Top Law Schools

Has anyone else noticed that the GPA and LSAT statistics on the TLS rankings of law schools are outdated? They're from 2008. I have checked the websites of several schools, and their numbers seem to have changed just a bit.

For example, the TLS rankings list Chicago's 25th-75th percentile GPA range as 3.63 to 3.84. However, according to the most recent numbers from Chicago's website, the Class of 2013's 25th-75th percentile GPA spread is 3.59 to 3.87. Similarly, the LSAT 25th-75th percentile is now 168-172, not 169-173, as is reported on the TLS rankings.

There are several other schools that need to be updated, also.

Übermensch wrote:Has anyone else noticed that the GPA and LSAT statistics on the TLS rankings of law schools are outdated? They're from 2008. I have checked the websites of several schools, and their numbers seem to have changed just a bit.

To answer your question - yes, I have noticed they are outdated.

Why would you ever look at the TLS rankings? They don't mean anything.

NLJ250 rankings for biglaw placement if that is what you are interested in, otherwise just rely on US News.

yes.

Chicago took a hit? Damn, WTF. Look's like NYU will unseat UofC for 5th on USNWR soon.

Are there any plans to update them? Thousands of people probably rely on the numbers reported on those rankings to determine where they should apply.

USNWR is always at least a few years old on data. Check out the Class of 2013 medians thread for updated info. The law school websites vary alot in terms of how dated their stats are.

Übermensch wrote:Are there any plans to update them? Thousands of people probably rely on the numbers reported on those rankings to determine where they should apply.

Not sure, you could ask the mods about it. However, my opinion is that no one should be solely relying on TLS's rankings to determine where they should apply. They could look at the latest USNWR rankings, the school webpages, or a multitude of other resources if they are trying to make a solid decision.

When you type "law school rankings" into google this is the first result: http://www.top-law-schools.com/rankings.html

They should probably update the numbers. It wouldn't be that difficult.

redsoxfan2495 wrote:When you type "law school rankings" into google this is the first result: http://www.top-law-schools.com/rankings.html

They should probably update the numbers. It wouldn't be that difficult.

Should they? They'll do it when they do it. Its a free service. Be happy that you're getting it.

redsoxfan2495 wrote:When you type "law school rankings" into google this is the first result: http://www.top-law-schools.com/rankings.html

They should probably update the numbers. It wouldn't be that difficult.

Critical thinking and thorough research on LS would be more beneficial for those applying then simply choosing the first Google result.

Informative wrote:Why would you ever look at the TLS rankings? They don't mean anything.

NLJ250 rankings for biglaw placement if that is what you are interested in, otherwise just rely on US News.

NLJ250 rankings are not very useful. What I would want to know is the likelihood of getting into Biglaw from each law school if you actually want it, not the overall percentage of students who go into Biglaw from each law school. Massive difference.

ImpatientlyWaiting wrote:

Informative wrote:Why would you ever look at the TLS rankings? They don't mean anything.

NLJ250 rankings for biglaw placement if that is what you are interested in, otherwise just rely on US News.

NLJ250 rankings are not very useful. What I would want to know is the likelihood of getting into Biglaw from each law school if you actually want it, not the overall percentage of students who go into Biglaw from each law school. Massive difference.

Only if you assume there is a massive difference between the preferences of the students at one law school compared to another which is something I don't really believe. If you throw in clerkship data, I think it is pretty accurate used in conjunction with the U.S. News rankings.

25/75 numbers are pretty useless; median numbers are the only thing factored into USNWR rankings, and (for the most part) what you should be using for gauging admission likelihood.

If you want an aggregation of updated medians, this thread was doing just that.

JusticeHarlan wrote:25/75 numbers are pretty useless; median numbers are the only thing factored into USNWR rankings, and (for the most part) what you should be using for gauging admission likelihood.

Median GPA and LSAT are the only numbers factored in for USNews rankings, but I think 25-75 is also relevant for gauging T14 admissions, particular for certain schools like UVA, GULC, and NU. UVA only accepts splitters and yield protects everyone with high numbers. (In this case, the real question is, how low can my LSAT/GPA be for admissions if I have one decent stat?)