Law Schools, Rankings

Law Schools With The Most Competitive Students v. Law Schools With The Best Quality Of Life (2017)

Where can you learn how to file a motion to party?

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law school partyYesterday, we brought our readers news of the latest Princeton Review law school rankings for best career prospects. Of course, we found it odd that the list again relied heavily upon survey responses from current students rather than recent graduates, but we won’t complain (more than we already have, obviously).

Today, we’ll focus on two rankings categories for which student feedback actually matters: the law schools with the most competitive students and the law schools with the best quality of life. Which schools do you think made these lists? We’ll give you a hint: Not a single T14 law school cracked one list, but the other is chock full of them.

Don’t be surprised that the most elite law schools in the nation are nowhere to be found on a list of the law schools with the most competitive students. Students at those schools know jobs are theirs for the taking. Many of the schools listed here are filled with the students you hear urban legends about — the ones who tear vital pages out of library books, the ones who tell you the wrong homework assignments, the ones who are willing to sleep with professors for grades. That’s the kind of competition we’re talking about.

For this category, students were asked the number of hours they study outside of class each day, the number of hours they think their fellow students study outside of class each day, and the degree of competitiveness among students at their school.

These are the law schools with the most competitive students, per Princeton Review:

1. Baylor University School of Law

2. Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law

3. Case Western Reserve University School of Law

4. Faulkner University Thomas Goode Jones School of Law

5. Southern University Law Center

6. Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School

7. Widener University (PA) School of Law

8. Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law

9. UC Hastings College of Law

10. Oklahoma City University School of Law

Students at many of these law schools are having Jessie Spano-esque freakouts so they can transfer out, or alternatively, students at many of these schools know they won’t be able to get a job without seriously sabotaging one or more of their classmates. Interestingly enough, about half of the schools on the top 10 list are ranked by U.S. News, while the others are all unranked. Make of that what you will.

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Next up, we’ve got a list of the top 10 law schools that offer their students the best quality of life. To measure this category, current students answered survey questions based on the strength of the law school’s sense of community, whether differing opinions are tolerated in the classroom, the school’s location, the fabulousity of students’ social lives, and the quality of the school’s library, computer, and database resources.

Here are the schools the Princeton Review categorizes as having the best quality of life:

1. University of Virginia School of Law

2. Duke University School of Law

3. Vanderbilt University Law School

4. Charleston School of Law

5. University of St. Thomas School of Law

6. University of Pennsylvania Law School

7. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

8. University of Georgia School of Law

9. Samford University Cumberland School of Law

10. New York University School of Law

Congratulations to Duke, UVA, Penn, Northwestern, and NYU for making this list (and hell, we’ll throw Vanderbilt a bone, too — after all, the school is almost a T14). This just goes to show that your quality of life can be fantastic, even if by all other accounts you’re thought to be a nerd. We’re not quite sure how Charleston made the list, seeing as students must’ve been wondering whether their school would remain open on a daily basis. It must be a beautiful place to harbor doubts about your future? If your school didn’t make it, we’re sorry about your lack of social life. Here’s a word of advice: Try filing that motion to party again next year; hopefully it won’t be dismissed.

Did your law school make the cut? If it did, do you think it was ranked fairly? If it didn’t make the list for most competitive students or best quality of life, do you agree with that assessment? Please email us or text us (646-820-8477) with your thoughts. Thanks.

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Law Schools with the Most Competitive Students [Princeton Review]
Law Schools with the Best Quality of Life [Princeton Review]

Earlier: Which Law School Has The Best Career Prospects? (2017)

Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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