Multiple Law Schools Pull Out of U.S. News Rankings
In November, CNN reported that both Yale and Harvard law schools have decided to part ways with the US News and World Report rankings. Both Yale and Harvard have traditionally ranked high on the report. Deans at both schools have announced that the move comes from a belief that the rankings report perpetuates disparities in law schools. John Manning, Dean of Harvard Law School, posted a statement to the Universities website stating that the US News rankings, “undermines the efforts of many law schools to support public interest careers for their graduates.” One of the criteria for the report emphasizes the importance of finding high paying jobs after school thereby punishing institutions who encourage their graduates to find work in public interest and advocacy.
More Colleges Are Following Suit
There is a belief amongst universities that where Harvard goes, the rest will follow. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that in recent weeks, several other law schools have followed suit. To date, Stanford Law School, UC Berkeley School of Law, Columbia Law School, the Georgetown University Law Center, the Duke University School of Law, the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the UCLA School of Law, and the University of Michigan Law School have all pulled out of the rankings. Of the top 14 ranked schools, that leaves only the University of Chicago Law School, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, NYU School of Law, the University of Virginia School of Law, and Cornell Law School still participating in the ranking. However, don’t be surprised if you hear of these schools pulling out as well.
It is important to note that the schools will still be ranked by US News. However, the data will now come from publicly available sources instead of the schools themselves. This is an important distinction. Make sure you’re checking and verifying the public sources of information on your own before letting the rankings determine whether or not you will apply to a specific law program.
We’ve reported on this multiple times before. The US News rankings aren’t going anywhere. For better or worse, prospective students, parents, and employers still use the rankings to help determine the quality of education or to determine the “hireability” of a candidate. But again, when looking for schools to apply to, don’t put too much worth on the rankings. Rankings aren’t everything. No matter what these upcoming report might say, nothing about the education the school has to offer has changed. The name of the school will still get you advantages even if they appear lower on the list.
