The $65,000 Break-Even Point

"Schools with median starting salaries under $65,000, which generally land somewhere in the 70s in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, are not good values. They need to either lower their cost to students and/or improve job opportunities for their graduates, according to [Northwestern Law Dean David] Van Zandt in David Lat's ATL post. Lat notes that Vanderbilt law prof Herwig Schlunk argues that the break-even point is much higher in Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be...Lawyers. Chicago law prof Brian Leiter observes "Don't insult the Deans and faculties of some 130 law schools by stating in public, as David Van Zandt (Northwestern) has now done, that it doesn't make "economic sense" for a student to go to any of their schools." Don't some really good legal secretaries make $65K? [JH]