The 2024 U.S. News Law School Rankings Are Here

Now we’ll discuss two bottom portions of the ranked schools (#105-150 and a newly ranked segment, #153-175) before examining the schools whose ranks weren’t published this year.

In this segment of the rankings, among too many ties to even name (but really, an 11-way tie, come on with this), we see some very large gains, coupled with one of 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.

(105) University of Arkansas–Fayetteville (-19)
(105) University of New Hampshire (Pierce) (0)
(105) Albany Law School (+17)
(105) Belmont University (+28)
(109) Chapman University (Fowler) (-9)
(109) Rutgers University (-23)
(111) Washburn University (-6)
(111) Loyola University New Orleans (+22)
(111) Michigan State University (-20)
(111) University of Mississippi (0)
(111) Brooklyn Law School (-13)
(111) Cleveland State University (Cleveland-Marshall) (+16)
(111) University of Dayton (+11)
(111) University of Tulsa (+7)
(111) Seattle University (+5)
(111) West Virginia University (+7)
(111) University of Wyoming (+18)
(122) The Catholic University of America (-28)
(122) Syracuse University (-19)
(122) University of South Dakota (Knudson) (+11)
(125) Howard University (-27)
(125) New York Law School (+4)
(125) University at Buffalo–SUNY (-31)
(125) Campbell University (Wiggins) (+≥22) (previously ranked 147-192)
(125) University of Memphis (Humphreys) (+17)
(125) Regent University (+17)
(131) Samford University (Cumberland) (+8)
(131) Pace University (Haub) (+11)
(133) Suffolk University (-11)
(133) Elon University (+≥14) (previously ranked 147-192)
(135) University of Hawaii–Manoa (Richardson) (-44)
(135) DePaul University (-30)
(135) University of Baltimore (-13)
(135) University of Missouri–Kansas City (-21)
(135) Liberty University (+≥12) (previously ranked 147-192)
(140) Hofstra University (Deane) (-22)
(141) University of the Pacific (McGeorge) (-8)
(141) Southwestern Law School (+≥6) (previously ranked 147-192)
(141) University of Idaho (+1)
(141) University of Detroit Mercy (-2)
(141) University of Toledo (+≥6) (previously ranked 147-192)
(146) Quinnipiac University (+≥1) (previously ranked 147-192)
(146) University of Maine School of Law (-32)
(146) Ohio Northern University (Pettit) (+≥1) (previously ranked 147-192)
(149) Northern Kentucky University (Chase) (0) (previously ranked 147-192)
(150) University of Arkansas–Little Rock (Bowen) (previously ranked 147-192)
(150) University of Akron (previously ranked 147-192)
(150) Oklahoma City University (previously ranked 147-192)

Congratulations to the schools here on their huge gains in this year’s edition of the U.S. News law school rankings (especially Loyola, Campbell, and Belmont, up 22-  and 27- spots, respectively). Plus, we have 11 schools that have risen out of Rank Not Published land. Way to go! Moving on to things that aren’t so nice, we’ve got more than 10 law schools that sank like stones, with Hawaii having the worst rank drop of all in the 2024 rankings, down 44 spots. Yikes….

And here, we have a brand new portion of the rankings. In previous years, many of these schools were among those whose ranks went unpublished, but now they get to show off their brand new numeric rankings. Joining them are some schools that were previously ranked within the Top 150, but this year seem to have lost their way thanks to the new rankings methodology.

(153) St. Mary’s University (previously ranked 147-192)
(154) CUNY School of Law (-21)
(155) New England Law Boston (previously ranked 147-192)
(155) Creighton University (-16)
(155) Willamette University College of Law (-26)
(158) Santa Clara University (-25)
(159) Faulkner University (Jones) (previously ranked 147-192)
(159) Widener University–Pennsylvania (Commonwealth) (previously ranked 147-192)
(159) University of Illinois–Chicago (previously ranked 147-192)
(162) Northern Illinois University (previously ranked 147-192)
(162) South Texas College of Law Houston (previously ranked 147-192)
(164) Vermont Law School (-22)
(165) University of San Francisco (previously ranked 147-192)
(165) Mississippi College (previously ranked 147-192)
(167) Touro College (Fuchsberg) (previously unranked)
(167) University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth (previously ranked 147-192)
(167) Mitchell Hamline School of Law (previously ranked 147-192)
(167) University of North Texas–Dallas (previously ranked 147-192)
(171) Nova Southeastern University (Broad) (previously ranked 147-192)
(171) Roger Williams University (previously ranked 147-192)
(171) Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (previously ranked 147-192)
(174) Southern Illinois University–Carbondale (previously ranked 147-192)
(175) California Western School of Law (previously ranked 147-192)
(175) North Carolina Central University (previously ranked 147-192)
(175) Capital University (previously ranked 147-192)
(175) Lincoln Memorial University (Duncan) (previously ranked 147-192)
(175) Widener University–Delaware (previously ranked 147-192)

Congratulations to the schools that have found their ranks this year. That must be a nice change.

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

(180-196) Appalachian School of Law (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Ave Maria School of Law (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Barry University (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Charleston School of Law (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Florida A&M University (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Golden Gate University (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Inter-American University (previously unranked)
(180-196) Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (previously unranked)
(180-196) Southern University Law Center (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) St. Thomas University (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Texas Southern University (Marshall) (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) University of North Dakota (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) University of Puerto Rico (previously unranked)
(180-196) University of the District of Columbia (Clarke) (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Western Michigan University (Cooley) (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Western New England University (previously ranked 147-192)
(180-196) Western State College of Law at Westcliff University (previously ranked 147-192)

What can be said about these schools? Should you bother attending one?

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 2024 rankings, there are 27 ties in the Top 100 alone. This is not only unhelpful, but it actually does a disservice for pre-law students.

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!

2023-2024 Best Law Schools [U.S. News]
2023-24 U.S. News Law School Rankings: This Year vs. Last Year (+/-) [Spivey Consulting]

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Staci 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.