In
today’s
world,
the
vast
majority
of
students
attending
law
school
have
been
saddled
with
seemingly
insurmountable
six-figure
debt
loads.
Many
law
students
are
under
the
mistaken
impression
that
they’ll
be
able
to
pay
off
that
debt
quickly;
after
all,
they
believe
their
starting
salaries
after
graduation
will
be
in
line
with
the
now-standard
starting
salary
of
up
to
$225,000
at
Biglaw
firms
across
the
country
(depending
on
office
location).
Unfortunately,
these
high-salary
positions
account
for
only
a
small
percentage
of
entry-level
jobs
for
recent
law
school
graduates.
The
vast
majority
of
law
school
graduates
will
be
left
wondering
how
they’ll
ever
be
able
to
pay
down
their
debt
in
a
timely
fashion,
if
at
all.
What’s
a
prospective
law
student
to
do?
Choose
the
most
cost-efficient
law
school
to
which
you’ve
been
accepted,
preferably
one
with
a
high
salary-to-debt
ratio,
and
your
starting
salary
may
well
meet
or
exceed
your
student
debt
burden.
There
are
several
law
schools
whose
graduates
are
very
well-compensated
after
graduation
—
in
fact,
they’re
so
well-compensated
that
it
makes
up
for
the
costs
of
their
education.
U.S.
News
recently
put
together
a
ranking
of
the
25
schools
with
the
highest
salary-debt
ratios
in
the
private
sector
among
2024
graduates.
Did
your
law
school
or
alma
mater
make
the
cut?
Here
are
the
Top
10.
Southern
Methodist
University’s
Dedman
School
of
Law
(TX):
2.92-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$150,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$51,451
Brigham
Young
University’s
J.
Reuben
Clark
Law
School
(UT):
2.56-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$140,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$54,678
University
of
Alabama
School
of
Law:
2:37-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$150,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$63,225
University
of
Florida
Levin
College
of
Law:
2.28-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$140,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$61,356
Wayne
State
University
Law
School
(MI):
2.22-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$135,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$60,852
Washington
University
School
of
Law
(MO):
2:20-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$205,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$93,380
University
of
Illinois
College
of
Law:
2:11-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$150,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$71,157
Boston
University
School
of
Law
(MA):
2:07-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$225,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$108,550
Georgia
State
University
College
of
Law:
2:07-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$100,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$48,259
University
of
Tennessee-Knoxville
Winston
College
of
Law:
2:07-to-1
-
Starting
median
private
salary
(2023):
$150,000 -
Average
debt
(2024):
$72,377
Click here to
see
the
full
list.
We’ve
said
it
once
and
we’ll
say
it
again,
but
before
you
decide
to
shell
out
tens
of
thousands
of
loan
dollars
to
attend
a
law
school
in
the
hope
of
having
a
high
salary
after
graduating,
it’s
worth
it
to do
all
of
your
research beforehand.
25
Law
Schools
Where
You
Can
Pay
Off
Your
Debt
[U.S.
News]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
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