First professional · Harrogate, Tennessee

Is Law at Lincoln Memorial University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 12.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $61,058; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $79,051; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $135,978; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $144k (likely $144k – $144k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $20k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in TN; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 12.2 years (likely 9.3–18.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$314k (likely −$404k – −$219k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$45k (likely −$234k – $163k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.