<p>How much does a typical private law school cost? What about a public like Boalt? If I am a California resident, would I get some kind of instate tuition for Boalt?</p>
<p>Thanks! :)</p>
<p>Havard Law School is around $50,000 a year. Most state schools are in the $12,000-$15,000 a year range for in-state.</p>
<p>TUITION for privates is usually around 30,000-35,000ish. Cost of living etc will bump that up to around 50,000. In-state depends A LOT on the state. In state at UMich is 29,000 where as at Georgia I think it's under 10,000.</p>
<p>Private law schools will range from about $40k/year (rural schools) to $56k/year (urban schools - Northwestern and Harvard are right around there). That is tuition, room, board, books, fees, health insurance (yes, health insurance - most people can't get on their parent's plan), electricity, heat, blah blah blah. </p>
<p>UConn, in-state, is $17k/year, plus room and board. Out of state is double that. W&M out-of-state is $40k/year. If you want specific law schools, just look on their websites.</p>
<p>Finally -take the TOTAL number (not just tuition),
1. multiply by 3 (for three years)
2. add a few thousand for tuition increases
3. mult. by 1.35
4. divide by 120</p>
<p>The end result is your monthly payment for 10 years, with about a 5% interest rate.</p>
<p>helluva investment but well worth it</p>
<p>To answer the OP's questions about the costs of Boalt.</p>
<p>So as long as I go to a good law school and graduate with respectable grades, how guaranteed is it that I will get a job right out of law school?</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that Boalt doesn't give you any extra admission points for being in-state, unlike undergrad at Berkeley. And their acceptance rate is 10%.</p>
<p>I have never seen any credible information that you receive an admissions boost at Boalt by coming from Berkeley undergrad. In fact, there was a rather famous posting that indicated Boalt's admissions preferences for undergraduates from various schools, that indicate that, if there is any boost for undergrad program in California, it is for undergrads at Stanford, not Berkeley. That's right - Boalt preferred Stanford undergrads over Berkeley undergrads.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So as long as I go to a good law school and graduate with respectable grades, how guaranteed is it that I will get a job right out of law school?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Most law school grads at top schools find jobs rather quickly.</p>
<p>I meant that if you applying for undergrad at UC Berkeley being in-state helps a lot, not that you'll get any kind of boost coming from Berkeley undergrad to Boalt.</p>
<p>Just take a look at the USNEWS ranking, it tells you the percentage of people who get jobs within 3 years. Harvard has something like 99% so its pretty much a given that you'd be employed and on your way to paying back that debt.</p>
<p>Oh geez... you guys... </p>
<p>The chance that you'll get a job upon graduation varies enormously with the quality of the school you go to and the economy at the time you graduate. Lesser factors include things like performance, law review membership, prior work experience, area you want to go into, size of legal market, school you're coming from and geographical connections to city you want to be in, etc.</p>
<p>Top-tier schools are in the 90%+ range at graduation. Second-tier schools are around 60%. Third tier - unless the economy is strong, or you are valedictorian + L. Rev. editor or a member of an ethnic group or have some amazing capability, you'll have a rough time finding a job. Again, HUGE variation by school, location, economy, and HOW WELL YOU DO. No use coming out at the bottom of your class at UCLA - at least if you want private practice. Also look in the back of US News and figure out what types of employment those graduates have. </p>
<p>Please, please don't assume a top law school unless you're already a junior in college (or a senior) and have taken your LSATs and aced them. Otherwise, you really have no idea how competitive the admissions game is. It's changed a lot in the past few years. A 165 LSAT and a 3.5 GPA will put you at about the median at top 25 schools - as in, ranked 15-25. If you want better than that, you're looking at NEEDING a killer GPA and LSAT.</p>
<p>To further that notion, my roommate who graduated at the top 10% of his class at UCLA and had a 165 on the LSAT is getting more rejection letters than bills.</p>
<p>It's tough.</p>