By Dan Henson
Reporter
Baylor Law School ranked 24th in the Top 25 Law Schools in the nation, according to GraduatePrograms.com.
The rankings, released Tuesday, came as a result of student ratings and reviews from more than 4,000 graduate students and recent graduates from over 150 accredited law schools across the United States. The rankings use a 10-star system, with one star being the lowest and 10 stars being the best.
The results of this survey gave Baylor Law School a rating of 7.62 stars out of a possible 10. Also on the list were Stanford Law School with 8.8 stars, Northwestern University School of Law with 8.7 stars and University of California, Berkeley School of Law with 8.417 stars. These schools were ranked the top three.
Lori Fogleman, director of media communications at Baylor, said the ranking shows that the Baylor Law School is a good place for students to come.
“This ranking just confirms that what we already know – that Baylor has an outstanding law school that provides the best legal education and that our Waco community is a great place for law students to live and invest their time in while earning their degree at Baylor,” Fogleman said.
GraduatePrograms.com also divided the rankings into three categories: best overall value, financial aid and affordability of living. Baylor made the top five for two of these lists.
Baylor Law School also tied the University of Chicago for the fifth-best law school program for overall value. Both schools received 9.333 stars, while University of California Berkley tied with Yale University for the top ranking with 9.75 stars.
“It’s a good thing any time the university receives positive recognition, and Baylor certainly has its share of outstanding academic programs, including the law school, and its share of rankings that name Baylor an outstanding educational value,” Fogleman said.
Baylor Law School was the fifth best law school for affordability of living. Baylor received 8.667 stars; top ranked Brigham Young University received 9.5 stars.
Brad Toben, Dean and M.C. & Mattie Caston Professor of Law, commended Baylor Law School for earning this ranking.
“Our flexible quarter system, small class sizes, highly respected faculty, renowned Practice Court Program and generous scholarship and fellowship programs combine to make Baylor Law School one of the best values in education,” Toben wrote in an email to the Lariat.
GraduatePrograms.com collects this survey information through scholarship entries as well as social media platforms. The law school rankings are from Sept. 1, 2012 to Jan. 28. The rankings also cover different topics such as career support, academic competitiveness, financial aid and quality of network, according to the GraduatePrograms.com website.
Students can also submit a review of their graduate school program at www.graduateprograms.com and can qualify to win $1,000 scholarship, which is awarded once a semester. These reviews will be used in upcoming rankings, according to the website.
