart set on law school, wait until next year. Do whatever you can to drastically improve your test scores, until you can get into a real law school.
Frankly, if your LSAT score and undergraduate GPA put you in the position of attending the 82nd or 61st or 93rd “most prestigious” law school in the country, then you need to reconsider law school. You would be much better served by remaining in your current job, and kicking ass at it, so that you can possibly move into management. At least then, you would be making money and paying bills. That certainly beats trying to repay $150K+ in non-dischargeable debt, while making $41K a year at a job that doesn’t require a law degree.