US News & World Reports Law School Rankings came out last week and my Alma Mater Hofstra University School of Law just jumped Fourteen (14)points!
Just two years ago, Hofstra did not even qualify as a tier 1 school. Last year it squeaked in at number 99 but this year it establishes itself as a school on the rise.
As an Alum I am of course very proud of both the faculty and staff as well as the students who made this happen. I am not sure of the efficacy of a law school ranking system to begin with, but if you are going to have one, then I guess it is better to be in the top tier than not.
My fear is that the areas that the USNWR survey thinks are important may become over pronounced and take from the school the things that make it relevant to its students.
For example, Hofstra used to bring in a lot of returning students and students that had little or no intention of practicing law once they got their degrees. That number has been reduced to a large extent because of the shear cost of getting a degree these days. Those returning students however provided a real lesson in