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Press Contact: Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Twitter: @KapTestNews, @KaplanBarReview
New York, NY (March 20, 2018) — Pre-law students, listen up. Your future selves have a public service announcement for you: Be careful about how much importance you place on the law school rankings. According to the Kaplan Bar Review survey of over 200 JDs, 51 percent say applicants put too much value on a law school’s ranking when deciding where to ultimately enroll; 12 percent say they place too little value on it; while the remaining 37 percent say they place just right level of value on it*.
Kaplan is releasing the results as U.S. News & World Report publishes on March 20 its 2019 law school rankings, widely (and often anxiously) anticipated by many players in the legal education committee, from deans and admissions officers to current students and alumni, and aspiring lawyers too.
“A school’s ranking doesn’t necessarily get you happiness or a good experience as a law school student or graduate. Our experience is that it’s a statistic much more important to law school administrators, as it’s understandably an important recruitment and fundraising tool. Our advice to aspiring lawyers has always been that while rankings can play a useful role in helping them decide where to apply, they should look closely at other statistics, including how many of a law school’s graduates have found a job in the legal field and what the law school’s bar passage rate is. You cannot be a practicing attorney without passing the bar,” said Tammi Rice, vice president, Kaplan Bar Review.
To schedule an interview about Kaplan Bar Review’s survey results, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.
*Kaplan Bar Review conducted the survey via email in February 2018. It includes responses from 201 law school graduates from the class of 2017.
About Kaplan Bar Review
Kaplan Bar Review (www.kaplanbarreview.com) provides full-service bar review programs in 51 jurisdictions (all 50 states and Washington, DC). Additionally, Kaplan Bar Review offers supplemental preparation for the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE).
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