Information About Law Schools, Circa 1960: The Cost of Attending

Brian Tamanaha:

The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) produced a comprehensive study of law schools in the late 1950s, sending detailed surveys to 129 law schools, with a 90% response rate. Here are a few interesting tidbits about the cost of attending law school:

Median annual tuition and fees at private law schools was $475 (range $50-$1050); adjusted for inflation, that's $3,419 in 2011 dollars. The median for public law schools was $204 (range $50 - $692), or $1,550 in 2011 dollars. [For comparison, in 2009 the private law school median was $36,000; the public (resident) median was $16,546.]

The report expressed concern about cost: "The cost of attending law school at least doubled in the [past] 16 years..., raising the question whether able, but impecunious, students are being directed away from law study."

14% of students received scholarship aid; just over half of this aid was for "scholastic performance" (merit scholarships to attract top students) and the remainder for "economic need."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 27, 2011 1:31 AM
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