Kaplan Surveys: Law Schools Believe the Rankings Have Lost Their Luster, but Pre-Law Students Still Find Them Useful
09 April 2024 - 10:55PM
Business Wire
Results from Kaplan’s latest law school admissions officers
survey show that 51 percent of law schools across the United States
believe that the U.S. News & World Report rankings — the 2024
list was just released today — "have lost some of their prestige
over the last couple of years”; 18 percent do not believe this to
be the case, while the remaining 31 percent don’t take a position.*
The survey results come after a number of top-tier schools —
including Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern Pritzker
School of Law — announced decisions to no longer actively
participate, citing concerns over methodology and other issues. In
total, around 25 percent of law schools no longer actively
participate, according to some counts.
When asked to share their general views of the rankings, law
school admissions officers didn’t hold back. “Call me when the
rankings focus on retention rates, graduation rates, placement
rates, and bar passage rates, and nothing else,” said one. Another
shared, “While it does not benefit our law school to participate,
we realize prospective students use such rankings when considering
schools.”
In a separate Kaplan survey of nearly 400 pre-law students, 37
percent said it would be a “positive development for both law
schools and applicants to no longer have rankings at all”; 53
percent disagreed with that point of view, indicating that most
aspiring lawyers still see value in the rankings; the remaining 10
percent were unsure.**
“Throughout the years, numerous admissions officers have quipped
that ‘U.S. News Rankings Eve’ is often a sleepless night for law
school leaders, as the fate of their positions may hang in the
balance. That’s how important it is for some law schools, many of
which use their ranking as an important student recruitment and
fundraising tool,” said Amit Schlesinger, executive director of
legal and government programs, Kaplan. “We believe that the
rankings can be a useful aggregate for pre-law students for
important stats like post-graduation job numbers and starting
salaries, but the risk is giving a school’s ranking too much weight
in determining where you ultimately enroll. Above all else,
discover which schools seem like the best fit for you personally
and your professional goals. To do this, we strongly advise pre-law
students to visit the schools they’re interested in and connect
with current students and alumni to discuss their experiences.
Through this discovery process, many aspiring law school students
may be surprised by what schools are good matches, which may also
open more scholarship opportunities for them. Of course, many
cost-conscious aspiring law school students are looking at sticker
price, which remains a top factor too. That may even supersede the
rankings, for many.”
To speak with a Kaplan law school admissions expert, contact
russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.
*Admissions officers from 86 of the nation’s 197 American Bar
Association-accredited law schools were polled by Kaplan by email
and phone between August and November 2023. Among the 86 law
schools that participated are 23 of the top 50, as ranked by U.S.
News & World Report.
**The online Kaplan survey was conducted in September 2023 of
390 aspiring lawyers across the country who are members of Phi
Alpha Delta, the largest professional law fraternity in the United
States.
About Kaplan
Kaplan, Inc. is a global educational services company that helps
individuals and institutions advance their goals in an
ever-changing world. Our broad portfolio of solutions help students
and professionals further their education and careers, universities
and educational institutions attract and support students, and
businesses maximize employee recruitment, retainment, and
development. Stanley Kaplan founded our company in 1938 with a
mission to expand educational opportunities for students of all
backgrounds. Today, our thousands of employees working in 27
countries continue Stanley’s mission as they serve about 1.2
million students and professionals, 15,000 corporate clients, and
3,300 schools, school districts, colleges, and universities
worldwide. Kaplan is a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company
(NYSE: GHC). Learn more at kaplan.com.
Twitter: @KaplanEdNews
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Press: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com,
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