On July 24, 2011 the New York Times ran an interesting education supplement which included (among other things) the admission statistics for a number of U.S. schools. Many of you are interested in law school rankings. You will find the Gospel according to the New York Times here.
Note also that I came across an interesting tool to help you make your law school decision here. This tool recognizes that rankings are one of a number of considerations when choosing a law school.
Renaming The LSAT – Let’s call it the “READ” Test
Principle: The best acronyms should be descriptive acronyms!
What does the acronym “LSAT” stand for?
LSAT is an acronym that stands for “Law School Admission Test”.
The LSAT is:
– a four letter word;
– a barrier between you and the law school of your choice (or perhaps any law school)
– a standardized test (every test taker gets the same questions);
– a multiple choice test (rewarding answer identification first and understanding second);
– a long test;
– a test administered under strict time constraints;
– an important test Continue reading
I have just finished my personal “March Madness” in which I have presented law school admission and free LSAT preparation and law school admission seminars on Ontario university campuses. I always students to take the LSAT in June or in October at the latest. These are the best LSAT test dates to take advantage of our Toronto LSAT preparation courses. I am amazed at how much pre-law students think about the rankings of various law schools. This (IMHO) is a great mistake.
Rankings are the last thing you should consider when choosing Canadian law schools. Since, this is an opinion and not a statement of fact, let me explain.
Canadian law school rankings – the new kid on the block
Canadian law school rankings are a relatively new phenomenon. For many years:
– The Canadian Lawyer law school rankings were the only game in town – they have been replaced with a survey of Canadian law schools;
– MacLeans started its annual law school rankings a few years ago
Both rankings attempt to differentiate the 16 common law schools from the civil law schools in Quebec.
Assuming the validity of the rankings (and there is no reason to do so), why would the ranking of a law school, matter potentially to a pre-law student?
Let me suggest two possible answers: Continue reading