11/19/2022
“The U.S. News ranking methodology inappropriately discourages public service by treating students whose schools provide fellowships to support such work much the same as it treats students who are unemployed,” Martinez told the Stanford Law community.
“Stanford Law School is proud to be one of the few law schools that offers exclusively need-based financial aid, and believes more schools across all tiers of legal education would be able to emphasize need-based financial aid, admit students from all walks of life, and keep expenditures down if the rankings methodology were different,” she continued, adding that by joining with the other schools that have chosen to withdraw from participation in the US News rankings this year, “we hope to increase the chances that the methodology is seriously overhauled, not only to reduce perverse incentives but to provide clearer and more relevant information that prospective students would find genuinely useful in making decisions about which law schools best match their interests and needs.”
Half a dozen law schools have now announced that they will no longer participate in the U.S. News & World Report education rankings, with Stanford Law School publicizing its decision late Friday night.
