There are lots of ways to rank law schools, and the inputs you value (student debt load, undergrad GPA, LSAT scores, prominent faculty, etc.) can radically alter the results you get. Hell, Above The Law gets in on the fun and U.S. News & World Report has created a veritable cottage industry with their rankings.
We told you earlier this year about a new ranking methodology by Christopher J. Ryan, Jr., a Ph.D. candidate at Vanderbilt, and Professor Brian L. Frye, of the University of Kentucky School of Law, that ranks schools based on the undergrad GPA (UGPA) and LSAT score of admitted students. From the SSRN abstract:
This article assumes that the purpose of ranking law schools is to help students decide which school to attend. Accordingly, it describes an approach to ranking law schools based entirely on the revealed preferences of students. Law schools admit applicants based almost entirely on their LSAT score and undergraduate GPA, and compete to matriculate students with the highest possible scores. Our de gustibus approach to ranking law schools assumes that the “best” law schools are the most successful at matriculating those students. This article concludes with a “best law schools ranking” based exclusively on the LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs of matriculating students.
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Now that data has revealed a new way to rank law schools — by identifying the 7 most underrated law schools. The methodology is simple — identify the schools with the largest differential between how their LSAT/UGPA rank compares with their USNWR ranking.
| The Most Undervalued Law Schools | |||
| Law School | LSAT/UGPA Rank | USNWR Rank | Difference |
| BYU | 20 | 46 | 26 |
| Pepperdine | 47 | 72 | 25 |
| Nebraska | 37 | 57 | 20 |
| William & Mary | 24 | 41 | 17 |
| Northeastern | 48 | 65 | 17 |
| SMU | 35 | 46 | 11 |
| George Mason | 32 | 41 | 9 |
Based on these numbers, these schools are the ones poised to make a charge up the USNWR rankings.
A De Gustibus Approach to Ranking Law Schools [SSRN]
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Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).