Legal Education Value Added Rankings 2007

NOTE: Be sure to read my comments on problems with these data before you use them for anything.

The infamous Judging The Law Schools rankings put out by Thomas M. Cooley Law School inspired an attempt to rank schools based on their "value added" in educating students. Whatever we may say about the Cooley rankings, it is nice that they created a website which allows browsing and comparing schools using data from the ABA-LSAC Official Guide. It's a much more useful presentation of the data than LSAC's own site, and that has to count for something. Cooley calculates a Program Achievement Rating factor for each school, based on bar passage rate and an academic index score for the student body. But the formula they use seems to present several issues: 1) It's based on a ratio of the absolute values of bar passage rate, LSAT, and GPA; 2) It's not clear which LSAT and GPA figures are used (25th, 50th, 75th?); and 3) It compares pass rates for recent graduates with academic index factors for entering students.

But despite these issues, it still seems that some comparison of student academic credentials and eventual success in passing the bar would be useful. A valid measure of this sort would give an idea of which schools have a greater or lesser impact on student success, as opposed to those which just enroll students more or less likely to succeed based on their innate ability and past record of success. This Legal Education Value Added ranking uses what seems a somewhat better formula than Cooley's PAR. The LEVA score is a percentile rank on a 1,000 point scale. Schools that score 500 or above are better than most, and those that score below are worse. The score is derived by measuring the difference between the academic index of entering students and a measure of graduate "performance" on the bar exam.

The academic index uses a 1,000 point scale, with LSAT weighted 60% and GPA 40%. The performance measure is the ratio (school passage rate - state passage rate) / (100 - state passage rate). This measures by how much a school's graduates outperformed the jurisdiction's overall passage rate, and corrects for differences between passage rates in different jurisdictions. In "easy" jurisdictions, perhaps 80% of takers pass the exam, so there is only 20% "headroom" for a school's graduates to outperform. In "hard" jurisdictions, less than half of takers might pass overall, so there is much more room for improvement. A pass rate of 60% might be outstanding in a hard jurisdiction, and wretched in an easy one. This bar passage performance ratio will be negative if graduates passed at a lower rate than takers overall, and positive if they passed at a higher rate.

To combine the INDEX and SUCCESS scores, I subtracted each school's percentile rank in INDEX from their percentile rank in SUCCESS. Schools with the greatest positive gap between the two receive a LEVA score of 1,000, and those with the greatest negative gap receive a LEVA score of 0. Equal LEVA scores are assigned equal ranks. Marquette, Liberty, and Charleston were omitted for lack of data. The list includes each school's US News rank for reference. Note that this formula does not attempt to address the third issue -- it's still based on the bar passage rate of recent graduates and academic index of entering students. The results might change if we went back to the historical data for the academic index numbers of the class that just sat for the bar. But that data is not readily available from LSAC, and most schools tend to have fairly steady numbers over the short term anyway.

Note that this ranking does not suggest that Faulkner delivers a better education than Yale. The score is based on the difference between inputs and outputs, not an absolute comparison of achievement by graduates. Given two schools with similar US News rank, or considering all schools within a certain tier, this might provide a useful basis for choosing between them. It might suggest that Harvard delivers more added value than Yale, or that San Francisco does more to improve the success of students than does Santa Clara. Students who go to the top three schools in the country would pass the bar and succeed as lawyers even if these schools did almost nothing to educate them. But between the three, it may be useful to see which of them seems to add the most to your chances of success by virtue of the education that they deliver.

Rankings broken out by tier for the US News Top 14 and Tiers 1, 2, 3, and 4 appear after the list of all schools.


RANK LEVA Ranking
LEVA LEVA Score
INDEX Academic Index
LSAT Median LSAT
GPA Median GPA
SUCCESS Bar Passage Performance Ratio
SCHOOL School's Bar Passage Rate
STATE State's Overall Passage Rate
USNWR US News & World Report Ranking

RANK / LEVA / INDEX / LSAT / GPA / SUCCESS / SCHOOL / STATE / USNWR
1 1,000 587 149 2.97 0.381 0.870 0.790 X Faulkner University
2 994 596 144 3.56 0.370 0.660 0.460 X University of Puerto Rico
3 979 662 153 3.32 0.577 0.890 0.740 Tier 4 Ave Maria School of Law (MI)
3 979 669 155 3.19 0.586 0.880 0.710 Tier 4 Campbell University (Wiggins) (NC)
3 979 602 148 3.22 0.345 0.810 0.710 Tier 4 North Carolina Central University
6 973 644 151 3.34 0.400 0.940 0.900 Tier 4 University of North Dakota
7 968 631 151 3.21 0.310 0.800 0.710 Tier 4 Florida Coastal School of Law
8 963 641 151 3.31 0.333 0.880 0.820 Tier 4 Valparaiso University (IN)
9 958 690 155 3.40 0.600 0.960 0.900 70 University of New Mexico
10 952 686 155 3.36 0.550 0.910 0.800 Tier 3 University of Memphis (Humphreys)
11 947 688 156 3.28 0.571 0.910 0.790 Tier 3 Samford University (Cumberland) (AL)
12 942 649 152 3.29 0.267 0.780 0.700 Tier 3 Loyola University New Orleans
13 937 504 138 3.24 0.056 0.490 0.460 X Inter American University of Puerto Rico
14 931 727 157 3.57 0.700 0.970 0.900 70 University of Oklahoma
15 926 680 153 3.50 0.333 0.900 0.850 Tier 3 Southern Illinois University–Carbondale
16 916 565 146 3.05 (0.115) 0.710 0.740 Tier 4 Thomas M. Cooley Law School (MI)
16 916 763 161 3.53 1.000 1.000 0.770 31 University of Wisconsin–Madison (*)
18 910 670 154 3.30 0.241 0.780 0.710 Tier 3 Florida International University
19 895 723 159 3.33 0.500 0.920 0.840 82 Georgia State University
19 895 709 156 3.49 0.467 0.840 0.700 91 Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge
19 895 728 158 3.48 0.577 0.890 0.740 70 St. John's University (NY)
22 884 655 152 3.35 0.158 0.840 0.810 Tier 4 Ohio Northern University (Pettit)
22 884 642 152 3.22 0.100 0.910 0.900 Tier 4 University of Tulsa (OK)
24 879 481 136 3.21 (0.185) 0.360 0.460 X Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
25 874 711 155 3.61 0.450 0.890 0.800 Tier 3 Texas Tech University
26 869 655 154 3.15 0.150 0.830 0.800 Tier 4 Texas Wesleyan University
27 863 703 155 3.53 0.385 0.920 0.870 Tier 3 University of Mississippi
28 858 661 154 3.21 0.154 0.780 0.740 Tier 3 Albany Law School-Union University (NY)
29 853 750 161 3.40 0.667 0.940 0.820 85 Northeastern University (MA)
30 848 776 162 3.56 0.857 0.970 0.790 36 University of Alabama
31 832 766 160 3.66 0.750 0.950 0.800 53 Baylor University (TX)
31 832 650 152 3.30 0.025 0.610 0.600 Tier 3 Franklin Pierce Law Center (NH)
31 832 705 156 3.45 0.375 0.900 0.840 100 Mercer University (GA)
34 821 678 154 3.38 0.207 0.770 0.710 100 Stetson University (FL)
34 821 642 152 3.22 (0.053) 0.800 0.810 Tier 4 University of Dayton (OH)
36 816 713 157 3.43 0.391 0.860 0.770 97 University of Louisville (Brandeis) (KY)
37 806 731 160 3.31 0.474 0.800 0.620 85 University of San Diego
37 806 774 163 3.44 0.759 0.930 0.710 36 Wake Forest University (NC)
39 801 620 150 3.20 (0.192) 0.690 0.740 Tier 4 University of Detroit Mercy
40 790 679 155 3.29 0.158 0.680 0.620 Tier 3 Southwestern Law School (CA)
40 790 803 165 3.53 0.909 0.990 0.890 20 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
42 785 703 157 3.33 0.304 0.840 0.770 70 Seton Hall University (NJ)
43 774 674 153 3.44 0.111 0.920 0.910 Tier 3 University of Montana
43 774 669 152 3.49 0.063 0.850 0.840 Tier 4 University of South Dakota
45 764 660 153 3.30 (0.026) 0.610 0.620 Tier 4 California Western School of Law
45 764 620 151 3.10 (0.308) 0.660 0.740 Tier 4 Touro College (Fuchsberg) (NY)
47 748 790 164 3.50 0.750 0.960 0.840 22 Emory University (GA)
47 748 745 160 3.45 0.444 0.900 0.820 47 University of Connecticut
47 748 748 159 3.58 0.450 0.890 0.800 53 University of Tennessee–Knoxville
50 743 630 151 3.20 (0.231) 0.680 0.740 Tier 3 Howard University (DC)
51 727 600 149 3.10 (0.379) 0.600 0.710 Tier 4 Barry University (FL)
51 727 629 151 3.19 (0.241) 0.640 0.710 Tier 4 Nova Southeastern University (Broad) (FL)
51 727 681 153 3.51 0.125 0.720 0.680 Tier 3 West Virginia University
54 722 684 155 3.34 0.150 0.830 0.800 Tier 3 University of Maine
55 696 587 149 2.97 (0.450) 0.710 0.800 Tier 4 Appalachian School of Law (VA)
55 696 650 153 3.20 (0.150) 0.770 0.800 Tier 4 South Texas College of Law
55 696 730 158 3.50 0.381 0.870 0.790 91 University of Hawaii (Richardson)
55 696 754 159 3.64 0.478 0.880 0.770 60 University of Kentucky
55 696 746 161 3.36 0.423 0.850 0.740 77 University of Richmond (VA)
60 680 653 153 3.23 (0.105) 0.790 0.810 Tier 4 Capital University (OH)
60 680 687 155 3.37 0.154 0.780 0.740 Tier 3 Michigan State University
60 680 672 154 3.32 0.043 0.780 0.770 Tier 4 Northern Kentucky University (Chase)
63 675 628 152 3.08 (0.318) 0.710 0.780 Tier 4 Widener University (DE)
64 670 533 143 3.03 (0.586) 0.540 0.710 X Florida A&M School of Law
65 664 847 168 3.67 0.885 0.970 0.740 8 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
66 659 779 162 3.59 0.579 0.840 0.620 36 University of California (Hastings)
67 649 718 159 3.28 0.289 0.730 0.620 100 University of San Francisco
67 649 858 169 3.68 0.846 0.960 0.740 10 University of Virginia
69 633 837 167 3.67 0.769 0.940 0.740 13 Cornell University (NY)
69 633 561 147 2.91 (0.850) 0.630 0.800 Tier 4 Texas Southern University (Marshall)
69 633 708 156 3.48 0.231 0.800 0.740 Tier 4 Wayne State University (MI)
72 617 677 155 3.27 (0.038) 0.730 0.740 Tier 3 New York Law School
72 617 786 163 3.56 0.542 0.890 0.760 36 University of Colorado–Boulder
72 617 821 166 3.61 0.731 0.930 0.740 25 Washington and Lee University (VA)
75 607 609 151 2.99 (0.553) 0.410 0.620 Tier 4 Thomas Jefferson School of Law (CA)
75 607 756 159 3.66 0.414 0.830 0.710 47 University of Florida (Levin)
77 586 749 161 3.39 0.385 0.840 0.740 60 Brooklyn Law School (NY)
77 586 858 168 3.78 0.769 0.940 0.740 10 Duke University (NC)
77 586 771 161 3.61 0.474 0.900 0.810 31 Ohio State University (Moritz)
77 586 872 170 3.72 0.808 0.950 0.740 6 University of Pennsylvania
81 570 818 165 3.68 0.667 0.940 0.820 20 Boston University
81 570 673 154 3.33 (0.077) 0.720 0.740 Tier 3 Pace University (NY)
81 570 604 150 3.04 (0.621) 0.530 0.710 Tier 4 St. Thomas University (FL)
84 560 632 150 3.32 (0.385) 0.820 0.870 Tier 4 Mississippi College
84 560 585 148 3.05 (0.921) 0.270 0.620 X University of LaVerne
86 539 641 152 3.21 (0.379) 0.600 0.710 Tier 4 Roger Williams University (Papitto) (RI)
86 539 645 153 3.15 (0.346) 0.650 0.740 Tier 4 University of Baltimore
86 539 824 166 3.64 0.684 0.880 0.620 15 University of California–Los Angeles
86 539 733 159 3.43 0.333 0.880 0.820 91 University of South Carolina
90 534 585 147 3.15 (1.067) 0.380 0.700 Tier 4 Southern University (LA)
91 523 906 172 3.86 0.808 0.950 0.740 2 Harvard University (MA)
91 523 674 155 3.24 (0.111) 0.800 0.820 Tier 3 Suffolk University (MA)
93 507 850 168 3.70 0.731 0.930 0.740 14 Georgetown University (DC)
93 507 764 161 3.54 0.400 0.880 0.800 46 Southern Methodist University (TX)
93 507 652 151 3.42 (0.300) 0.740 0.800 Tier 3 University of Wyoming
96 502 727 158 3.47 0.241 0.780 0.710 70 University of Miami (FL)
97 497 620 150 3.20 (0.800) 0.820 0.900 Tier 4 Oklahoma City University
98 492 651 154 3.11 (0.350) 0.730 0.800 Tier 4 St. Mary's University (TX)
99 476 788 163 3.58 0.500 0.870 0.740 25 Fordham University (NY)
99 476 635 151 3.25 (0.500) 0.730 0.820 Tier 4 New England School of Law (MA)
99 476 877 171 3.67 0.733 0.960 0.850 6 University of Chicago
102 460 682 156 3.22 (0.056) 0.810 0.820 Tier 3 Quinnipiac University (CT)
102 460 724 156 3.64 0.214 0.890 0.860 77 University of Nebraska–Lincoln
102 460 692 156 3.32 0.079 0.650 0.620 100 University of the Pacific (McGeorge) (CA)
105 450 814 165 3.64 0.577 0.890 0.740 31 College of William and Mary (Marshall-Wythe) (VA)
105 450 921 173 3.91 0.769 0.940 0.740 1 Yale University (CT)
107 445 809 165 3.59 0.538 0.880 0.740 22 George Washington University (DC)
108 434 839 166 3.79 0.658 0.870 0.620 8 University of California–Berkeley
108 434 772 161 3.62 0.400 0.910 0.850 24 University of Iowa
110 429 726 159 3.36 0.211 0.850 0.810 53 Case Western Reserve University (OH)
111 408 885 171 3.75 0.731 0.930 0.740 4 New York University
111 408 666 153 3.36 (0.231) 0.680 0.740 Tier 4 Regent University (VA)
111 408 748 161 3.38 0.318 0.850 0.780 60 Temple University (Beasley) (PA)
111 408 810 166 3.50 0.533 0.930 0.850 28 University of Notre Dame (IN)
115 387 736 159 3.46 0.276 0.790 0.710 53 Florida State University
115 387 704 156 3.44 0.115 0.770 0.740 77 University at Buffalo–SUNY
115 387 620 151 3.10 (0.923) 0.500 0.740 Tier 4 University of the District of Columbia (Clarke)
115 387 765 161 3.55 0.385 0.840 0.740 52 Yeshiva University (Cardozo) (NY)
119 366 612 151 3.02 (2.000) 0.520 0.840 X John Marshall Law School (GA)
119 366 870 170 3.70 0.667 0.950 0.850 12 Northwestern University (IL)
119 366 701 157 3.31 0.091 0.800 0.780 91 Pennsylvania State University (Dickinson)
119 366 628 152 3.08 (0.889) 0.660 0.820 Tier 4 Western New England College (MA)
123 350 679 156 3.19 (0.132) 0.570 0.620 Tier 4 Chapman University (CA)
123 350 741 160 3.41 0.289 0.730 0.620 66 Loyola Law School (CA)
123 350 628 151 3.18 (0.909) 0.580 0.780 X Widener University (PA)
126 335 708 157 3.38 0.120 0.780 0.750 85 Seattle University
126 335 760 160 3.60 0.368 0.880 0.810 57 University of Cincinnati
126 335 777 162 3.57 0.414 0.830 0.710 36 University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
129 324 730 159 3.40 0.227 0.830 0.780 57 University of Pittsburgh
129 324 623 151 3.13 (0.921) 0.270 0.620 X Western State School of Law
131 314 688 155 3.38 (0.067) 0.840 0.850 Tier 4 Northern Illinois University
131 314 642 153 3.12 (0.605) 0.390 0.620 Tier 4 Whittier Law School (CA)
133 293 798 164 3.58 0.444 0.900 0.820 28 Boston College
133 293 887 170 3.87 0.658 0.870 0.620 2 Stanford University (CA)
133 293 792 163 3.62 0.438 0.910 0.840 36 University of Georgia
133 293 820 166 3.60 0.500 0.900 0.800 18 University of Texas–Austin
137 287 651 153 3.21 (0.500) 0.430 0.620 Tier 4 Golden Gate University (CA)
138 277 754 160 3.54 0.316 0.740 0.620 66 Pepperdine University (CA)
138 277 823 166 3.63 0.500 0.810 0.620 16 University of Southern California (Gould)
140 251 890 172 3.70 0.654 0.910 0.740 5 Columbia University (NY)
140 251 682 155 3.32 (0.160) 0.710 0.750 Tier 3 Gonzaga University (WA)
140 251 767 161 3.57 0.367 0.810 0.700 47 Tulane University (LA)
140 251 698 155 3.48 0.000 0.750 0.750 Tier 3 University of Arkansas–Fayetteville
140 251 677 154 3.37 (0.222) 0.780 0.820 Tier 3 Washburn University (KS)
145 240 775 162 3.55 0.379 0.820 0.710 44 University of Arizona (Rogers)
145 240 656 153 3.26 (0.400) 0.650 0.750 Tier 3 University of Arkansas–Little Rock (Bowen)
147 235 667 154 3.27 (0.360) 0.660 0.750 Tier 3 Vermont Law School
148 219 712 158 3.32 0.105 0.660 0.620 91 Santa Clara University (CA)
148 219 694 155 3.44 (0.053) 0.800 0.810 Tier 3 University of Idaho
148 219 730 159 3.40 0.167 0.800 0.760 82 University of Oregon
151 214 652 154 3.12 (0.533) 0.770 0.850 Tier 4 John Marshall Law School (IL)
152 209 748 161 3.38 0.231 0.800 0.740 47 American University (Washington) (DC)
153 198 751 161 3.41 0.267 0.890 0.850 70 Loyola University Chicago
153 198 692 156 3.32 (0.105) 0.790 0.810 Tier 3 University of Akron (OH)
155 193 659 153 3.29 (0.500) 0.610 0.740 Tier 4 CUNY–Queens College
156 178 665 153 3.35 (0.455) 0.680 0.780 Tier 4 Duquesne University (PA)
156 178 685 155 3.35 (0.192) 0.690 0.740 Tier 3 Syracuse University (NY)
156 178 689 155 3.39 (0.158) 0.780 0.810 85 University of Toledo (OH)
159 172 740 160 3.40 0.174 0.810 0.770 70 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–Camden
160 167 701 157 3.31 (0.077) 0.720 0.740 97 Catholic University of America (Columbus) (DC)
161 162 693 157 3.23 (0.125) 0.730 0.760 Tier 4 Willamette University (Collins) (OR)
162 157 675 154 3.35 (0.364) 0.850 0.890 Tier 3 William Mitchell College of Law (MN)
163 146 749 160 3.49 0.200 0.840 0.800 60 University of Houston
163 146 730 158 3.50 0.114 0.690 0.650 100 University of Nevada–Las Vegas (Boyd)
165 141 789 162 3.69 0.360 0.840 0.750 28 University of Washington
166 136 669 154 3.29 (0.526) 0.710 0.810 Tier 3 Cleveland State University (Cleveland-Marshall)
167 120 739 159 3.49 0.133 0.870 0.850 60 Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago-Kent)
167 120 714 158 3.34 0.000 0.770 0.770 77 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–Newark
167 120 687 154 3.47 (0.273) 0.860 0.890 Tier 3 University of Missouri–Kansas City
170 115 830 166 3.70 0.400 0.880 0.800 16 Vanderbilt University (TN)
171 104 787 163 3.57 0.333 0.880 0.820 36 Indiana University–Bloomington
171 104 729 158 3.49 0.091 0.900 0.890 66 University of Missouri–Columbia
173 99 728 158 3.48 0.056 0.830 0.820 66 University of Kansas
174 94 750 161 3.40 0.167 0.800 0.760 82 Lewis and Clark College (Northwestern) (OR)
175 89 764 162 3.44 0.227 0.830 0.780 60 Villanova University (PA)
176 83 695 155 3.45 (0.192) 0.690 0.740 Tier 3 Hofstra University (NY)
177 78 775 162 3.55 0.263 0.720 0.620 34 University of California–Davis
178 73 770 161 3.60 0.231 0.800 0.740 36 University of Maryland
179 68 810 166 3.50 0.333 0.900 0.850 25 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
180 62 724 159 3.34 (0.067) 0.840 0.850 91 DePaul University (IL)
181 52 803 164 3.63 0.300 0.930 0.900 44 Brigham Young University (Clark) (UT)
181 52 676 154 3.36 (0.636) 0.820 0.890 Tier 4 Hamline University (MN)
183 47 712 156 3.52 (0.182) 0.870 0.890 85 St. Louis University
184 41 691 155 3.41 (0.400) 0.790 0.850 Tier 3 Drake University (IA)
185 36 707 157 3.37 (0.250) 0.700 0.760 77 University of Denver (Sturm)
186 31 706 156 3.46 (0.278) 0.770 0.820 85 Indiana University–Indianapolis
187 26 702 156 3.42 (0.364) 0.850 0.890 Tier 3 University of St. Thomas (MN)
188 20 690 155 3.40 (0.786) 0.750 0.860 Tier 3 Creighton University (NE)
189 15 758 160 3.58 0.000 0.900 0.900 57 University of Utah (Quinney)
190 5 787 163 3.57 0.115 0.770 0.740 34 George Mason University (VA)
190 5 820 166 3.60 0.182 0.910 0.890 19 Washington University in St. Louis
192 0 734 158 3.54 (0.207) 0.650 0.710 51 Arizona State University (O'Connor)


TOP FOURTEEN (T14)

RANK / LEVA / INDEX / LSAT / GPA / SUCCESS / SCHOOL / STATE / USNWR
65 664 847 168 3.67 0.885 0.970 0.740 8 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
67 649 858 169 3.68 0.846 0.960 0.740 10 University of Virginia
69 633 837 167 3.67 0.769 0.940 0.740 13 Cornell University (NY)
77 586 858 168 3.78 0.769 0.940 0.740 10 Duke University (NC)
77 586 872 170 3.72 0.808 0.950 0.740 6 University of Pennsylvania
91 523 906 172 3.86 0.808 0.950 0.740 2 Harvard University (MA)
93 507 850 168 3.70 0.731 0.930 0.740 14 Georgetown University (DC)
99 476 877 171 3.67 0.733 0.960 0.850 6 University of Chicago
105 450 921 173 3.91 0.769 0.940 0.740 1 Yale University (CT)
108 434 839 166 3.79 0.658 0.870 0.620 8 University of California–Berkeley
111 408 885 171 3.75 0.731 0.930 0.740 4 New York University
119 366 870 170 3.70 0.667 0.950 0.850 12 Northwestern University (IL)
133 293 887 170 3.87 0.658 0.870 0.620 2 Stanford University (CA)
140 251 890 172 3.70 0.654 0.910 0.740 5 Columbia University (NY)


TIER ONE (T1)

RANK / LEVA / INDEX / LSAT / GPA / SUCCESS / SCHOOL / STATE / USNWR
16 916 763 161 3.53 1.000 1.000 0.770 31 University of Wisconsin–Madison (*)
30 848 776 162 3.56 0.857 0.970 0.790 36 University of Alabama
37 806 774 163 3.44 0.759 0.930 0.710 36 Wake Forest University (NC)
40 790 803 165 3.53 0.909 0.990 0.890 20 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
47 748 790 164 3.50 0.750 0.960 0.840 22 Emory University (GA)
47 748 745 160 3.45 0.444 0.900 0.820 47 University of Connecticut
66 659 779 162 3.59 0.579 0.840 0.620 36 University of California (Hastings)
72 617 786 163 3.56 0.542 0.890 0.760 36 University of Colorado–Boulder
72 617 821 166 3.61 0.731 0.930 0.740 25 Washington and Lee University (VA)
75 607 756 159 3.66 0.414 0.830 0.710 47 University of Florida (Levin)
77 586 771 161 3.61 0.474 0.900 0.810 31 Ohio State University (Moritz)
81 570 818 165 3.68 0.667 0.940 0.820 20 Boston University
86 539 824 166 3.64 0.684 0.880 0.620 15 University of California–Los Angeles
93 507 764 161 3.54 0.400 0.880 0.800 46 Southern Methodist University (TX)
99 476 788 163 3.58 0.500 0.870 0.740 25 Fordham University (NY)
105 450 814 165 3.64 0.577 0.890 0.740 31 College of William and Mary (Marshall-Wythe) (VA)
107 445 809 165 3.59 0.538 0.880 0.740 22 George Washington University (DC)
108 434 772 161 3.62 0.400 0.910 0.850 24 University of Iowa
111 408 810 166 3.50 0.533 0.930 0.850 28 University of Notre Dame (IN)
126 335 777 162 3.57 0.414 0.830 0.710 36 University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
133 293 798 164 3.58 0.444 0.900 0.820 28 Boston College
133 293 792 163 3.62 0.438 0.910 0.840 36 University of Georgia
133 293 820 166 3.60 0.500 0.900 0.800 18 University of Texas–Austin
138 277 823 166 3.63 0.500 0.810 0.620 16 University of Southern California (Gould)
140 251 767 161 3.57 0.367 0.810 0.700 47 Tulane University (LA)
145 240 775 162 3.55 0.379 0.820 0.710 44 University of Arizona (Rogers)
152 209 748 161 3.38 0.231 0.800 0.740 47 American University (Washington) (DC)
165 141 789 162 3.69 0.360 0.840 0.750 28 University of Washington
170 115 830 166 3.70 0.400 0.880 0.800 16 Vanderbilt University (TN)
171 104 787 163 3.57 0.333 0.880 0.820 36 Indiana University–Bloomington
177 78 775 162 3.55 0.263 0.720 0.620 34 University of California–Davis
178 73 770 161 3.60 0.231 0.800 0.740 36 University of Maryland
179 68 810 166 3.50 0.333 0.900 0.850 25 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
181 52 803 164 3.63 0.300 0.930 0.900 44 Brigham Young University (Clark) (UT)
190 5 787 163 3.57 0.115 0.770 0.740 34 George Mason University (VA)
190 5 820 166 3.60 0.182 0.910 0.890 19 Washington University in St. Louis


TIER TWO (T2)

RANK / LEVA / INDEX / LSAT / GPA / SUCCESS / SCHOOL / STATE / USNWR
9 958 690 155 3.40 0.600 0.960 0.900 70 University of New Mexico
14 931 727 157 3.57 0.700 0.970 0.900 70 University of Oklahoma
19 895 723 159 3.33 0.500 0.920 0.840 82 Georgia State University
19 895 709 156 3.49 0.467 0.840 0.700 91 Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge
19 895 728 158 3.48 0.577 0.890 0.740 70 St. John's University (NY)
29 853 750 161 3.40 0.667 0.940 0.820 85 Northeastern University (MA)
31 832 766 160 3.66 0.750 0.950 0.800 53 Baylor University (TX)
31 832 705 156 3.45 0.375 0.900 0.840 100 Mercer University (GA)
34 821 678 154 3.38 0.207 0.770 0.710 100 Stetson University (FL)
36 816 713 157 3.43 0.391 0.860 0.770 97 University of Louisville (Brandeis) (KY)
37 806 731 160 3.31 0.474 0.800 0.620 85 University of San Diego
42 785 703 157 3.33 0.304 0.840 0.770 70 Seton Hall University (NJ)
47 748 748 159 3.58 0.450 0.890 0.800 53 University of Tennessee–Knoxville
55 696 730 158 3.50 0.381 0.870 0.790 91 University of Hawaii (Richardson)
55 696 754 159 3.64 0.478 0.880 0.770 60 University of Kentucky
55 696 746 161 3.36 0.423 0.850 0.740 77 University of Richmond (VA)
67 649 718 159 3.28 0.289 0.730 0.620 100 University of San Francisco
77 586 749 161 3.39 0.385 0.840 0.740 60 Brooklyn Law School (NY)
86 539 733 159 3.43 0.333 0.880 0.820 91 University of South Carolina
96 502 727 158 3.47 0.241 0.780 0.710 70 University of Miami (FL)
102 460 724 156 3.64 0.214 0.890 0.860 77 University of Nebraska–Lincoln
102 460 692 156 3.32 0.079 0.650 0.620 100 University of the Pacific (McGeorge) (CA)
110 429 726 159 3.36 0.211 0.850 0.810 53 Case Western Reserve University (OH)
111 408 748 161 3.38 0.318 0.850 0.780 60 Temple University (Beasley) (PA)
115 387 736 159 3.46 0.276 0.790 0.710 53 Florida State University
115 387 704 156 3.44 0.115 0.770 0.740 77 University at Buffalo–SUNY
115 387 765 161 3.55 0.385 0.840 0.740 52 Yeshiva University (Cardozo) (NY)
119 366 701 157 3.31 0.091 0.800 0.780 91 Pennsylvania State University (Dickinson)
123 350 741 160 3.41 0.289 0.730 0.620 66 Loyola Law School (CA)
126 335 708 157 3.38 0.120 0.780 0.750 85 Seattle University
126 335 760 160 3.60 0.368 0.880 0.810 57 University of Cincinnati
129 324 730 159 3.40 0.227 0.830 0.780 57 University of Pittsburgh
138 277 754 160 3.54 0.316 0.740 0.620 66 Pepperdine University (CA)
148 219 712 158 3.32 0.105 0.660 0.620 91 Santa Clara University (CA)
148 219 730 159 3.40 0.167 0.800 0.760 82 University of Oregon
153 198 751 161 3.41 0.267 0.890 0.850 70 Loyola University Chicago
156 178 689 155 3.39 (0.158) 0.780 0.810 85 University of Toledo (OH)
159 172 740 160 3.40 0.174 0.810 0.770 70 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–Camden
160 167 701 157 3.31 (0.077) 0.720 0.740 97 Catholic University of America (Columbus) (DC)
163 146 749 160 3.49 0.200 0.840 0.800 60 University of Houston
163 146 730 158 3.50 0.114 0.690 0.650 100 University of Nevada–Las Vegas (Boyd)
167 120 739 159 3.49 0.133 0.870 0.850 60 Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago-Kent)
167 120 714 158 3.34 0.000 0.770 0.770 77 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–Newark
171 104 729 158 3.49 0.091 0.900 0.890 66 University of Missouri–Columbia
173 99 728 158 3.48 0.056 0.830 0.820 66 University of Kansas
174 94 750 161 3.40 0.167 0.800 0.760 82 Lewis and Clark College (Northwestern) (OR)
175 89 764 162 3.44 0.227 0.830 0.780 60 Villanova University (PA)
180 62 724 159 3.34 (0.067) 0.840 0.850 91 DePaul University (IL)
183 47 712 156 3.52 (0.182) 0.870 0.890 85 St. Louis University
185 36 707 157 3.37 (0.250) 0.700 0.760 77 University of Denver (Sturm)
186 31 706 156 3.46 (0.278) 0.770 0.820 85 Indiana University–Indianapolis
189 15 758 160 3.58 0.000 0.900 0.900 57 University of Utah (Quinney)
192 0 734 158 3.54 (0.207) 0.650 0.710 51 Arizona State University (O'Connor)


TIER THREE (T3)

RANK / LEVA / INDEX / LSAT / GPA / SUCCESS / SCHOOL / STATE / USNWR
10 952 686 155 3.36 0.550 0.910 0.800 Tier 3 University of Memphis (Humphreys)
11 947 688 156 3.28 0.571 0.910 0.790 Tier 3 Samford University (Cumberland) (AL)
12 942 649 152 3.29 0.267 0.780 0.700 Tier 3 Loyola University New Orleans
15 926 680 153 3.50 0.333 0.900 0.850 Tier 3 Southern Illinois University–Carbondale
18 910 670 154 3.30 0.241 0.780 0.710 Tier 3 Florida International University
25 874 711 155 3.61 0.450 0.890 0.800 Tier 3 Texas Tech University
27 863 703 155 3.53 0.385 0.920 0.870 Tier 3 University of Mississippi
28 858 661 154 3.21 0.154 0.780 0.740 Tier 3 Albany Law School-Union University (NY)
31 832 650 152 3.30 0.025 0.610 0.600 Tier 3 Franklin Pierce Law Center (NH)
40 790 679 155 3.29 0.158 0.680 0.620 Tier 3 Southwestern Law School (CA)
43 774 674 153 3.44 0.111 0.920 0.910 Tier 3 University of Montana
50 743 630 151 3.20 (0.231) 0.680 0.740 Tier 3 Howard University (DC)
51 727 681 153 3.51 0.125 0.720 0.680 Tier 3 West Virginia University
54 722 684 155 3.34 0.150 0.830 0.800 Tier 3 University of Maine
60 680 687 155 3.37 0.154 0.780 0.740 Tier 3 Michigan State University
72 617 677 155 3.27 (0.038) 0.730 0.740 Tier 3 New York Law School
81 570 673 154 3.33 (0.077) 0.720 0.740 Tier 3 Pace University (NY)
91 523 674 155 3.24 (0.111) 0.800 0.820 Tier 3 Suffolk University (MA)
93 507 652 151 3.42 (0.300) 0.740 0.800 Tier 3 University of Wyoming
102 460 682 156 3.22 (0.056) 0.810 0.820 Tier 3 Quinnipiac University (CT)
140 251 682 155 3.32 (0.160) 0.710 0.750 Tier 3 Gonzaga University (WA)
140 251 698 155 3.48 0.000 0.750 0.750 Tier 3 University of Arkansas–Fayetteville
140 251 677 154 3.37 (0.222) 0.780 0.820 Tier 3 Washburn University (KS)
145 240 656 153 3.26 (0.400) 0.650 0.750 Tier 3 University of Arkansas–Little Rock (Bowen)
147 235 667 154 3.27 (0.360) 0.660 0.750 Tier 3 Vermont Law School
148 219 694 155 3.44 (0.053) 0.800 0.810 Tier 3 University of Idaho
153 198 692 156 3.32 (0.105) 0.790 0.810 Tier 3 University of Akron (OH)
156 178 685 155 3.35 (0.192) 0.690 0.740 Tier 3 Syracuse University (NY)
162 157 675 154 3.35 (0.364) 0.850 0.890 Tier 3 William Mitchell College of Law (MN)
166 136 669 154 3.29 (0.526) 0.710 0.810 Tier 3 Cleveland State University (Cleveland-Marshall)
167 120 687 154 3.47 (0.273) 0.860 0.890 Tier 3 University of Missouri–Kansas City
176 83 695 155 3.45 (0.192) 0.690 0.740 Tier 3 Hofstra University (NY)
184 41 691 155 3.41 (0.400) 0.790 0.850 Tier 3 Drake University (IA)
187 26 702 156 3.42 (0.364) 0.850 0.890 Tier 3 University of St. Thomas (MN)
188 20 690 155 3.40 (0.786) 0.750 0.860 Tier 3 Creighton University (NE)


TIER FOUR (T4)

RANK / LEVA / INDEX / LSAT / GPA / SUCCESS / SCHOOL / STATE / USNWR
3 979 662 153 3.32 0.577 0.890 0.740 Tier 4 Ave Maria School of Law (MI)
3 979 669 155 3.19 0.586 0.880 0.710 Tier 4 Campbell University (Wiggins) (NC)
3 979 602 148 3.22 0.345 0.810 0.710 Tier 4 North Carolina Central University
6 973 644 151 3.34 0.400 0.940 0.900 Tier 4 University of North Dakota
7 968 631 151 3.21 0.310 0.800 0.710 Tier 4 Florida Coastal School of Law
8 963 641 151 3.31 0.333 0.880 0.820 Tier 4 Valparaiso University (IN)
16 916 565 146 3.05 (0.115) 0.710 0.740 Tier 4 Thomas M. Cooley Law School (MI)
22 884 655 152 3.35 0.158 0.840 0.810 Tier 4 Ohio Northern University (Pettit)
22 884 642 152 3.22 0.100 0.910 0.900 Tier 4 University of Tulsa (OK)
26 869 655 154 3.15 0.150 0.830 0.800 Tier 4 Texas Wesleyan University
34 821 642 152 3.22 (0.053) 0.800 0.810 Tier 4 University of Dayton (OH)
39 801 620 150 3.20 (0.192) 0.690 0.740 Tier 4 University of Detroit Mercy
43 774 669 152 3.49 0.063 0.850 0.840 Tier 4 University of South Dakota
45 764 660 153 3.30 (0.026) 0.610 0.620 Tier 4 California Western School of Law
45 764 620 151 3.10 (0.308) 0.660 0.740 Tier 4 Touro College (Fuchsberg) (NY)
51 727 600 149 3.10 (0.379) 0.600 0.710 Tier 4 Barry University (FL)
51 727 629 151 3.19 (0.241) 0.640 0.710 Tier 4 Nova Southeastern University (Broad) (FL)
55 696 587 149 2.97 (0.450) 0.710 0.800 Tier 4 Appalachian School of Law (VA)
55 696 650 153 3.20 (0.150) 0.770 0.800 Tier 4 South Texas College of Law
60 680 653 153 3.23 (0.105) 0.790 0.810 Tier 4 Capital University (OH)
60 680 672 154 3.32 0.043 0.780 0.770 Tier 4 Northern Kentucky University (Chase)
63 675 628 152 3.08 (0.318) 0.710 0.780 Tier 4 Widener University (DE)
69 633 561 147 2.91 (0.850) 0.630 0.800 Tier 4 Texas Southern University (Marshall)
69 633 708 156 3.48 0.231 0.800 0.740 Tier 4 Wayne State University (MI)
75 607 609 151 2.99 (0.553) 0.410 0.620 Tier 4 Thomas Jefferson School of Law (CA)
81 570 604 150 3.04 (0.621) 0.530 0.710 Tier 4 St. Thomas University (FL)
84 560 632 150 3.32 (0.385) 0.820 0.870 Tier 4 Mississippi College
86 539 641 152 3.21 (0.379) 0.600 0.710 Tier 4 Roger Williams University (Papitto) (RI)
86 539 645 153 3.15 (0.346) 0.650 0.740 Tier 4 University of Baltimore
90 534 585 147 3.15 (1.067) 0.380 0.700 Tier 4 Southern University (LA)
97 497 620 150 3.20 (0.800) 0.820 0.900 Tier 4 Oklahoma City University
98 492 651 154 3.11 (0.350) 0.730 0.800 Tier 4 St. Mary's University (TX)
99 476 635 151 3.25 (0.500) 0.730 0.820 Tier 4 New England School of Law (MA)
111 408 666 153 3.36 (0.231) 0.680 0.740 Tier 4 Regent University (VA)
115 387 620 151 3.10 (0.923) 0.500 0.740 Tier 4 University of the District of Columbia (Clarke)
119 366 628 152 3.08 (0.889) 0.660 0.820 Tier 4 Western New England College (MA)
123 350 679 156 3.19 (0.132) 0.570 0.620 Tier 4 Chapman University (CA)
131 314 688 155 3.38 (0.067) 0.840 0.850 Tier 4 Northern Illinois University
131 314 642 153 3.12 (0.605) 0.390 0.620 Tier 4 Whittier Law School (CA)
137 287 651 153 3.21 (0.500) 0.430 0.620 Tier 4 Golden Gate University (CA)
151 214 652 154 3.12 (0.533) 0.770 0.850 Tier 4 John Marshall Law School (IL)
155 193 659 153 3.29 (0.500) 0.610 0.740 Tier 4 CUNY–Queens College
156 178 665 153 3.35 (0.455) 0.680 0.780 Tier 4 Duquesne University (PA)
161 162 693 157 3.23 (0.125) 0.730 0.760 Tier 4 Willamette University (Collins) (OR)
181 52 676 154 3.36 (0.636) 0.820 0.890 Tier 4 Hamline University (MN)


UNRANKED

RANK / LEVA / INDEX / LSAT / GPA / SUCCESS / SCHOOL / STATE / USNWR
1 1,000 587 149 2.97 0.381 0.870 0.790 X Faulkner University
2 994 596 144 3.56 0.370 0.660 0.460 X University of Puerto Rico
13 937 504 138 3.24 0.056 0.490 0.460 X Inter American University of Puerto Rico
24 879 481 136 3.21 (0.185) 0.360 0.460 X Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
64 670 533 143 3.03 (0.586) 0.540 0.710 X Florida A&M School of Law
84 560 585 148 3.05 (0.921) 0.270 0.620 X University of LaVerne
119 366 612 151 3.02 (2.000) 0.520 0.840 X John Marshall Law School (GA)
123 350 628 151 3.18 (0.909) 0.580 0.780 X Widener University (PA)
129 324 623 151 3.13 (0.921) 0.270 0.620 X Western State School of Law


(*) The state of Wisconsin extends a diploma privilege to all graduates of the University of Wisconsin and Marquette law schools. These schools therefore will always have bar passage rates of 100% in their main jurisdiction, even though graduates who practice there may never take any bar exam at all.