Comments on: US News Law School Rankings Sneak Peek?? http://www.inhouseblog.com/2007/03/us_news_law_school_rankings_sneak_peek.html Informing In-House Counsel Since 2005 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:30:49 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.1 hourly 1 By: Ezra Goldschlager http://www.inhouseblog.com/2007/03/us_news_law_school_rankings_sneak_peek.html/comment-page-1#comment-1643 Ezra Goldschlager Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:52:36 +0000 http://www.inhouseblog.com/2007/03/us_news_law_school_rankings_sneak_peek.html#comment-1643 We all know that the U.S. News methodology is flawed, but what is frequently overlooked is just how damaging the rankings are beyond their simple impact on applicants' decisions about where to attend. Because admissions officers are frequently judged based on ability to boost their schools in the U.S. news rankings, they make admissions decisions based not on actual applicant merit, but on factors entirely divorced from merit that are instead directly related to U.S. News rankings. For example, admissions officers are frequently hesitant to fully-consider extenuating circumstances when evaluating an applicant's LSAT score, because even though they may have excellent evidence that the applicant's score is not indicative of her likelihood of future success, they realize that the applicant's score will be included in their school's LSAT statistics, which in turn will contribute to their school's rankings. The same type of process goes on with GPA. It's time for the schools to take a stand and withhold their entering-class data. Ezra Goldschlager <a href="http://www.lawschoolgenius.com" rel="nofollow">Law School Admissions Consultant</a> We all know that the U.S. News methodology is flawed, but what is frequently overlooked is just how damaging the rankings are beyond their simple impact on applicants’ decisions about where to attend. Because admissions officers are frequently judged based on ability to boost their schools in the U.S. news rankings, they make admissions decisions based not on actual applicant merit, but on factors entirely divorced from merit that are instead directly related to U.S. News rankings. For example, admissions officers are frequently hesitant to fully-consider extenuating circumstances when evaluating an applicant’s LSAT score, because even though they may have excellent evidence that the applicant’s score is not indicative of her likelihood of future success, they realize that the applicant’s score will be included in their school’s LSAT statistics, which in turn will contribute to their school’s rankings. The same type of process goes on with GPA. It’s time for the schools to take a stand and withhold their entering-class data.

Ezra Goldschlager
Law School Admissions Consultant

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