UND Law School ranked 19th 'Best Value' in the nation by prelaw magazine

The UND School of Law is ranked 19th on the list of Top 20 Best Value Law Schools in the nation, according to the Fall issue of prelaw magazine.

Sixty law schools made the cut and were announced by the magazine in early August. The latest issue of prelaw magazine actually applies a numerical ranking to those that were designated to be the 20 best, back in August, including UND. The remaining 40 law school honorees were assigned a letter grade (A-, B+ or B).

UND Law School Dean Kathryn Rand said prelaw magazine’s list of Best Value Schools uses straight-forward criteria designed to shine the light on schools, such as UND, that provide a “high quality education focused on student success.”

This is the first time the magazine has published its Best Values study in consecutive years. It is also the first year that average indebtedness was factored into the study.

Law schools are honored if they meet four criteria:

1. their bar pass rate is higher than the state average
2. their average indebtedness is below $100,000
3. their employment rate nine months after graduation is 85 percent or higher
4. tuition is less than $35,000 a year for in-state residents.

“With tuition and cost of living expenses outpacing entry-level salaries, it is more important than ever for prospective law students to take into account value,” said Jack Crittenden, editor and founder of preLaw magazine and its sister-publication The National Jurist.

Six schools that were honored in last year’s magazine, did not make the cut this year, including top ranked North Carolina Central University, according to Crittenden.

“Unfortunately, North Carolina Central saw their employment rate drop from 87 to 82.6 percent,” Crittenden said. “The other five schools all saw their bar pass rate drop below the state average.”

Eleven of the 60 schools this year are private institutions, including Phoenix School of Law, which was awarded full ABA accreditation in June. The Fall issue of preLaw will be available next month.

Best Value Schools ranked:

1. Georgia State University
2. Brigham Young University, Utah
3. University of Louisville
4. University of Nebraska-Lincoln
5. University of Kansas
6. University of New Mexico
7. University of Mississippi
8. Florida State University
9. University of Memphis
10. Florida International
11. University of Tennessee
12. University of South Carolina
13. Northern Illinois University
14. University of Kentucky
15. University of Georgia
16. University of Alabama
17. Texas Tech University
18. Louisiana State University
19. University of North Dakota
20. University of Florida

— David L. Dodds, writer/editor, University Relations, 777-5529, daviddodds@mail.und.edu.