Here is a very good article from Law.com that demonstrates that the cart is pulling the horse when it comes to U.S. News And World Report law school rankings: Rankings influencing the decisions made by law schools.
What Rankings Mean For Your Choice
As a law school applicant, it’s up to you to make yourself an informed and knowledgeable consumer. That includes making decisions that are best for you, and understanding why a school is ranked the way it is ranked. Since we can’t trust the law schools to walk away from their love-hate relationship with USNWR rankings, it’s up to law school applicants to disavow them by making smart decisions.
Of course, it also means legal employers will need to follow suit. Ok, now I’m being idealistic. So I’ll settle for the following: for law school applicants to understand the rankings and to make good decisions for themselves accordingly. Don’t get sucked in. As I say in my law school admission guide book, “USNWR’s Top 25 are not necessarily YOUR top 25.”
