Law School Rankings
If you're planning on becoming a lawyer, chances are, you're already deciding which law school you would like to enroll in. After all, your choice of school will affect your chances of getting employed once you graduate and pass the bar examinations. If you plan on being a student in a top-ranked law school, then you might want to check out law school rankings. There are top tier law schools, regional tiers and lower-tier national schools, state-authorized schools, and unaccredited schools. (1)
Law school rankings are done by ranking law schools according to the perceived quality of education that they provide their students. One of the most popular and recognized law school rankings is the one done by the U.S. News and World Reports magazine. However, there are also other law school rankings such as the Leiter rankings, Cooley rankings, Hylton rankings, Gourman report, and Law School 100. (2)
These law school rankings, especially the U.S. News rankings, have great impact on law schools and those who intend on becoming law students. This may be largely due to the fact that the average salary of graduates from top-ranked law schools and the average salary of graduates from mid-tiered law schools hold quite a big difference. Graduates from any of the top 14 law schools will surely be offered more opportunities and higher salaries than those who graduated from lower-tiered schools. (3)
If you're serious about getting into law school, then you have to make sure that you get high GPAs on your courses as well as high LSAT scores. This will increase your chances of making it into top tier law schools. However, a law school's ranking is not the only factor you should take into account when making a decision regarding your education. You should also look into the school's programs and curriculum and see whether what they offer would be right for your needs. If you plan on being a practicing lawyer, then you should definitely enroll in a school that will be able to instill in you the skills needed for you to become a good lawyer. However, if you're after theoretical knowledge because you'd like to become a teacher in a law school someday, then pick a law school that puts a lot of emphasis on legal theory. (4)
Literary Citations & Article References:
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_school_in_the_United_States#Law_school_rankings
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_school_rankings_in_the_United_States
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_school_rankings_in_the_United_States
(4) http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/intro_9th_general.htm#other