Last week, I blogged the lists of the Top 10 law schools in eleven categories posted on Princeton Review’s web site in connection with its publication of the 2008 edition of Best 170 Law Schools.  The rankings are the result of Princeton Review’s survey of 18,000 students at the 170 law schools, along with school statistics provided by administrators.

With the help of my assistant, I have extracted from the individual profiles of the 170 law schools all of the available data to rank the schools in six categories.  Each day this week, I will report on one of the ranking categories.

Academic Experience Rating:  The quality of the learning environment, on a scale of 60 to 99.  The rating incorporates the Admissions Selectivity Rating and the average responses of law students at the school to several questions on our law student survey.  In addition to the Admissions Selectivity Rating, factors considered include how students rate the quality of teaching and the accessibility of their professors, the school’s research resources, the range of available courses, the balance of legal theory and practical lawyering schools stressed in the curriculum, the tolerance for diverse opinions in the classroom, and how intellectually challenging the course work is.

Here are the law schools with the best and worst academic experience [click on chart to enlarge]: