4/19 UPDATE: Blackbook Legal blog makes a compelling argument against this list.
____
For the third straight time, I’ve got the rankings early. A special treat this year as my source promises a scan by the end of the night, so I’ll put that up soon (hopefully). UPDATE:So I’m getting thousands of hits from law blogs/websites and people are asking about my posts on leaked rankings in previous years. This is last year’s undergrad rankings early and here was my post on the law school rankings although I was not the first on the web with the leaked pdf. And here is the post on the US News undergrad rankings from two years ago.
Wisconsin will be at 35. For you Brad, Tulane is at 45. Indiana made a huge jump this year to 23rd while George Washington fell out of the top 25. lulz. For my Berkeley troll(s), you’re still at 6th.
OK now, rankings have numerous problems that I’ve outlined in the past, but that’s a debate for another day … or the comments.
Undergrad rankings come out in August.
UPDATE to the UPDATE: The first link I posted has been replaced. You can see the scanned document here.
63 Comments
April 18, 2009 at 10:35 pm
you sir, are a god
April 18, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Go Boalt Hall!!!
April 18, 2009 at 11:34 pm
indiana?!
at least their basketball team still sucks off ours.
April 18, 2009 at 11:50 pm
ready, set, post!
April 19, 2009 at 4:25 am
Don’t call me a troll. Fucker.
April 19, 2009 at 9:35 am
nice work. too bad these rankings are, for the most part, meaningless.
April 19, 2009 at 10:29 am
Do you have access to the second page? If so, would you post?
April 19, 2009 at 10:47 am
The instrinic value of the rankings are low Xenu, aside from some rough indicator of quality, but the *reality* is that US News rankings, in both law and undergrad, play a huge role in higher education whether we like it or not.
April 19, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Nice–i’m hoping these rankings are legit. Minnesota is finally in the top 20! Go gophers!
April 19, 2009 at 1:36 pm
GO BOALT!! +1
April 19, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Have you all clicked the linked site? It is a joke link. Not sure how reliable the rankings are, but hope they are true (as an Indiana student)
April 19, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Indiana is in the middle of a revolution. After receiving upwards of $88 million in the past 2+ years and making significant faculty hires and improvements in incoming student credentials, we have been awaiting a jump in the rankings. Maybe not this big of a jump, but it’s not entirely unexpected either.
If this information is correct, it’s going to be a huge day in Bloomington!
April 19, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Updated link.
April 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Danke
April 19, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Why is “Education” printed on the top left of the page?
April 19, 2009 at 3:31 pm
anyone who attended IU Law in the past two years will not be surprised. there’s a lot of excitement and pride at this campus. maybe we should put dean robel in charge of the athletics program?
April 19, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Roble sucks.
April 19, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Matt – Who is Roble? And you are an idiot.
April 19, 2009 at 5:10 pm
This rankings have been discredited, people. CB got it wrong. Sorry.
April 19, 2009 at 5:18 pm
CB, is the above allegation true? Did you jump the gun? Can any other source verify that these are indeed the official rankings?
April 19, 2009 at 5:29 pm
My reasons for believing the list discredited are as follows:
(1) GPA’s are rounded
(2) Bar passage rates for many schools are IDENTICAL to the 2009 rankings, to a tenth of a percent in some instances (what are the odds??)
(3) Colorado dropped like 15 places, even though its data is very nearly the same as last year
(4) The upper left should say “Law” where it says “Education”
(5) William & Mary is abbreviated “Col.”
(6) The caption at the top reads like it was written by a five year-old. “these schools are the best”??? srsly??
(7) My favorite one…WISCONSIN HAS DIPLOMA PRIVILEGE!!! THE BAR PASSAGE RATE FOR UW-MADISON SHOULD BE 100%!!! HOW DID CB MISS THIS??
April 19, 2009 at 5:40 pm
calm, calm my babies. I knew all of this before posting, but the source has been credible in the past. There is much debate over the internets on the authenticity of these rankings and all I can say is: we’ll see! If it’s wrong, Ill gladly post the real rankings on the 23rd!
April 19, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Good observations Pity, you might be onto something. The bar passage thing is certainly very curious. Is there any scenario under which someone would not pass? Is there a character and fitness evaluation? Seems like only one person did not pass last year.
April 19, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Please, please post the second page if you have access to it! Thank you!
April 19, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Notice that Georgetown’s LSAT spread does not match the ‘08 numbers on their web site (http://www.law.georgetown.edu/admissions/QuickFacts.htm)
Since this is a self-reported figure, I do believe that this is either a huge error, or the list is discredited.
April 19, 2009 at 6:50 pm
The Indiana jump from 36 to 23 is strong evidence that these rankings are legit. During the survey period, Indiana Maurer (1) received two huge, transformational, and widely publicized gifts; (2) recruited the most talented class in recent history, based on LSATs and undergraduate GPAs; (3) got re-named, thereby beginning to disassociate itself with the confusingly named, and inferior, Indiana University School of Law — Indianapolis; and (4) recruited several amazing faculty, including picking off Mark Janis, the most widely-cited IP scholar of his era, from Iowa. Add to that the quality of the existing faculty, including Bill Henderson (who is single-handedly revolutionizing the way we look at law firms), and the aforementioned Dean Lauren Robel (an Indiana alum herself, and a woman with infinite capacity to promote the school in any and every way possible), and the rise from 36 to 23 is completely understandable — and expected by many of us.
April 19, 2009 at 7:08 pm
I bet somebody in the IU-Bloomington admissions office is responsible for this hoax. It might convince some admits on the fence to commit.
April 19, 2009 at 7:08 pm
all lawyers are pricks anyway.
April 19, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Maurer…you’re in fantasyland.
April 19, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Fake
April 19, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Actually, I’m not sure many people expect Mickey Mouse law to go anywhere, except perhaps down. Roble is a terrible dean.
April 19, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Matt – You still haven’t explained what a Roble is? Or why you are such a prick? I’m guessing you are a 3L at Maurer, just somewhere in the bottom half of the class (despite the fact that you went to the University of Michigan for undergrad), are currently unemployed with no career prospects upon graduation, and are hoping to start/continue dating a younger law student who either will get a job or who comes from a family with money. You aren’t worried about finals because your lot in life is already set — mediocrity. But you’ll always have that great undergraduate school, and that feeling before you started at IU that “of course I’ll be at the top of the class, I went to Michigan.” Epic fail.
April 19, 2009 at 7:57 pm
isn’t roble just a misspelling of robel?
April 19, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Crit-
Any word on second page of the rankings?
Thanks
FD
April 19, 2009 at 8:03 pm
The two Matts above are different posters, just fyi. I am the second one.
I guess it’s possible that “Maurer” could make this kind of jump, but it could only be through heavy gaming. I know the school is selling itself very hard, re-branding, etc., and I personally found this very distasteful when I visited. Their lsat medians alone don’t seem to justify the supposed rank of 23, and the placement/employment stats don’t either.
April 19, 2009 at 8:13 pm
there are always a few people who make comments like “Roble is a terrible dean” in the cloak of anonymity without providing any basis. If you make bold comments like that and hide your face, won’t you care to enlighten us as to why you feel the way you do about our dean. When the reputation of a law school is going up, alumni are making record breaking donations, the lsat/gpa composite is the highest in school history, and top scholars are calling this place their new home, the dean of the school should be commended, not washed out without any reason. Peter, Matt, care to explain your reasons (other than the probability that both of you have some personal axe to grind resulting from your class standing, lack of scholarship money, or failure to find a job on your own)?
April 19, 2009 at 8:22 pm
probably just jealous students of iu-indy
April 19, 2009 at 8:23 pm
I’m reasonably amused at the amount of Indiana trolling on this Wisconsin website.
April 19, 2009 at 8:24 pm
To the 5:29 post:
Wisconsin doesn’t have a 100% pass rate on the Wisconsin bar because certain ethical requirements must be met in order to not have to take the bar exam, as well as certain academic requirements. A slightly out-of-date list of requirements can be found around p. 29 of the following document:
http://law.wisc.edu/current/rtf2005.pdf
FYI–Wisconsin is a lot higher than 35th in the education rankings. We’re generally in the top 5 for education PhDs.
April 19, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Hello, I am Matt the Third. King of Robelium.
April 19, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Also for those looking for the second page — I don’t have control over what I get. You’ll find out soon enough if I’m right and also, what 56 and below are up to.
April 19, 2009 at 8:44 pm
To the 8:24 post. Look at the 2009 US News Law School Rankings. It says “100.0%” next to UW-Madison in the “School’s Bar Passage Rate in Jurisdiction.” Do some effing research and stop sucking at life.
April 19, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Here’s the link to the rankings, haha:
http://thecriticalbadger.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/us_news_law_20102.jpg
Wisconsin’s bar passage rate is clearly 99.2%. Leave the vitriol at home.
April 19, 2009 at 9:01 pm
It looks like some of the bar passage rates are inaccurate. If you go to the California Bar website, they give
stats on California bar passage rates for California law schools. US News used July 2006 and Feb 2007 first time bar passage rates for last year, so presumably they’d use July 2007 and Feb 2008 states this year. Stanford’s is correct at 94.4%, but Pepperdine should come out to 76.9% (instead of the 77.4% reported) and USC’s comes out as 88.1% (instead of the 87.7% reported). Granted, these could just be differences between what the California bar is reporting as opposed to where US News gets their numbers, as they are pretty darn close. But this, it makes me doubt the authenticity of the leak. Either that or the veracity of the data US News is using…
April 19, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Looks legit.
April 19, 2009 at 9:26 pm
That is so fake. There is no way it’s real. You can totally tell it’s not Britney, her boobs are wayyyyy to perky in that video.
April 19, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Country Bob: not only did you link to the fake rankings, but you linked to the fake 2010 ones. take a look at the 2009 law school rankings. UW-Madison. Bar Passage. 100.0%. This is not rocket science, dude.
April 19, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Were your “leaks” correct in past years? If so why all the complaining? Thanks Badger!
April 19, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Great article – thanks for covering this.
If the last three years’ were legit, then we certainly have reason to believe, but not definitive proof, that they’re accurate.
Take any rankings (whether “legit” or not) with a grain of salt.
April 20, 2009 at 1:06 am
[...] Who is the Critical Badger? 2010 US News and World Report Law School rankings leaked to the CB … again [...]
April 20, 2009 at 9:18 am
Some of us at IUB have a theory that a faculty member or administrator is trolling these comment pages leaving woefully earnest little blurbs.
While a rankings jump would be nice, it would justify a lot of changes at the school that we sure as hell did not appreciate.
April 20, 2009 at 9:44 am
BUBBLES, SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH.
THAT BEING SAID. GOD, IT IS A GODDAMNED SAD FUCKING DAY WHEN BUBBLES SEEMS LESS RETARDED THAN LAW STUDENTS.
YOU ARE ALL FUCKING PATHETIC.
April 20, 2009 at 10:34 am
Here’s a link to the full US News 2010 Law Rankings for all schools – http://brightcoast.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/usd-law-jumps-in-2010-us-news-rankings/
April 20, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Top Law Schools already has a copy of the magazine. You can see the confirmed rankings here:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=69263
April 20, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Come on, everyone knows the real rankings are here: http://bit.ly/1628nB
April 20, 2009 at 6:47 pm
CB, you’re the fourth google hit for
“us news and world report law school rankings”
congrats!
April 20, 2009 at 6:55 pm
rather enlightening, great link!!
the image is so much clearer there! thank you!!!!
April 21, 2009 at 12:07 am
hopefully these are legit, got FSU, UF blows
April 21, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Cardozo makes it in the top 50!!!
April 22, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Just got this email from GA State College of Law (relatively new Law School):
Dear COL Alums:
The U.S. News and World Report has released its 2010 Law School Rankings, and I am delighted to share terrific news of a COL trifecta:
1. On overall rankings of all 200 law schools, the College of Law advanced to 65 (up from 77 last year, 85 the year before and 97 two years prior). That’s quite a successful trend line.
2. U.S. News ranked the College of Law 15th in the first-ever ranking of all 87 law schools that offer part-time programs. It is fitting that our part-time program should receive such recognition as it was an important component of the founding of the law school, and our part-time students are such an enriching part of our community.
3. Our Health Law program continued to receive national recognition, advancing from 10th to 6th nationwide — sharing the 6th spot with Georgetown.
This is very good news for our law school. We know of course that our college is successful and growing in stature because of the strength of our students, faculty and alums, and not because of where we happen to fall in the rankings in a given year. Indeed I share the view held by many in legal education that the US News rankings system has faults and should be read with caution. Yet, rankings are also a fact of life the COL cannot ignore, and we all should take pride in how well recognized our law school is, and has become.
Best regards,
Steven Kaminshine
Dean
April 30, 2009 at 11:33 pm
http://www.thefacultylounge.org/2009/04/judge-louis-pollak-speaks-out-on-us-news-rankings.html
interesting take on law school rankings by Judge Pollak. Still somewhat the same, but I like his approach because it tries to give a useful picture while going away from the arbitrary 1,2,3,4 ranking system.
June 18, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Colorado dropped 13 points because there has not been a lot of work produced from there and a serious problem of six figure salaries resting on their laurels. The new building was supposed to fix their problems, but it seems to have created a whole new set of them. Time for some long time cronies to go and start a fresk start perhaps, or close it?
September 30, 2009 at 9:55 am
[...] was out in front on this one, producing a scanned copy of the first page (# 1-55) of the rankings on Saturday night. Top-Law-Schools.com produced the full list sometime early this morning, which the Bright Coast [...]