There are many ways to rank law schools, but the way that the National Jurist’s preLaw Magazine does it is quite interesting. Rather than concentrating on the prestige factors that usually dominate law school ranking systems, this ranking focuses solely on factors that provide the “best value” for students. That said, this is a list that is typically dominated by public schools, with a smattering of private schools mixed in. Curiously, for the past few years, a private school had come out on top of the National Jurist ranking — but that has stopped, and a new value victor reigns supreme in 2025.
Before we get to the Top 20 ranking, let’s discuss the methodology used to suss out which law schools are providing the best value for students. The National Jurist’s ranking takes into account a law school’s tuition, students’ cost of living expenses, students’ average indebtedness upon graduation (collectively weighted 55%), the percentage of graduates who got a job after graduation (30%), and bar passage rates (two-year difference between first-time pass rate and average state pass rate; two-year ultimate pass rate; and two-year first-time raw pass rate) (15%).
As noted previously, based on these inputs, the ranking tends to skew heavily towards public schools, but private schools made a showing in this year’s ranking. One private school cracked the Top 20, while 10 others followed behind later. For what it’s worth, the 2025 Best Value ranking reminds us a bit of U.S. News law school rankings, in that we’ve got an 18-way tie for 21st place and a 20-way tie for 22nd place.
Without further ado, here are the National Jurist’s Top 20 Best Value Law Schools:
- Florida State University
- Brigham Young University
- University of Georgia
- University of Florida
- University of Kansas
- University of Alabama
- University of North Carolina
- University of Missouri
- Texas A&M Law
- University of Illinois
- University of Nebraska
- University of Oklahoma
- University of Tennessee
- Georgia State University
- University of Iowa
- University of Montana
- University of Kentucky
- University of Buffalo School of Law
- University of Texas
- Texas Tech University
Erin O’Hara O’Connor, dean of FSU Law, attributes the school’s success in the 2025 Best Value ranking to the school’s overall philosophy, that affordability plus opportunity equals freedom — the freedom to build their desired careers. “Per dollar invested in their legal education, our students cannot and will not receive a better education and better opportunities,” O’Connor said.
The lesson to be learned here is simple: if you want to keep your debt low, consider enrolling at a public law school. If you don’t mind up to a six-figure debt load, enroll in the best law school you can get into (let’s say the top 50), because those are the schools where you’ll be able to get jobs that will allow you to service your loans.
Congrats to the law schools that offer their students the “best value.”
Best value law schools [preLaw Magazine / National Jurist]
FSU Law, BYU Law and UGA School of Law take top spots for best value law schools [preLaw Magazine / National Jurist]
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
The post The Law Schools That Provide The ‘Best Value’ For Students (2025) appeared first on Above the Law.
