Law Schools

The 2021 U.S. News Law School Rankings Are Here

Check out some of the largest rankings tumbles and gains. Yikes!

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Now we’ll discuss the bottom third of the ranked schools before examining the schools whose ranks weren’t published this year.

In this segment of the rankings, among too many ties to even name, we see the biggest double-digit gains by far, as well as the most tremendous losses. We imagine that the annual running of the deans will begin shortly after the official U.S. News rankings are published. Deans of a few of the schools listed below may soon be vying for their jobs.

102. Cleveland State University (Cleveland-Marshall) (OH) (+24)
102. Hofstra University (Deane) (NY) (-2)
102. Marquette University (WI) (-11)
105. Drake University (IA) (+17)
105. Stetson University (FL) (-1)
107. CUNY (NY) (+1)
107. Howard University (DC) (+1)
107. Santa Clara University (CA) (-3)
107. Washburn University (KS) (+25)
111. Chapman University (Fowler) (CA) (+21)
111. Syracuse University (NY) (-20)
111. Texas Tech University (+6)
111. The Catholic University of America (DC) (-3)
111. University of Mississippi (-3)
111. University of Tulsa (OK) (-24)
111. West Virginia University (-11)
118. Albany Law School (NY) (-3)
118. DePaul University (IL) (+14)
118. Gonzaga University (WA) (-1)
118. University of St. Thomas (MN) (-1)
122. Indiana University–Indianapolis (McKinney) (-14)
122. Quinnipiac University (CT) (+4)
122. University of Maine (+4)
122. University of Montana (-7)
126. Loyola University New Orleans (LA) (+12)
126. Mercer University (George) (GA ) (+12)
126. University of Baltimore (MD) (0)
129. Belmont University (TN) (+9)
129. Duquesne University (PA) (-7)
129. New York Law School (-12)
129. Seattle University (WA) (-7)
133. Creighton University (NE) (-16)
133. University of Missouri–Kansas City (-25)
133. University of Wyoming (-1)
136. Pace University (Haub) (NY) (-14)
136. Suffolk University (MA) (+7)
136. University of Idaho (-10)
136. University of Toledo (OH) (-10)
140. University of Illinois–Chicago (John Marshall) (N/A)
141. Mitchell Hamline School of Law (MN) (N/A)
141. University of Akron (OH) (+2)
141. University of Dayton (OH) (N/A)
141. University of Memphis (Humphreys) (TN) (-3)
141. University of South Dakota (-3)
141. Vermont Law School (-5)
141. Willamette University College of Law (OR) (N/A)

Congratulations to Washburn (+25), Cleveland State (+24), Chapman (+21), Drake (+17), DePaul (+14), Loyola New Orleans (+12), and Mercer (+12) on their huge gains in this year’s edition of the U.S. News law school rankings. Moving on to things that aren’t so nice, we’ve got Missouri-Kansas City (-25), Tulsa (-24), Syracuse (-20), Creighton (-16), Indiana-McKinney (-14), Pace (-14), New York Law School (-12), Marquette (-11), West Virginia (-11), Idaho (-10), and Toledo (-10). These deans are going to have a rough go of it in the morning.

All of that excitement brings us to the realm of the “Rank Not Published” (RNP).

148-194 Appalachian School of Law (VA) (N/A)
148-194 Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School1 (GA) (N/A)
148-194 Ave Maria School of Law (FL) (N/A)
148-194 Barry University (FL) (N/A)
148-194 California Western School of Law (N/A)
148-194 Campbell University (NC) (N/A)
148-194 Capital University (OH) (N/A)
148-194 Charleston School of Law (SC) (N/A)
148-194 Concordia University (ID) (N/A)
148-194 Elon University (NC) (N/A)
148-194 Faulkner University (Jones) (AL) (N/A)
148-194 Florida A&M University (N/A)
148-194 Florida Coastal School of Law (N/A)
148-194 Golden Gate University (CA) (N/A)
148-194 Liberty University (VA) (N/A)
148-194 Lincoln Memorial University (TN) (N/A)
148-194 Mississippi College (N/A)
148-194 New England Law Boston (MA) (N/A)
148-194 North Carolina Central University (N/A)
148-194 Northern Illinois University (N/A)
148-194 Northern Kentucky University (Chase) (N/A)
148-194 Nova Southeastern University (Broad) (FL) (N/A)
148-194 Ohio Northern University (Pettit) (N/A)
148-194 Oklahoma City University (N/A)
148-194 Regent University (VA) (N/A)
148-194 Roger Williams University (RI) (N/A)
148-194 Samford University (Cumberland) (AL) (N/A)
148-194 South Texas College of Law Houston (N/A)
148-194 Southern Illinois University–Carbondale (N/A)
148-194 Southern University Law Center (LA) (N/A)
148-194 Southwestern Law School (CA) (N/A)
148-194 St. Mary’s University (TX) (N/A)
148-194 St. Thomas University (FL) (N/A)
148-194 Texas Southern University (Marshall) (N/A)
148-194 Touro College (Fuchsberg) (NY) (N/A)
148-194 University of Arkansas–Little Rock (Bowen) (N/A)
148-194 University of Detroit Mercy (MI) (N/A)
148-194 University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth (N/A)
148-194 University of North Dakota (N/A)
148-194 University of San Francisco (CA) (N/A)
148-194 University of the District of Columbia (Clarke) (N/A)
148-194 University of the Pacific (McGeorge) (CA) (N/A)
148-194 Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School (N/A)
148-194 Western New England University (MA) (N/A)
148-194 Western State College of Law at Westcliff University (CA) (N/A)
148-194 Widener University–Delaware (N/A)
148-194 Widener University–Pennsylvania (Commonwealth) (N/A)

So what can be said about these law schools? Should you bother attending one?

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Getting a degree from an RNP law school might not be as prestigious as getting one from a higher-ranked school, but to burst the elitist bubble: not everyone cares about prestige. Some of the people applying to and attending these schools just want to be lawyers, and others just want to stay close to home. Some of these schools do very well in regional job markets, and while Biglaw may not be an option for everyone, the rest are content to join small firms or do public service work. But here’s the rub when it comes to the these RNP law schools… law school hasn’t been a golden ticket for quite some time, especially if you’re a graduate of a lower-ranked school. Law school is still a huge economic gamble for these people.

Once again, it’s time to ask a very relevant question: How are prospective law students supposed to differentiate between law schools when there are so many ties present within the rankings? In the 2021 rankings, there are more than 20 ties in the Top 100 alone. This is not only unhelpful, but it actually does a disservice for pre-law students.

Should you really be considering attending any of these law schools? The jury is still out. Because of all of the ties in this year’s rankings, there’s no real way to see concrete differences between them aside from their numerical rank without digging deeper through outside sources, so it makes it that much harder for prospective law school applicants who may be relying on U.S. News to help them in their decision-making.

So what do you think of the rankings? Feel free to sound off by email, by text message (646-820-8477), or by tweet (@ATLblog). If you don’t like what you see, you may want to check out the upcoming Above the Law Top 50 Law School Rankings. We care about the most important thing you’ll care about when you graduate — and that’s whether you’ll be able to land a job that pays enough to allow you to service your ever-increasing law school debt. Please stay tuned for their release this spring!

2021 Best Law Schools [U.S. News]
2021 USNWR Law School Rankings: This Year vs. Last Year [Spivey Consulting]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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