Are you narrowing your list of law schools that you plan on attending for Fall 2018? Unsure of how to tell the difference between some schools? Making a final decision can be stressful. If you feel like you need more information about a law school, consider looking at their Standard 509.
What is a Standard 509? The American Bar Association requires that law schools disclose certain information about their schools. Standard 509 information includes: LSAT/GPA data, tuition and living expenses, diversity of enrollment, grants and scholarships, and more. Most law schools provide a link to the Standard 509 document at the bottom of their law school websites. However, the ABA provides an easy way for you access the documents and compare schools. The website is: http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/
We also more information about how to access Standard 509 reports on our Compass page.
Using all the Illinois Law Schools Standard 509 documents, here are some ways you can utilize this resource and narrow your choices! The three topics we looked at included: on campus cost of living, conditional versus non-conditional scholarships, and transfer rates.
- Chicago-Kent College of Law
- Living Expenses: Living on Campus $ 21,680
- Scholarships: The school does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing. Therefore, the school does not complete a ‘conditional scholarship retention chart.’
- 1L Transfers Out: 16 students transferred from the school to another law school
- More information: https://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/admissions/jd-program-admissions/admissions-statistics-and-resources/aba-required-disclosures
- Depaul University College of Law (Chicago, IL)
- Living Expenses: Living on Campus $ 22,562
- Scholarships: The school does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing. Therefore, the school does not complete a ‘conditional scholarship retention chart.’
- 1L Transfers Out: 0 students transferred from the school to another law school
- More information: https://law.depaul.edu/about/Documents/2017_ABA_Standard_509_Report.pdf
- John Marshall Law School (Chicago, IL)
- Living Expenses: Living on Campus $ 25,507
- Scholarships: 147 students started with scholarships; 66 students had their scholarships Reduced or Eliminated
- 1L Transfers Out: 22 students transferred from the school to another law school
- More information: https://www.jmls.edu/consumer-information/pdfs/2017-aba-consumer-information.pdf
- Loyola University Chicago School of Law (Chicago, IL)
- Living Expenses: Living on Campus $ 24,250
- Scholarships: The school does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing. Therefore, the school does not complete a ‘conditional scholarship retention chart.’
- 1L Transfers Out: 8 students transferred from the school to another law school
- More information: https://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/law/Std509Disclosure.pdf
- Northern Illinois University College of Law (DeKalb, IL)
- Living Expenses: Living on Campus $18,930
- Scholarships: The school does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing. Therefore, the school does not complete a ‘conditional scholarship retention chart.’
- 1L Transfers Out: 0 students transferred from the school to another law school
- More information: https://www.niu.edu/law/_pdfs/admission/ABA-509-Report.pdf
- Northwestern University School of Law (Chicago, IL)
- Living Expenses: Estimated Living Expenses for singles
Living on Campus $ 21,030 - Scholarships: The school does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing. Therefore, the school does not complete a ‘conditional scholarship retention chart.’
- 1L Transfers Out: 0 students transferred from the school to another law school
- More information: http://www.law.northwestern.edu/admissions/disclosures/documents/ABA-Standard-509-Information-Report.pdf
- Living Expenses: Estimated Living Expenses for singles
- Southern Illinois University School of Law (Carbondale, IL)
- Living Expenses: Estimated Living Expenses for singles
Living on Campus $ 18,851 - Scholarships: The school does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing. Therefore, the school does not complete a ‘conditional scholarship retention chart.’
- 1L Transfers Out: 4 students transferred from the school to another law school
- More information: http://www.law.siu.edu/_common/documents/aba%20std%20509%20report%202017.pdf
- Living Expenses: Estimated Living Expenses for singles
- University of Illinois College of Law (Champaign, IL)
- Living Expenses: Estimated Living Expenses for singles
Living on Campus $ 18,600 - Scholarships: The school does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing. Therefore, the school does not complete a ‘conditional scholarship retention chart.’
- 1L Transfers Out: 2 students transferred from the school to another law school
- More information: https://law.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Std509InfoReport-fall2017.pdf
- Living Expenses: Estimated Living Expenses for singles
- University of Chicago Law School (Chicago, IL)
- Living Expenses:Estimated Living Expenses for singles
Living on Campus $ 27,969 - Scholarships: The school does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing. Therefore, the school does not complete a ‘conditional scholarship retention chart.’
- 1L Transfers Out: 0 students transferred from the school to another law school
- More information: https://www.law.uchicago.edu/aba-required-disclosures
- Living Expenses:Estimated Living Expenses for singles