It was a GOOD week for . . .
Breaking the status quo, after Brooklyn Law School announced plans to cut tuition and stop trying to climb the national law school rankings. Brooklyn Law School dean Nicholas Allard said the school hopes to “demonstrate that we can break away from the broken model that exists now.” The law school plans to freeze tuition for the Fall 2014 incoming class. The following year, it plans to cut tuition by 15 percent. Additionally, the school will reduce merit scholarships, increase need-based aid, and provide a two-year curriculum program. “What we want are the highest qualified students who fit with us and are motivated to take advantage of our special offerings,” Allard said. “We’re not going to throw money at some artificial rankings. As far as I’m concerned, the U.S. News rankings may be good for lining the cage of a parakeet, but as a road map for students, they’re not useful.”
It was a BAD week for …
Law school debt, after U.S. News & World Report released a list of the school’s with the most debt upon graduation. Thomas Jefferson School of Law tops the list with an eye-popping $180,665 in average debt. It is followed by New York Law School ($164,739), American University’s Washington College of Law ($158,636), California Western School of Law ($157,748) and Northwestern University ($155,777).