OT: GMU Law School Moves Up to #38 in Nation

[Patriot_Bill]

We were ranked #40 last year. Now we are only 8 spots from Mr. Jefferson's alma mater, William & Mary (#30) and 29 spots from UVa (#9).

A few notable schools that we are ahead of:

Ohio State (#42)
U of Arizona (#43)
UConn (#44)
U of Florida (#45)
Maryland (#46)
U of Pittsburgh (#48 )
Baylor (#50)
U of Kentucky (#52)
U of Tennessee (#55)
American (#56)
Tulane (#58 )
Temple (#60)
Florida State (#68 )
Rutgers (#73)
Richmond (#75)
Villanova (#76)
U of Miami (#81)
U of South Carolina (#88 )
Georgia State (#89)
LSU (#91)
Seton Hall (#92)
Ole Miss (#96)

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

I'm gushing with pride. Year after year this University is making progress in almost every category. Mason wasn't my first choice after high school, but in hindsight, there is no other college I would've rather gone to. All of you law dogs on these boards, great job of helping make GMU law one of the best in the country. Keep up the good work and GO MASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :!:

[sb32]

who was ahead of UVa?

[Coach]

1. Yale University (CT)
2. Harvard University (MA)
3. Stanford University (CA)
4. Columbia University (NY)
5. New York University
6. University of Chicago
7. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
University of Pennsylvania
9. University of Virginia
10. Duke University (NC)
Northwestern University (IL)
12. Cornell University (NY)
13. University of California–Berkeley
14. Georgetown University (DC)
15. University of Texas–Austin
16. University of California–Los Angeles
17. Vanderbilt University (TN)
18. University of Southern California
19. University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
20. George Washington University (DC)
University of Notre Dame (IN)
Washington University in St. Louis
23. Boston University
Emory University (GA)
University of Iowa
Washington and Lee University (VA)
27. University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
29. Boston College
College of William and Mary (VA)
31. University of Georgia
University of Wisconsin–Madison
33. University of California–Davis
34. Brigham Young University (J. Reuben Clark) (UT)
Fordham University (NY)
University of Washington
Wake Forest University (NC)
38. George Mason University (VA)
University of California (Hastings)
40. Indiana University–Bloomington
University of Alabama
42. Ohio State University (Moritz)
43. University of Arizona (Rogers)
University of Connecticut
University of Florida (Levin)
University of Maryland
47. Southern Methodist University (TX)
University of Pittsburgh
University of Utah (S.J. Quinney)
50. Baylor University (TX)
University of Colorado–Boulder
University of Kentucky

[GMU92]

This is excellent! Mason has put A LOT into the law school over the years and it shows. My commute takes me by the new buildings on the Arlington campus every day and it's amazing to see how far Mason has come.
Just taking a look at that list, it looks like the Commonwealth of Virginia is the place to be for law. UVa, William and Mary, Washington and Lee, and Mason all in the top tier.

[fro]

Absolutely 92. What a great honor.

You could make the same argument for DC as being the place to study law: Gtown (14), GW (20), GMU (38 ), UMD (43), AU (56).

[TJ Reaper]

GREAT job, guys. I know a lot of people from VCU who have applied to the Mason SOL.

[Washingtonian]

Where did you guys find the link for this?

[GMU92]

These are U.S. News rankings.
Go to:
http://www.usnews.com
and click on the section for Graduate School rankings.

[118cc5]

#38? GMU's Law Sschool and GMU's undergraduate have been ranked #1 by the JBML Foundation for the last 19 years in a row.

[ziggy]

Quite comforting for those who need stroking every now and then, but as I always say, don't let this political idiocy bloat your ego. Brains, brains, brains, in the long run, determine your fate in the career world, and not a US News and World Report. Congratulations, anyhow.

[s_curl]

where did you go to school ziggy?

[ziggy]

Where is the relevance?

[s_curl]

I'll go out on a limb and say you don't have a connection with GMU.

Oh yeah, it is completely relevent where you went to school. That way if I want to launch wise a$$ comments at your institution I can. You seem to want to remain incognito though :roll:

[The old PF]

Ziggy, if you have nothing good to say then don't say anything at all. It is fantastic that the GMU law school keeps rising in the rankings.

[ziggy]

I thought my post was clear and concise. Don't offer yourselves as validation to my post.

[The old PF]

I don't base everything on ratings. I am glad to see that GMU is getting positive nat'l publicity from the law school.

[s_curl]

Some of Z's other posts in the GMU Forum - - it appears to me he is an ODU Fan (lots of posts in ODU Forum)- - - perhaps jablowme's alter ego - - as he is hating on Mason for their success....


Now, getting back to what this young person was asking, .....remember what your goals are in attending an institution of higher learning, then choose the one that fits them best, and that's all the advice I'd give you. Unlike Jainez, I'd strongly urge you to pay less attention to US News and World Report's rankings. There is a lot of politics involved. In my day, I've met a few graduates from highly ranked universities that couldn't quite cut it in the real career world. Just use your brains!

Not a big fan of US NEWS and World Reports's rankings.......


do not attend GMU, and neither do I have knowledge of the social life for students at GMU, but there is one thing I can say to you.....VISIT THE CAMPUS! I use their library now and then, and in my opinion, the campus looks pretty decent.....but please, visit the campus!

so my guess is incognito Ziggy went to ODU :roll:

[boundlssambition]

good investigative research s-curl. or should i say P.I. s-curl???? :shock:

[s_curl]

good investigative research s-curl. or should i say P.I. s-curl???? :shock:

hahaha Boundlss - - that reminds me......

COL Mustard in the Library with the Candlestick :wink: :lol:

[masonfan]

any one that bitter most of gone to a school like ODU. they get no respect in the real world or in the NCAA.

[Patriot_Bill]

How far has posting drivel on a message board gotten you in the career world, ziggy? I imagine your wisdom has placed you on some sort of national ranking, but probably not the kind that most people want to be on. GMU School of Law has been recognized and appropriately ranked thanks to the hard work and achievements of many people. We have every right to be proud, even at the risk of seeming egotistical to some guy named "ziggy."

[TJ Reaper]

Right on the money, lol. Ziggy (from what I understand) is an ODU fan (possibly alum?).......

[Coach]

Let me tell you from one who works in higher education and did not do his undergraduate work at any of the institutions in the CAA. The college rankings are put out by various media sources to make money. They really do not accurately reflect what institution is "better" than another. With that said, because parents and guidance counselors look at these rankings, most colleges and universities do anything in their power to raise their ranking.

To show you how much of a joke rankings could be, let me tell you a story:

There once was a certain university that decided it would become the highest ranked university on every rankings list. So, one year they decided to only admit one applicant. They found the applicant with a perfect SAT score and a 4.0 HS GPA. They denied every other student. Instantly, their "average" SAT score for the incoming class was 1600, the GPA was high, the faculty/student ratio was lowered, and the % of applicants admitted was less than 1%.

Guess what? The following year, the university was ranked #1 on every ranking that was published.

[s_curl]

Let me tell you from one who works in higher education and did not do his undergraduate work at any of the institutions in the CAA.

I can tell you didn't go to an institution in the CAA :shock: CAA grads finish their sentances :wink:


They really do not accurately reflect what institution is "better" than another.

If these rankings do not relfect reality, then what do you suggest be used to rank the schools?


With that said, because parents and guidance counselors look at these rankings, most colleges and universities do anything in their power to raise their ranking.

Key word there is "MOST". Also, are you suggesting this is what Mason did to improve their ranking?

Lastly, about your little story. I don't buy it. Thats like having a hitter in the Big Leagues finish their career batting 1.000 - - with 5 at bats or something - - and being proclaimed the best hitter in MLB. Thats why minimums are established.

Now if the rankings don't have a minimum the schools must abide by, then they need to hire VCUJainez to help with their statistics :wink: :lol:

[gobo]

Let me tell you from one who works in higher education and did not do his undergraduate work at any of the institutions in the CAA.

I can tell you didn't go to an institution in the CAA :shock: CAA grads finish their sentances :wink:




They really do not accurately reflect what institution is "better" than another.

If these rankings do not relfect reality, then what do you suggest be used to rank the schools?


With that said, because parents and guidance counselors look at these rankings, most colleges and universities do anything in their power to raise their ranking.

Key word there is "MOST". Also, are you suggesting this is what Mason did to improve their ranking?

Lastly, about your little story. I don't buy it. Thats like having a hitter in the Big Leagues finish their career batting 1.000 - - with 5 at bats or something - - and being proclaimed the best hitter in MLB. Thats why minimums are established.

Now if the rankings don't have a minimum the schools must abide by, then they need to hire VCUJainez to help with their statistics :wink: :lol:

You might want to check on a couple of things s_curl. First, GMU grads not only finish their "sentance" they know it is spelled "sentence". Second, I'm not sure if what Coach was talking about "relfects" anything. But perhaps it reflects reality. ;) Just giving you a hard time...

Yeah, I don't buy the story either, but I'm betting some google research could find it. Or better yet, post a link. It reeks to me of "Urban Legend" or "I heard from a friend of a friend" the worst kind of story to ever be told!

Just busting chops s_curl....you da man!

gobo

[TJ Reaper]

Heck, if VCU were ranked n the Top 40 for Law (well, we have a ton of top programs, but just saying--LAW!!), I would post it as well.....no matter who put it out; it's great stuff.

Congrats! Shouldn't be argued.

Postscript:

Since the ODU-VCU rivalry is null, ODU and GMU have REALLY picked it up. I think that GMU could be ODU's biggest rival in basketball (can't be VCU...;)..).

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Pure stats are not the only criteria with which these schools are ranked. They are a helpful guide, but do not factor into the final ranking as much as people think. To say that #38 is better than 40 or 43 or for that matter that 38 is not as good as 35 or 33 is of course wrong. But to be mentioned in the top-tier Law-schools in the country is no small accomplishment for a 30 year old University.

About a year ago Dateline NBC did a story on the US News and World Report college rankings. The issue came when a prominent University (I believe it was Stanford) refused to participate in the US news annual rankings saying that the report was too subjective and placed too much emphasis on stats. The Editor at US News explained quite well that wasn't the case. Other factors came into play as well. US News interviews the most prominent law firms to see which Universities the most talented young Lawyers came from. They also take into account the qualifications of the faculty and they interview the actual students as well to see how satisfied they were with their experience at their respective schools.

In other words STOP HATIN' beeeyathces!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Coach]

s-curl, you are right. I did not finish my sentence. I'm in the office, and when I was pulled away from my computer, I apparently did not reread what I had written. Anyway, I was just trying to point out that rankings are not the best way to determine how "good" a college is. With that said, I was impressed enough to apply to Mason's Law School (I was accepted, but decided that there were other places that were better fits for me). Mason has a very good law program, and its graduates do pretty well. I did not mean to belittle the Law School in any way.

Oh, by the way, I never said the story I shared was real. It was a satire that I read in a journal for college admissions.

[patriot lawdog]

It's good to see that Mason's law school is so well regarded. Having gone to Maryland for law school, I like the fact that Mason is ranked higher. It keeps all of those who graduated from Maryland undergrad in check. Mason has really found its niche as far as being a sort of conservative alternative to the normal law school approach. I'm not really conservative, but most law school professors and staff are total liberal wack jobs unless they teach tax or business related law school courses. Good press is good press regardless of what the ranking truly means.

[Coach]

Good press is good press regardless of what the ranking truly means.


That is certainly the truth.

[fro]

Lawdog hit the nail on the head there. Outside of Chicago, Mason is the only other big-time conservative law school in the country. It has top-notch teachers, and with its proximity to DC (and DC's high demand for conservative lawyers [and liberals, but they're a dime a dozen]), our hiring rate is extraordinarily high. These things have helped propel Mason Law to the top in a very short time.

And it keeps getting better :D

[GMU92]

I was recently discussing U.S. News rankings with a co-worker. We agreed that what we found useful was tiers as opposed to absolute rankings. For example, when you look at the rankings of top public colleges, is Cal-Berkeley number one, or is UVa? Who knows. Being in tier 1, however, says something about both schools. So, being in tier 1 says a lot about Mason law. The good thing about moving up in tier 1 to #38 is that Mason is not likely to drop out of the top tier anytime soon (we're not "on the bubble" in high 40's).
This is also why I'm glad to see Mason's comprehensive campaign doing so well. Securing adequate funding and building the endowment will help to raise our overall tier 3 ranking to match our current tier 2 academic reputation score. We're extremely close to tier 2 every year, and this should put us in that category very soon.