| So its another year and we are faced with another | | | | school education. This is simply not true. |
| round of law school rankings from the so-called | | | | It should tell you something that many schools have |
| "experts." The 2008 law school rankings are no | | | | now decided not to cooperate with the publishers |
| different from any other year - they are virtually | | | | who compile these rankings, despite the enormous |
| meaningless to the average student and should be | | | | pressure they have to not only participate, but to |
| largely ignored by you. | | | | inflate their statistics in order to appear more |
| Unfortunately, if you are planning on applying to law | | | | attractive to potential students. |
| school this year, or applying to law school anytime in | | | | What you will eventually learn, whether you go to |
| the near future, I know that you will have a very | | | | Harvard Law School, or a night law school in your |
| hard time ignoring the law school rankings. In fact, if | | | | local metropolis, is that the legal education you will |
| you are anything like me, you'll buy copies of every | | | | receive will be substantially the same - regardless of |
| magazine, book, newsletter, or crayon drawing that | | | | which law school you attend. In addition, within five |
| purports to rank law schools in any way. And you'll | | | | years of your graduation from law school, virtually no |
| probably pay much more attention to them than you | | | | one - including employers, colleagues, judges, and |
| should. | | | | most importantly clients - will care at all where you |
| I did. At the end of the day, I wouldn't even consider | | | | went to law school. |
| applying to any law school below the second tier of | | | | All of that being true, you should consider all sorts of |
| the U.S. News and World Report law school rankings. | | | | things other than law school rankings when deciding |
| I guess I got lucky, because I was admitted to | | | | where to go to law school. More important |
| every law school where I applied, but in hindsight, I | | | | considerations include cost, attractiveness of the |
| wish I had considered things differently and paid less | | | | location, weather, where you want to live after law |
| attention to the popular law school ranking | | | | school, the social scene, and the programs offered. |
| publications. | | | | Then, if there's a tie, you might want to consider the |
| As I discuss in another article about law school | | | | 2008 law school rankings. |
| rankings, you have got to view the popular published | | | | This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in |
| law school rankings skeptically. These rankings are | | | | its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. |
| untrustworthy and mislead students into thinking they | | | | The author's name, bio and website links must remain |
| need to attend a highly ranked school or they will be | | | | intact and be included with every reproduction. |
| second rate lawyers due to their "substandard" law | | | | |