Unraveling Law School Rankings

It is not easy for a prospective law student to decide to what law school he or she should attend. With the many law schools in the country that provide quality legal education, an individual would have to consider many factors before making this decision. To help prospective law students decide, some people and organizations have come up with law school rankings.

The factors that affect law school rankings include the grade point average of a significant percent of students in a particular law school. The student/faculty ratio and scores obtained by its students from the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) also affect law school rankings.

Some of the more popular law school rankings are the US News law school rankings, Gourman Report and Educational Quality Rankings. Among these three, the US News law school rankings are the most controversy-filled. The Gourman Report, on the other hand, is the first among the several law school rankings that had been made public. This report had been named after Dr. Gourman, a California State University professor. This academic report measures the quality of education provided by graduate and undergraduate schools. However, the most recent Gourman Report had been released back in 1997 still. The Educational Quality Rankings (EQR), on the other hand, focuses on three factors that determine a quality legal education. These factors are quality of the faculty, quality of the student body and the quality of teaching. This law school rankings report was developed and published by Brian Leiter of the University of Texas law school. According to experts, it is ideal for a prospective law student to seriously consider five law schools that he may want to be admitted to. Before considering other law schools, an applicant needs to review the schools that are located in his geographic area. In reviewing these law schools, the applicant should know about their LSAT scores, grade point averages of admitted students as well as the number of students. After, the prospective law student needs to know more about the reputation of each law school. This is where law school rankings come in. However, the law school rankings should not be made the sole criteria for choosing a law school to attend to. Many successful lawyers have graduated from law schools that are not among the top law schools in the rank. Regardless of which law school a person attended, he can practice law as long as he is able to pass the bar examinations. It is a good idea for prospective law students to visit the campuses of the law schools that they are seriously considering. The state where an applicant intends to practice his law profession should also be a major factor for him to consider. He should likewise, ensure that he can afford the legal programs offered by different law schools. Overall, an applicant should evaluate all aspects of a law school, including its ambience, curriculum, and faculty, and determine if it personally suits him since he will be spending three to four years in this campus to obtain a law degree.

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