By Anita Paulsson
“Why didn’t you go to Gonzaga?”
A Gonzaga University School of Law alumnus asked me that question in a recent job interview. My initial response was that I could not have afforded the tuition to attend Gonzaga. At a rate of around $32,640 each year (based on current cost of a 30-credit year for a full-time student[1]), one year of tuition at Gonzaga would have cost me more than I paid for my entire legal education from Oak Brook College of Law and the cost of two states’ bar exams.
But the value of an education through Oak Brook College of Law extends far beyond saving money. Oak Brook College of Law allows for flexibility in both schedule and location. This can allow you to study from home and to complete your study around the schedule of your work and family. I was able to help my grandparents through a tough year of doctor and hospital visits during which time I spent many hours studying in waiting rooms, and God used that time I spent with my family to develop those relationships.
There were many other things made possible for me by the flexibility of study through Oak Brook College of Law, such as watching the expression on someone’s face as I explained that I lived in Washington State, was enrolled in a law school located in California, and did an internship with a district attorney’s office in Oklahoma. Your experience will be different, but that is exactly the point and the value of a legal education from Oak Brook College of Law. You will be allowed to experience law school in a manner that is uniquely customized to fit you.
At a total tuition cost of about one-half to three-fourths of what one year’s tuition will cost at more traditional Christian law schools in America[2], Oak Brook College of Law combines a low cost with the value of a top-quality legal education from a Biblical and historical perspective. You will be more likely to reach your law school graduation without incurring serious education debts, which might allow you to avoid facing a choice between the career path you believe God called you to and the one necessary to meet the demands of law school debts.
Of course, the same flexibility that will allow you to fit law school into your life does allow greater chance for life’s interruptions, but if you invest the hard work and self-discipline necessary to develop and follow a workable schedule, Oak Brook College of Law can give you the knowledge and skill you need to pass possibly the toughest bar exam in the country and become an “advocate of truth, counselor of reconciliation, and minister of justice”[3] no matter where God may lead your career.
[1] http://www.law.gonzaga.edu/Admissions/financial_aid_and_scholarships/Tuition-and-Fees/default.asp
[2] Cost of tuition comparison chart for the juris doctor degree program of several traditional “brick and mortar” Christian law schools and Oak Brook College of Law (costs current as of May 2010):
| Law School Name | Annual Tuition | Projected Total Tuition |
| Regent University School of Law | $ 30,750* | $ 92,250 |
| Liberty University School of Law | $ 27,836** | $ 83,508 |
| Trinity Law School *** | $ 22,500**** | $ 67,500 |
| Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law | $ 31,800***** | $ 95,400 |
| Pepperdine University School of Law | $ 39,280****** | $ 117,840 |
| Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy ******* | $ 4,000******** | $ 16,000 |
* Based on 15 credit hours per semester — http://www.regent.edu/admin/finaid/0910_pages/costs_law0910.cfm
** http://www.liberty.edu/academics/law/index.cfm?PID=7268
*** Accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California –http://www.tiu.edu/law/about/accreditation
**** Based on 15 units per semester — http://www.tiu.edu/law/financialaid/cost
***** http://law.campbell.edu/prospective-students/cost_and_financial-aid.html
****** http://law.pepperdine.edu/financial-assistance/cost-of-attendance/
******* Registered with the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California as an unaccredited correspondence law school http://www.obcl.edu/index.php/jd-program-overview
******** http://www.obcl.edu/index.php/jd-tuition
[3] http://www.obcl.edu/index.php/about-main/statement-of-mission