all is fair in love and law school rankings.

[brian lauter]

Like any self-respecting law student, I have a special place in my heart for the U.S. News rankings.  For years I’ve obsessively followed them, yearning for that elusive rankings jump, and weeping like a jilted lover when my school’s ranking was swept up by the cruel winds of fate and dropped in lonesome, desolate places.

After dedicating my best years to this emotional rollercoaster, riding it again and again until I almost enjoyed the motion sickness, I’ve grown weary.  Now, with the seasoned bitterness of a twice-divorced middle aged bald man, I get my kicks watching schools ruin the U.S. News law school rankings through clever gamesmanship.

This is a good year for me in that respect. Here are my Top Five Law School “Admissions Innovations” Of 2008:

1.      Number one isn’t really a law school admissions innovation yet, but it could be soon.  Yesterday, TaxProf Blog reported that Baylor University is “paying admitted freshman to retake the SAT and offering large financial rewards for those whose scores go up by certain levels.”

a.     How it might work:

                                                               i.      The ABA now requires schools to report a student’s highest LSAT score when they take multiple tests, and median LSAT score is an important U.S. News metric.  So, law schools could offer financial incentives to students who, in the interest of obtaining higher scores, retake the LSAT post-admission without risking any rankings damage. 

b.     How much it matters:           

                                                               i.      Median LSAT – 12.5% of a school’s total score.

2.      Alabama Law School is offering to waive applicants’ application fees and give them a $20 iTunes gift card if they apply to Alabama Law School.

a.     How it works:

                                                               i.      The more people who apply to Alabama Law, the more they can reject, which translates to a lower the acceptance rate, which is a U.S. News metric.

b.     How much it matters:

                                                               i.      Acceptance Rate – 2.5% of a school’s total score.

3.      University of Michigan Law School’s Wolverine Scholars Program admits University of Michigan undergrads who have at least a 3.8 GPA and agree not to take the LSAT

a.     How it works:

                                                               i.      There is no LSAT score to report to U.S. News which is fine, and the 3.8 GPA will boost the median GPA of Michigan’s entering class.

b.     How much it matters:

                                                               i.      Median LSAT – 12.5% of school’s total score.

                                                             ii.      Median undergrad GPA – 10% of school’s total score.

4.      Many top law schools now admit students with sub-par LSAT scores and GPAs into part-time programs, letting them into the normal, full-time programs after a semester or two.

a.     How it works:

                                                               i.      The U.S. News rankings only factor in LSAT scores and GPAs for incoming full-time students, so schools are able to admit underperforming students without affecting the important LSAT and GPA based U.S. News metrics.

b.     How much it matters:

                                                               i.      Median LSAT – 12.5% of school’s total score.

                                                             ii.      Median undergrad GPA – 10% of school’s total score.

5.      Many claim that top schools have recently become more selective with their 1L admissions, preferring instead to take large numbers of transfers.

a.     How it works:

                                                               i.      Schools can be more selective in their admissions, admitting students with higher LSAT scores and higher GPAs, while admitting transfer students later who fill out their class populations but do not count toward their U.S. News rank, but will likely pass the bar.

b.     How much it matters:

                                                               i.      Acceptance Rate – 2.5% of school’s total score.

                                                             ii.      Median LSAT – 12.5% of school’s total score.

                                                            iii.      Median undergrad GPA – 10% of school’s total score.

Me?  I've got no problem with this.  Some question the morality of using these methods, but I see no evil in gaming a flawed and disproportionately powerful system.

Comments

[Bama Law Student]

I don't have any stats, but you might be a little too harsh on the Alabama free iTunes. They sent me a link for free iTuns, I applied, and recieved a generous full-scholarship (though the school was under $10K a year, in state, at the time). It caught my attention and I looked at a school I wouldn't have otherwise. In fact, I ended up going there, to my own suprise. Is this gaming the system or gaining attention for a school that may otherwise be unfairly written off by many for a variety of reasons?

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