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Thursday, July 18, 2024

Princeton Review's Best 168 Law Schools (2024 Edition)

Princeton-reviewThe Princeton Review has published the 2024 edition of The Best 168 Law Schools (press release) (FAQs) (methodology):

The company reports its annual law school rankings in 14 categories, each one naming the top 10 schools in a particular category. ...

The Princeton Review’s law school rankings are uniquely based on data the company gathers from surveys of administrators at the law schools as well as surveys of students attending the schools who rate and report on their experiences at them. The 2024 rankings are based on data the company gathered from its surveys of administrators at 168 law schools in 2024 and surveys of 18,400 students enrolled in the schools over the past three academic years.

More than 60 data points are factored into the company’s ranking list tallies. Of the 14 categories of ranking lists, six are based on student- and administrator-reported data. Five are based solely on student data, and three are based solely on administrator data. ...

Best Quality of Life: Based on student answers to survey questions on: whether there is a strong sense of community at the school whether differing opinions are tolerated in the classroom, the location of the school, the quality of social life at the school, the school's research resources (library, computer and database resources).

  1. UCLA
  2. Virginia
  3. Florida State
  4. Georgia
  5. Penn

Best Professors: Based on student answers to survey questions concerning how good their professors are as teachers and how accessible they are outside the classroom.

  1. Virginia
  2. Chicago
  3. Duke
  4. Vanderbilt
  5. Notre Dame

Best Classroom Experience: Based on student answers to survey questions concerning their professors' teaching abilities and overall accessibility outside of the classroom, the balance of theory and practical skills in the curricula and the range of courses available, the level of tolerance for differing opinions in class discussion, and their assessments of research resources available.

  1. Virginia
  2. Stanford
  3. Duke
  4. UCLA
  5. Chicago

Best Career Prospects: Based on school reported data and student surveys. School data include: the median starting salaries of graduating students, the percent of students employed in a job that requires bar passage (and not employed by the school) and the percent of these students who pass the bar exam the first time they take it. Student answers to survey questions on: how much the law program encourages practical experience; the opportunities for externships, internships and clerkships, and how prepared the students feel they will be to practice the law after graduating.

  1. NYU
  2. Virginia
  3. Michigan
  4. Duke
  5. Northwestern

Most Diverse Faculty: Based on school reported data and student surveys. School data: the percent of the law school faculty that is from an underrepresented minority group. Student answers to a survey question on whether the faculty comprises a broadly diverse group of individuals.

  1. CUNY
  2. Loyola-New Orleans
  3. UC-Davis
  4. Southern
  5. Hawaii

Most Competitive Students: Based on student answers to survey questions on: 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.

  1. Baylor
  2. Syracuse
  3. Southern
  4. Faulkner
  5. BYU

Most Liberal Students: Based on student answers to a survey question concerning the political bent of the student body at large. The survey question was "If there is a prevailing political bent among students at your school, how would you characterize it?" Answer choices were: "Very Liberal, Liberal, Middle of the Road, Somewhat Conservative, Very Conservative."

  1. Northeastern
  2. CUNY
  3. NYU
  4. UC-Berkeley
  5. Colorado

Most Conservative Students: Based on student answers to a survey question concerning the political bent of the student body at large. The survey question was "If there is a prevailing political bent among students at your school, how would you characterize it?" Answer choices were: "Very Liberal, Liberal, Middle of the Road, Somewhat Conservative, Very Conservative."

  1. Ave Maria
  2. Regent
  3. BYU
  4. George Mason
  5. Faulkner

Greatest Resources for Minority Students: Based on school reported data and student surveys. School data: the percent of the student body that is from an underrepresented minority group. Student answers to a survey question on whether all students receive equal treatment by fellow students and the faculty, regardless of ethnicity.

  1. District of Columbia
  2. Florida Int'l
  3. San Francisco
  4. UCLA
  5. UC-Irvine

Greatest Resources for Women: Based on school reported data and student surveys. School data: the percent of the student body that are women. Student answers to a survey question on whether all students are afforded equal treatment by students and faculty regardless of their gender.

  1. Florida State
  2. UCLA
  3. New York Law School
  4. UC-Davis
  5. USC

Most Chosen by Older Students: Based on the average age of entry of law school students and student reports of how many years they spent out of college before enrolling in law school.

  1. District of Columbia
  2. CUNY
  3. New Mexico
  4. Hawaii
  5. Maine

Toughest to Get Into: Based on school reported data. Factors include: median LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs of entering 1L students, the percent of applicants accepted, and the percent of accepted applicants who enroll.

  1. Yale
  2. Harvard
  3. Stanford
  4. Virginia
  5. NYU

Unfortunately, the Princeton Review did not release the response rate per school, so it is impossible to determine how the rankings are affected by each school's representation among the respondents.

For prior Princeton Review Law School Rankings, see:

Princeton Review's Best 168 Law Schools (2023) Edition

Princeton Review's Best 168 Law Schools (2022) Edition

Princeton Review's Best 164 Law Schools (2021 Edition)

Princeton Review's Best 167 Law Schools (2020 Edition)

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