Selectivity vs Rankings

[Arip9]

I recently purchased the US News law school book for 2010. It is very interesting in that it ranks several schools' selectivity very low (Emory is in around 60s or something) but their ranking is top 30. Does anyone know why there is such a large discrepancy? Should i apply to schools that have low selectivity and high rankings? Thanks

[booboo]

From the way I understand it, selectivity is based on who they accept compared to the applicant pool. If they have a high percentage selection of their application pool, then their selectivity may be low. However, this does not correlate to rankings. It could just be that Emory realizes they have a low yield rate (many students apply their as safeties and end up choosing other schools, etc.) so they accept a large amount to guarantee they fill a class of a size they want. Equating the two isn't necessarily indicative of quality of education or any other facet really.

HTH.

[Arip9]

Thanks.
I understand their is no correlation I was just wondering that bc Emory for example has low selectivity according to US News, I would assume that it is therefore easier to get into. Is it worth applying to considering all the other top 30 schools would reject me in a second.

[booboo]

In this situation, I would recommend looking at how your numbers compare to what they are looking for. Mind you, though their selectivity may be low, it might be because there are so many well qualified applicants that they expect to forgo them for other institutions that they then decide to accept in hopes to get some to attend their school. (Long sentence, a bit convoluted, but it is late, )

[Arip9]

That make sense, thanks.

Another question if you dont mind. How do you know where you wanna apply/go to law school? I understand a lot of it has to do with the location but how am I supposed to knwo where i wanna work? Some might say best school that you get into, btu that means thousands of dollars dished out for applications. How do i approach this? Thanks