我多次表达过这样的想法:1.排名什么都决定不了;2.我除了排名什么都没有。这两个说法是相互矛盾的,实在是无奈。不过,有个变通的办法,就是多看一些排名。
US NEWS的LAW SCHOOL排名申请的人都看过,也就不再多说了。据FZ说,这个排名其实是根据JD来排的——这也正常,大家总是不会那么看重只有10个月短期培训的LLM的。而真正根据LLM的排名,世界上又没有任何一个机构做过。
这里再放上一些排名,是“Best 170 Law Schools, 2008 Edition”这本书里,根据不同的标准排出来的美国LAW SCHOOL的TOP 10。这本书很不错,当时我申请的时候一度想买,虽然更多的提到的是JD,但是也涉及我们需要的足够的关于LLM的信息。书在卓越就有的卖(是2007版的,因为2008版的中国还没有引进。2008版的大家可以到Princeton Review的网站直接购买,价格是USD22。2007版的可以到这里看看,价格是RMB231。),当时因为书太贵,而我又太穷,所以没买,以后申请的朋友,可以考虑买一个看看。
言归正传,开始发排名。
Based on the Admissions Selectivity Rating
1 Yale University
2 Harvard University
3 Stanford University
4 University of Pennsylvania
5 University of California, Berkeley
6 Columbia University
7 University of Chicago
8 Northwestern University
9 University of Michigan
10 Georgetown University
Professors Rock (Legally Speaking)
Based on the Professors Interesting and Professors Accessible Ratings
1 Boston University
2 University of Chicago
3 Stanford University
4 Loyola Marymount University
5 Chapman University
6 Washington and Lee University
7 Ave Maria School of Law
8 Pepperdine University
9 Mercer University
10 Wake Forest University
Best Classroom Experience
Based on student assessment of professors’ teaching abilities, balance of theory and practical skills in the curricula, tolerance for differing opinions in class discussion, and classroom facilities
1 Loyola Marymount University
2 Duke University
3 Stanford University
4 Vanderbilt University
5 Boston University
6 University of Chicago
7 Chapman University
8 University of Michigan
9 Georgetown University
10 Northwestern University
Most Competitive Students
Based on law student assessment of: the number of hours they spend studying outside of class each day, the number of hours they think their fellow law students spend studying outside of class each day, the degree of competitiveness among law students at their school, and the average number of hours they sleep each night
1 Brigham Young University
2 Baylor University
3 Whittier College
4 St. Thomas University
5 Roger Williams University
6 Thomas M. Cooley Law School
7 St. John’s University
8 Albany Law School
9 Ohio Northern University
10 St. Mary’s University
Best Career Prospects
Based on the Career Rating
1 Northwestern University
2 University of Michigan
3 University of Chicago
4 Harvard University
5 Boston College
6 Boston University
7 Vanderbilt University
8 University of Pennsylvania
9 University of Virginia
10 University of Notre Dame
Candidates for Heritage Foundation Fellowships? (Or, Students Lean to the Right)
Based on student assessment of the political bent of the student body at large
1 Regent University
2 Ave Maria School of Law
3 Brigham Young University
4 George Mason University
5 University of Notre Dame
6 Louisiana State University
7 University of Alabama
8 Campbell University
9 Texas Tech University
10 The University of Mississippi
Candidates for Center for American Progress Fellowships? (Or, Students Lean to the Left)
Based on student assessment of the political bent of the student body at large
1 University of the District of Columbia
2 Northeastern University
3 City University of New York桻ueens College
4 Lewis & Clark College
5 American University
6 Vermont Law School
7 University of Oregon
8 University of California, Berkeley
9 New York University
10 University of Maine
Best Environment for Minority Students
Based on the percentage of the student body that is from underrepresented minorities and student assessment of whether all students receive equal treatment by fellow students and the faculty, regardless of ethnicity
1 Howard University
2 St. Thomas University
3 University of Hawaii at Manoa
4 Florida International University
5 University of Southern California
6 Northwestern University
7 American University
8 Santa Clara University
9 Southern University
10 University of the District of Columbia
Most Diverse Faculty
Based on the percentage of the law school faculty that is from a minority group and student assessment of whether the faculty makes up a broadly diverse group of individuals
1 Howard University
2 Florida International University
3 Southern University
4 City University of New York桻ueens College
5 University of Hawaii at Manoa
6 University of the District of Columbia
7 North Carolina Central University
8 Northern Illinois University
9 Loyola Marymount University
10 University of New Mexico
Best Quality of Life
Based on student assessment of: whether there is a strong sense of community at the school, how aesthetically pleasing the law school is, the location of the law school, the quality of the social life, classroom facilities, and the library staff
1 Chapman University
2 University of St Thomas
3 Stanford University
4 Vanderbilt University
5 University of Virginia
6 University of Colorado
7 Regent University
8 University of Oregon
9 Samford University
10 Northwestern University
Most Welcoming of Older Students
Based on the average age of entry of law school students and student reports of how many years they spent out of college before enrolling in law school
1 City University of New York桻ueens College
2 Lewis & Clark College
3 University of the District of Columbia
4 Seattle University
5 William Mitchell College of Law
6 Willamette University
7 Georgia State University
8 Hamline University
9 University of New Mexico
10 University of Utah
补充一句,这样的排名同样非常适用于我这样的拿不到好学校AD的人来YY一下,因为几乎我们申请的所有学校,你都能在这里发现,它的某一个方面是TOP10的。正像某一天的高考作文题一样——“答案是丰富多彩的!”。