Law school tuition is falling rapidly for about half of all students Forum

[Paul Campos]

This is a FYI for current and prospective applicants. I just finished a study of changes in law school tuition between 2011 and 2015.

Bottom line: Although sticker tuition has gone up 16% during this time, effective tuition (tuition minus discounts) is down an average of 10.6% at all schools. This figure rises to 12.5% if you exclude elite schools, which collectively have raised tuition in real terms by 9%.

These are averages: at many schools outside the top 50, real tuition is down 20% or 30% or even 40% from 2011. (Note these are 2015 numbers as 2016 numbers on discounting won't be available until this fall). The complicating factor is that this massive increase in the discount rate is benefiting only about half of all students: those getting significant discounts off sticker (about 35% of students are still paying sticker, and another 15% or so are getting small discounts). The differences between what the two halves of the class pay to go to the same law school have often become enormous.

Anyway there's a real price war going on out there now.

[Npret]

Spivey posted a brief remark yesterday that schools may bechanging merit scholarships because they have been losing money. (Lol. At schools not Spivey.) So far this year has been different in terms of scholarship expectations based on past cycles.

It's crazy that top schools are up 9% but still in the red.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4#p9840474

Also Prof Campos can we read this paper somewhere ?

[Paul Campos]

Top schools aren't in the red AFAIK. Lots of other schools are in big trouble though, since the decline in real tuition only intensifies the effects of a 24% decline in JD enrollment over the past five years. This means total tuition revenue is down around 35% -- more if you exclude the elites, who continue to inhabit a different economic universe, in law schools and elsewhere.

Anyone on TLS who wants to look at a draft of the paper can PM me.

[theboringest]

Seems to make sense. Schools buy medians and anyone below them is pretty fucked.

[chicagoburger]

This is a FYI for current and prospective applicants. I just finished a study of changes in law school tuition between 2011 and 2015.

Bottom line: Although sticker tuition has gone up 16% during this time, effective tuition (tuition minus discounts) is down an average of 10.6% at all schools. This figure rises to 12.5% if you exclude elite schools, which collectively have raised tuition in real terms by 9%.

These are averages: at many schools outside the top 50, real tuition is down 20% or 30% or even 40% from 2011. (Note these are 2015 numbers as 2016 numbers on discounting won't be available until this fall). The complicating factor is that this massive increase in the discount rate is benefiting only about half of all students: those getting significant discounts off sticker (about 35% of students are still paying sticker, and another 15% or so are getting small discounts). The differences between what the two halves of the class pay to go to the same law school have often become enormous.

Anyway there's a real price war going on out there now.

Meaning full sticker outside T13 is not acceptable.