Top 2010 Law School Rankings Top Law Schools consolidates all of the 2010 law school rankings available, thereby giving you the necessary information to determine which law schools you should apply to. The variability in these rankings should illustrate that the 2010 law school rankings can act only as a guide, and that you should be the final evaluator of what law school is best for you. After acceptance, we recommend that you personally visit each law school that you are seriously considering attending. Which law school you attend not only impacts where you will spend three enjoyable and educational years, but also where you will get a job and probably settle down. Below the 2010 Law School Rankings is a short description of all of the law school ratings listed below. A* indicates that this school is tied with another law school for that position. Please click on the links of several law schools, which are our exclusive, in-depth profiles of these schools. Law School Rankings 2011 USN Rank 2010 USN Rank (April, 2009) Law School Gourman Report Educational Quality Rankings 2008 GPA 25th-75th Percentile 2008 LSAT 25th-75th Percentile 2008 Student/ Faculty Ratio 1 1 Yale U (CT)  3 1 3.82-3.96 170-176 7.3 2 2 Harvard U (MA)  1 2* 3.76-3.96 171-176 11.0 3 3 Stanford U (CA)  6 4 3.77-3.97 167-172 8.0 4 4 Columbia U (NY)  7 5 3.60-3.81 170-175 10.1 5 6* U Chicago   4 2* 3.63-3.84 169-173 9.5 6 5 New York U  11 6 3.57-3.86 169-173 9.4 7* 6* UC Berkeley (Boalt)  5 7 3.68-3.95 165-170 11.4 7* 8 U Pennsylvania   9 11 3.57-3.90 166-171 10.7 9 9 U Michigan-Ann Arbor   2 8 3.55-3.84 167-170 11.3 10 10* U Virginia   16 10 3.54-3.92 165-171 12.6 11* 10* Duke U (NC)  8 17 3.60-3.84 167-171 9.7 11* 10* Northwestern U (IL)  14 14* 3.40-3.81 166-172 8.8 13 13 Cornell U (NY)  10 14* 3.50-3.80 165-168 10.0 14 14 Georgetown U (DC) 17 12 3.42-3.79 167-171 12.4 15* 15* UCLA  13 14* 3.57-3.88 164-169 11.3 15* 15* U Texas-Austin 12 10* 3.54-3.87 164-168 11.3 17 17 Vanderbilt U (TN) 15 18 3.50-3.96 164-169 14.4 18 18 U Southern California 27 12 3.47-3.71 165-167 12.4 19 19 Washington U (MO)   29* 3.30-3.80 161-168 10.7 20 28* George Washington U 32 22* 3.41-3.86 163-168 14.2 21 23* U Illinois (UIUC)   22* 3.20-3.90 160-167 13.1 22* 20* Boston U   19* 3.50-3.83 164-167 12.1 22* 20* Emory U (GA)   29* 3.37-3.68 165-167 10.5 22* 20* U Minnesota-Twin Cities 19 21 3.30-3.85 160-168 11.9 22* 23* U Notre Dame (IN) 18 46* 3.36-3.74 163-167 10.9 26 26* U Iowa   19* 3.43-3.81 158-164 15.5 27 23* Indiana U-Bloomington   40* 3.26-3.83 156-165 9.5 28* 26* Boston College   32* 3.34-3.68 163-167 13.2 28* 28* William and Mary (VA)   37* 3.42-3.77 161-166 15.7 28* 35* UC Davis     32* 3.23-3.72 160-165 11.6 28* 35* U Georgia   31 3.40-3.80 161-165 12.2 28* 30* U North Carolina   32* 3.43-3.73 157-164 15.4 28* 35* U Wisconsin-Madison   22* 3.31-3.76 156-163 12.7 34* 30* Fordham U (NY)   26* 3.37-3.74 162-167 13.6 34* 35* Ohio State U 8 32* 3.49-3.81 158-164 13.3 34* 30* U Washington     3.47-3.80 160-166 10.0 34* 30* Washington & Lee U   32* 3.28-3.73 160-167 9.4 38* 55* Arizona State U   40* 3.34-3.78 158-163 8.5 38* 30* U Alabama     3.32-3.90 159-165 10.2 38* 45* U Colorado-Boulder   40* 3.42-3.78 160-165 11.5 38* 40 Wake Forest U (NC)     3.20-3.70 160-164 9.8 42* 41* Brigham Young U (UT)     3.52-3.85 161-166 17.3 42* 41* George Mason U (VA)   26* 3.21-3.83 158-165 13.2 42* 43* U Arizona (Rogers)   40* 3.34-3.71 159-163 12.6 42* 39 UC (Hastings)   11 29* 3.39-3.71 161-165 16.5 42* 45* U Utah     3.41-3.76 156-163 8.1 47 51 U Florida   46* 3.42-3.85 158-163 15.4 48* 45* American U (DC)   46* 3.13-3.56 158-164 13.4 48* 49* Southern Methodist U     3.24-3.84 155-165 14.9 48* 45* Tulane U (LA)   40* 3.34-3.75 160-164 14.1 48* 43* U Maryland     3.21-3.66 159-166 11.7 52* 55* Pepperdine U (CA)     3.43-3.79 160-163 16.0 52* 49* Yeshiva U (Cardozo)   28 3.37-3.73 160-165 15.6 54* 51 Florida State U     3.23-3.74 159-162 14.2 54* 52* U Connecticut     3.20-3.59 158-162 11.4 56* 55* Case Western Reserve     3.20-3.63 159-160 12.2 56* 71* Loyola (Los Angeles)      3.31-3.67 157-163 14.8 56* 52* U Cincinnati     3.29-3.79 156-161 9.9 56* 61* U San Diego   22* 3.22-3.59 158-162 14.2 60* 65* Georgia State U     3.20-3.78 159-162 10.7 60* 59* U Houston     3.08-3.62 159-162 11.8 60* 71* U Miami (FL)     3.25-3.66 155-159 16.5 60* 59* U Tennessee-Knoxville     3.28-3.77 157-161 13.9 64* 65* Baylor U (TX)     3.40-3.80 156-162 15.1 64* 61* Lewis and Clark (OR)     3.20-3.71 157-164 10.0 64* 55* U Kentucky     3.33-3.82 156-161 16.8 67* 61* Brooklyn Law School   46* 3.26-3.63 159-164 18.4 67* 65* U Kansas     3.25-3.71 155-160 12.4 67* 77* U New Mexico     3.12-3.67 152-158 11.3 67* 71* U Pittsburgh     3.18-3.63 157-161 12.9 67* 61* Villanova U (PA)      3.17-3.63 160-163 17.0 72* 65* Pennsylvania State U     3.28-3.68 157-160 9.4 72* 77* Seton Hall U (NJ)     3.13-3.64 154-160 15.4 72* 87* St. John's U (NY)     3.16-3.73 154-162 14.6 72* 65* Temple U (PA)      3.11-3.61 159-163 13.0 72* >100 U Hawaii     3.18-3.68 153-158 7.8 72* 71* U Oklahoma     3.29-3.72 155-161 14.2 78* 87* Loyola U Chicago     3.24-3.60 156-161 14.3 78* 75* U Nevada-Las Vegas     3.18-3.66 155-160 16.8 80* 77* IIT (Chicago-Kent)   37* 3.11-3.67 156-163 10.9 80* 75* Louisiana State U     3.22-3.66 155-159 17.5 80* 77* Rutgers-Camden (NJ)     3.18-3.70 158-162 11.8 80* 87* Rutgers-Newark (NJ)     3.09-3.60 155-161 17.6 80* 77* U Denver (Sturm)     3.23-3.69 155-160 15.5 80* 77* U Oregon     3.12-3.56 157-161 16.4 86* 100* Hofstra University     3.27-3.70 155-159 15.4 86* 87* Indiana U-Indianapolis     3.15-3.70 151-159 17.7 86* 94* Northeastern U (MA)     3.20-3.63 155-163 15.4 86* 77* Seattle U     3.15-3.63 155-160 12.3 86* >100 Syracuse University     3.13-3.51 153-157 10.9 86* 94* U of Arkansas-Fayetteville     3.16-3.74 153-158 12.2 86* 77* U Richmond (VA)     3.19-3.63 159-163 13.8 93* >100 Chapman University (CA)     3.11-3.56 156-159 8.9 93* 85* Santa Clara U (CA)      3.03-3.59 157-161 17.8 93* 65* U Missouri-Columbia     3.24-3.70 156-161 16.8 93* >100 U Nebraska-Lincoln     3.29-3.82 154-158 13.6 93* >100 West Virginia University     3.12-3.70 151-156 12.9 98* 94* Catholic U (DC)     3.13-3.55 156-160 12.8 98* 87* DePaul U (IL)     3.09-3.53 154-161 13.3 98* 98* U of San Francisco     3.12-3.57 155-160 15.2 98* >100 University of the Pacific     3.05-3.58 153-159 14 98* >100 William Mitchell College of Law (MN)     3.19-3.60 150-158 20.4 >100 85* U at Buffalo-SUNY     3.19-3.73 153-159 15.3 >100 87* Marquette U (WI)     3.07-3.61 154-159 19.1 >100 87* U South Carolina     3.13-3.65 149-155 12.3 >100 94* St. Louis U     3.16-3.61 153-159 16.5 >100 98* U Louisville (KY)     3.14-3.73 153-159 15.4 >100 100* Gonzaga University     3.05-3.51 153-157 15.3 >100 100* University of Maine     3.06-3.61 152-158 14.2 You may also be interested in third tier and fourth tier law schools. Note: UC Irvine School of Law was opened in 2009 and is currently not ranked by US News. For another excellent source on law school rankings, visit the Prelaw Handbook which lists the most prestigious law schools and also includes law school rankings on selectivity and other factors. US News law school rankings - the most well known and controversial of all national law school rankings, this report has defined what are perceived as the top law schools. Gourman Report - the originator of law school ratings, the Gourman Report is an established academic report that measures the academic quality of graduate and undergraduate schools. Dr. Gourman is a professor at California State University - Northridge. Unfortunately, the latest Gourman Report rankings came out in 1997. Educational Quality Rankings ("EQR") - are published by Brian Leiter, a professor at the University of Texas law school. These recently updated law school rankings focus "exclusively on the three factors central to a good legal education: the quality of the faculty, the quality of the student body, and the quality of teaching." A * indicates that this school is tied with another law school for that position. Links are to the in-depth profiles we have written on several top law schools. With law school admissions becoming increasingly competitive, be prepared and spend time on every aspect of your law school application. The best book I have found for increasing your chances of admission is How to Get Into the Great Law Schools. We also recommend several other excellent books for law school applicants. A final note of caution on the 2009 law school rankings - what is the best law school is a personal choice and should not be solely determined by national law school ratings but instead by what school best suits all of your desires. For example, because I wanted to live and practice law in California, I choose to attend the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) over other top law schools that were ranked higher. The best advice, personally visit the law schools you are seriously thinking of attending after you have been accepted. Put time and thought in to what is one of the most important decisions of your life.