TL;DR – The Law School Rankings Are Here (Cue the Chaos)
Cordel Faulk, former Chief Admissions Officer at the University of Virginia School of Law and head of College Solutions’ What’s Next? law school admissions advising program, has seen a lot when it comes to law school rankings. In today’s post, he shares his thoughts on the newly released 2025 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings, what they mean, and his recommendations on how to view them.
The 2025 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings just dropped, and the legal nerds are not okay. Yale and Stanford are back on top, Cornell slipped out of the T-14, and now there’s apparently a T-17? Methodology changes are driving the drama — more emphasis on jobs and bar passage, less on test scores. Some schools (and applicants) are celebrating; others are stress-refreshing Reddit. But let’s take a breath: rankings are tools, not commandments. Think in tiers, not single digits. Cornell didn’t suddenly forget how to be Cornell. And schools like Harvard and Duke are still, well, Harvard and Duke. The rankings are changing because the conversation around legal education is changing — and that’s a good thing. So read them with curiosity, not panic. And if you’re overwhelmed, we’re here to help.
We’ve seen this rodeo before — and yes, we brought snacks.
My Take
How do I think about the U.S. News & World Report law school rankings? It’s a version of this quote from Winston Churchill: “Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried.” [Quick historical lesson fact check: Churchill said it, but he always acknowledged he borrowed that fantastic quote from someone else.]
The annual U.S. News Law School Rankings are far from perfect, and year after year the magazine distorts the decision-making process for applicants trying to make an ultimate decision. Critics have a point. But… couldn’t we say the same thing about the LSAT in the opposite direction? Law Schools use the imperfect metric that is the LSAT to help bring some order and consistency into their decision-making when choosing applicants. The U.S. News Rankings are the imperfect metric law school applicants use to bring some order and consistency into their decision-making when choosing a law school.
Law School Admissions Offices shouldn’t over-rely on the LSAT when making decisions — and law school applicants should not over-rely on U.S. News when deciding on the relative worth of a law school. Both are useful tools, and neither was sent down chiseled on a stone tablet.
What about the 2025 rankings in particular?
The 2025 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings have arrived, and, in typical fashion, they’ve caused a stir. Depending on where your alma mater landed, they may have brought joy, confusion, or even existential dread. But beyond the emotional reactions, there’s real substance to unpack this year — because U.S. News made some significant changes, and the results are shaking up how we think about the legal education hierarchy.
Major Moves at the Top
Let’s start with the top-tier drama. Yale and Stanford are back in a familiar place: tied at #1. But what’s catching attention is what’s happening right below them. Harvard and Duke dropped to #6. Columbia and Northwestern slid to #10. Meanwhile, NYU and Michigan climbed to #8. Berkeley dipped to #13, and UCLA made a jump to #12.
But the biggest headline? Cornell fell out of the "T-14," landing at #18 — a shift that breaks with over a decade of ranking tradition. In its place, there’s a new "T-17" club: Georgetown (still at #14), now joined by UT Austin, Vanderbilt, and WashU St. Louis. Whether the T-14 label still holds any weight is a conversation worth having. These shifts are less about academic collapse or renaissance and more about — you guessed it — methodology changes.
Is Cornell worse than it used to be? Of course not. A four-spot drop doesn’t mean the legal education, alumni network, or career prospects at Cornell suddenly declined overnight. It’s still among its peers as one of the best law schools in the country. That’s why it’s so important to think about schools in tiers, not as points on a ruler. Cornell didn’t fall off a cliff — it just shifted within a cluster of elite institutions. Applicants should focus less on exact ranking numbers and more on fit, goals, and outcomes within a general peer group.
Methodology Matters
This year’s methodology placed more emphasis on employment outcomes and bar passage rates — two things many critics have been advocating for — and less on metrics like LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs. That’s a big deal. For years, critics accused U.S. News of rewarding schools that prioritized high test scores over access, diversity, or long-term student success. This adjustment is, in theory, a course correction.
But course corrections bring turbulence. The increased weighting on job outcomes disproportionately affects schools that feed into public interest or government roles, where salaries may be lower and hiring cycles different. It also means rankings could continue to shift year over year — volatility that makes it harder to interpret “value” at a glance.
Law School Pushback
Of course, many law schools have already stopped playing this game. Yale and Harvard led the charge in 2022, publicly withdrawing from the rankings process, followed quickly by others including Duke and UC Berkeley. The concerns were clear: that the U.S. News system incentivized law schools to prioritize superficial stats, push merit aid over need-based aid, and overlook programs that serve the public good.
This year, Penn State became the latest to opt out — not just one law school, but both of its campuses. The university’s interim provost called the rankings a “popularity contest,” arguing they don’t serve students or reflect educational quality in any meaningful way.
And frankly, they’re not wrong.
The Prestige Problem
According to a 2024 Kaplan survey, 62% of law school admissions officers believe the rankings have lost some of their prestige. That’s not just a quiet grumble — that’s a majority of the very people who once relied on them. In the same breath, 51% of counselors who advise prospective students say the rankings hold less sway today than they did even a few years ago.
The trendline is clear: the rankings are losing their grip, even as they continue to drive headlines.
So where does that leave us?
The U.S. News rankings still matter. They influence applicant behavior, employer perception, and institutional strategy. But they are increasingly viewed as a starting point, not a destination. That’s a step in the right direction.
The 2025 rankings should be read with the same attitude you’d bring to any imperfect-yet-useful metric: curious, but cautious. Recognize the underlying shifts in legal education they reflect — and don’t let a number dictate a path that should be driven by your own priorities, passions, and needs.
In that sense, maybe U.S. News is like Churchill’s take on democracy — flawed, often frustrating, but still the best tool we’ve got… until someone builds a better one.
What’s Next?
The law school application process is intimidating, confusing, and at times scary. We at What’s Next? law school advising can use our expertise to demystify this process. We want it to be more exciting than it is scary. We can help you find the right fit. It’s out there.
Led by Cordel Faulk, former Chief Admissions Officer at UVA Law, What’s Next? is grounded in deep experience and honest guidance. We’ve helped applicants navigate this journey before — and we’re ready to help you do the same.