Dear Aspiring Law Students,
We develop these rankings annually with the sole purpose of empowering you to make informed decisions regarding your law school education. Pursuing law school is an expensive endeavor that carries with it significant opportunity costs. Further, the admissions process can be an anxiety-ridden experience, as it is both time consuming and unnecessarily opaque. Our sole objective is to be a useful tool for you as you navigate a fraught landscape.
Earlier this year, we made a public announcement that we would continue to publish the rankings for law schools, regardless of whether all law schools participated in our survey, because students have relied on these rankings for more than 30 years. Prior to compiling this year’s rankings, our editorial team conducted conversations with more than 110 law school deans. We overwhelmingly received feedback that the rankings should emphasize the importance of measuring law school outcomes. Since for most – if not all – students, the ultimate goal in attending law school is to become a practicing lawyer and utilize your law degree in the private sector or public interest work, you need to know if law schools are delivering the education needed to achieve these goals.
To provide some background, in this year’s rankings, we placed increased emphasis on employment weights after graduation. We have also included a new metric, called “Ultimate Bar Passage,” which measures the bar exam success of a graduating class over a two-year period. We recognize that as a prospective law student, you are likely focused on understanding your prospects for post-graduation employment; we believe that bar passage is an important first step toward achieving this goal. You can read more information on other changes we have made to the methodology here.
Changes in the methodology and weights used in our rankings can result in some law schools performing better than others. Our intent, however, is to provide you with a set of rankings based on objective data to help you make informed comparisons among the various law schools you are considering. We also acknowledge that our rankings, along with the accompanying journalism, are just one of the many resources that you will rely on to make your decision.
On a personal note, I began my career as an attorney, and have been fortunate to have worked at a private law firm as well as to have served the public in government roles for New York City and, most recently, New York State. I feel blessed to have had the educational opportunities afforded to me and know that I owe any successes in my career to that education and legal training. Whatever path you choose, may your career be as fulfilling and meaningful as you hope.
Our mission, as always, is to help students like you make informed decisions about your education. With four decades of experience, U.S. News is committed to providing reliable and trustworthy information to help you achieve your goals. As we look ahead to the future, we remain steadfast in our commitment to this mission, and we plan to continue to do so for many decades to come.
Eric Gertler
Executive Chairman & CEO