Law Schools are Bullied by U.S. News Rankings

By now you know how I feel about U.S. News Rankings of Law Schools: The rankings are not the most important thing to consider in choosing a law school.

Last week, my post described how law schools are able to manipulate the data that goes into the ranking computation by offering application fee waivers to students they will never admit.
I also talked about how law school administrators and graduates vote on the schools without really knowing anything about them.

What is even more shocking, however, is that law schools keep the consequences of the rankings in mind with every decision - How to spend money, hire faculty, admit students, and create marketing materials. Here is a great article on the subject: http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/533134/
The conclusion of the article is that, because law schools make decisions based on how it will impact their rankings and not how students will benefit, picking a law school based solely on ranking is a mistake. The only reason to pick #31 over #39 is if it's the better law school for you(More on how to pick a law school here)

I apologize if you're getting tired of hearing this from me, but it's very important stuff. Make the best decision for your own future and do not get sucked into pressure. The more you know about what really composes the rankings, the better the quality of your decisions. The ability to ask the tough questions and not be afraid of the answers will serve you well in law school and in your career as an attorney.