University Of Akron School Of Law

I know that Akron, Ohio might not be the most romantic city in the world.  After all, one of its claims to fame is that it was here that Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935.  It is referred to as "Rubber City" and "Tire City" for the automobile tire plants located there.  It's known as the birthplace of the American trucking industry.  LaBron James did come from here, however.  It is a smaller city with a population of slightly over 200,000 people.  Located between Cleveland and Canton, and just west of Pennsylvania, the cities industrial past is giving way to a "high-tech haven".  Unfortunately, Akron is also called the "Meth Capital of Ohio".  Regardless, it a center of quality higher education and medical services in the area.

None of this means that Akron is not a wonderful place to live, with many amenities.  It can represent both a nice place to live and, because of the economic situation there and in Ohio as a whole, it can represent a more cost effective place to live.  In economics and finance it is referred to as arbitrage, or taking advantage of a price differential between two or more markets.  This works to some extent for law schools as well.

In this regard is The University of Akron School of Law.  A public university and fully accredited by the ABA, the law school is ranked second in the National Jurist and the Pre-Law Insider magazines as a best value law school.  Its Center for Constitutional Law is only one of four constitutional law centers established by Congress.  And, the law school has both J.D. and LL.M. programs, and has both full time and part time programs.  It offers joint law and master degree programs in business administration, taxation, public administration, human resources and applied politics.  It has one of the few intellectual property law and technology law programs in the country.

Here, we do not pay that much attention to U.S. News rankings as we believe the rankings are flawed in many ways.  Nonetheless, U.S. News ranks Akron Law as a third tier law school.  This means it is a good middle level law school that still has a lot going for it.

In what should matter most, Akron Law has a competitive tuition rate and a nearly pristine bar passage rate.  Despite the sharp rise in tuition by law schools nationally, Akron's current full time tuition is $17,928.00 for in-state students, and $29,960.00 for out of state.  Especially if you are from Ohio, or can eventually establish residency there, there are few law schools that are going to offer you a better value.  If you live in Ohio, you probably would not want to forgo Akron in lieu of an out-of-state or private law school.  Further, the law school offers much in the way of scholarships, work study jobs, and apprenticeships.  For example, law students are automatically considered for first-year scholarships.  According to Law School Numbers, 34.7% of the student body receives grant aid, and 10.3% receive full tuition grants.

Akron Law exceeds the bar passage rate average for Ohio.  Recently, for example, Akron Law recorded an 85% passage rate for first time, full-time, bar exam takers.  The Ohio bar passage rate for all schools was 75%.

As for admit offers, this is why I referred to arbitrage.  The law school, despite its value, admitted 37.7% of its applicants in its full-time program and 47.5% in its part-time program, for a combined average of 39.4%.

You have to think if Akron Law was located differently, that it would a hard law school to enter.

The point is that if you are considering law school, you might wish to seriously consider Akron Law for the value and quality of legal education it represents.

Comments

[Jeff Crossman]

I've lived in Akron and know the law school fairly well. It's a great bargain and the Akron area is a great place to live. I've had the pleasure of practicing law with many graduates of Akron (I'm in Ohio) and they are just as capable, creative, and intelligent as any attorney that I have ever met. Like my alma mater, Cleveland-Marshall, they also have an evening program and strive to offer opportunities to people that may not otherwise have opportunities to go to law school (which may also explain their lower ranking). All in all, this is an excellent law school choice for many reasons.

[Charles J. Cochran, Jr.]

I graduated from the evening program at the University of Akron School of Law in 1990 when it was upgrading much of the Campus. It was a good quality education both at the Law School and for my undergraduate degree. I would recommed it. I had the GI bill to rely on until close to the end of my second year and probably would not have qualified for aid as I had a full time factory job also.