Best Value / By Major

Best Value Colleges for Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

3

Schools Ranked

$35,352

Avg. Earnings

14.1 yrs

Best Payback

109

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	Amherst College Amherst, MA · Private	$7,793	$37,208	14.1 yrs
2	Pennsylvania Western University California, PA · Public	$17,695	$37,208	32.1 yrs
3	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA · Public	$19,216	$34,526	N/A

Top Earners in Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

Best Value Rankings

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Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.