It would be the University of California-Irvine School of Law.
Contrary to UCI Law, for example, the University of Houston Law Center decided to raise its tuition 16.5% for existing students and 26.5% for incoming students. And, all of this during the worse recession the country has experienced since the great depression. Talk about disrespecting their constituencies. It is not because UH needs the money to provide for their students real needs, but because they want a newer facilities to impress the law school ranking gods. Apparently, UH Law, like so many other law schools, thinks the secret to success is to see just how far in debt they can drive their graduates.
Whether UC Irvine can keep it up is to be seen, but I believe they have shown law schools how to succeed in building building momentum in regard to satisfied law students, reputation, and high rankings in the shortest time.
The way you attract the best and the brightest, with the highest GPAs and LSATs, is to offer the students a FREE education
To begin with, UCI Law provided a free three year law school education to inaugural class. Now, during the worse downturns in California history, they have offered to cover one half of the tuition for the second year entering class. All of it funded by donations. With this it attracts the ranking criteria that ivy league brands would envy.
That kind of muscle builds on itself. As unheard of, the entire inaugural class of UCI Law have earned summer jobs. About 30 students have jobs with nonprofits and 17 students will be employed by judges, including 11 at the federal level. The remainder will join law firms and prosecutors’ offices.
Undoubtedly, the law school is paying if forward. When you graduate well-rounded, practice ready lawyers, who are debt free, you are building your future donation base substantially.
Just think about it. A law school designed more around serving the law students and their futures than one built around law students being made to serve the law school.
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