if its so obvious, then why hasn't the federal government realized it. and why does it have accreditation?
yes we are all adults, we took on a debt yada yada yada.
but if this is such a ponzi scheme why is it legal?
and if we allow it to be legal, do we have any onus to stop it?
Excellent points, and I'm going to quote the article:
"Moffatt is one of 12 former TJSL students now suing the law school, which they claim intentionally inflated postgraduation employment figures and salaries in order to lure applicants.
Four former students filed a lawsuit against the school in 2011, and Clark is one of another eight plaintiffs who filed separate suits against the school in 2014. The case filed in 2011 is scheduled to go to trial in early 2016.
The school is accused of reporting postgraduation employment figures that topped 90% in 2010 but neglecting to disclose that the figures included part-time work, such as pool cleaner and Victoria's Secret sales clerk, the Associated Press reported this month, citing the suit and an attorney for the graduates."
One of the things I've thought about in the last few years of skyrocketing college costs, is that there needs to be a calculation that makes sense on how much to borrow.
For example - pick a major, a school, and a job.
Electrical engineering, Cal Poly, EE/ circuit design
Penn State, Materials science, electronics
Carnegie Mellon, computer science, programming
UCLA, English, teaching
Oregon state, accounting, accountant
UF, marketing, administrate assistant
U of Nebraska, pharmacy, pharmacist
Figure out the cost of the four/five years of school.
Find the average starting salary of graduates of that school for that major
Find the % of employment in the field from that school
Multiply #2 and #3 and don't borrow more than 2x that?
In any event, if you have a school like this one that inflates the starting salaries and employment - where do you go for real information?
I remember when I gradated in the early 90's, our school proudly sent out a letter about the employment of our 24-person class. Average staring salary of $40k, "X" # of people going on to further education at the following schools, and "Y" number of people doing "other, including military service" (yeah, there were 2 of us in that category. Other because an Ensign/ 2nd Lt got paid under $20k and they didn't want us bringing down the average).
I did find this though, which maybe would have been helpful:
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/thomas-jefferson-school-of-law-03181For fun I also picked Yale (top school) and George Mason (had a roommate attending that school). Summary: (Law school is 3 years)
TJSL:Cost: $44,900 per year
% employed at graduation: 18.1%
Median private starting salary: $50k
Employment * salary = $9050
That pays for 1/5 of a year of law school
Analysis: not worth it
George Mason:Cost: $25,351 per year
% employed at graduation: 59.6%
Median private starting salary: $80k
Employment * salary = $47,680
That pays for 1.9 years of law school
Analysis: perhaps worth it
Yale:Cost: $56,200 per year
% employed at graduation: 88.2%
Median private starting salary: $160k
Employment * salary = $141,120
That pays for 2.5 years of law school
Analysis: probably worth it
Depending on cost of living also - this is simply tuition. The amount borrowed will also include housing/ food.