Princeton Review's Best 168 Law Schools (2023 Edition) • TaxProf Blog

The Princeton Review has published the 2023 edition of The Best 168 Law Schools (press release) (FAQs) (methodology):

The company reports its annual law school rankings in 14 categories: each one lists the top 10 ranking schools. …

The Princeton Review’s law school rankings are uniquely based on data the company gathers from surveys of administrators at the law schools as well as surveys of students attending the schools who rate and report on their experiences at them. The rankings for 2023 are based on surveys of administrators at 168 law schools in 2021-22 and surveys of 17,000 students enrolled in the schools [an average of 101 per school] over the past three academic years.

More than 60 data points are factored into the company’s ranking list tallies. Of the 14 categories of ranking lists, six lists are based on student- and administrator-reported data. Five are based solely on student data, and three are based solely on administrator data.

Best Quality of Life: Based on student answers to survey questions on: whether there is a strong sense of community at the school whether differing opinions are tolerated in the classroom, the location of the school, the quality of social life at the school, the school's research resources (library, computer and database resources).

Virginia
Florida State
Vanderbilt
UCLA
Penn

Best Professors: Based on student answers to survey questions concerning how good their professors are as teachers and how accessible they are outside the classroom.

Chicago
Duke
Stanford
Virginia
Vanderbilt

Best Classroom Experience: Based on student answers to survey questions concerning their professors' teaching abilities and overall accessibility outside of the classroom, the balance of theory and practical skills in the curricula and the range of courses available, the level of tolerance for differing opinions in class discussion, and their assessments of research resources available.

Stanford
Duke
Chicago
Virginia
Michigan

Best Career Prospects: Based on school reported data and student surveys. School data include: the median starting salaries of graduating students, the percent of students employed in a job that requires bar passage (and not employed by the school) and the percent of these students who pass the bar exam the first time they take it. Student answers to survey questions on: how much the law program encourages practical experience; the opportunities for externships, internships and clerkships, and how prepared the students feel they will be to practice the law after graduating.

NYU
Virginia
Michigan
Stanford
Duke

Most Diverse Faculty: Based on school reported data and student surveys. School data: the percent of the law school faculty that is from an underrepresented minority group. Student answers to a survey question on whether the faculty comprises a broadly diverse group of individuals.

Southern
Hawaii
District of Columbia
Florida International
Miami

Most Competitive Students: Based on student answers to survey questions on: the number of hours they study outside of class each day, the number of hours they think their fellow students study outside of class each day, and the degree of competitiveness among students at their school.

Baylor
Syracuse
Faulkner
BYU
Campbell

Most Liberal Students: Based on student answers to a survey question concerning the political bent of the student body at large. The survey question was "If there is a prevailing political bent among students at your school, how would you characterize it?" Answer choices were: "Very Liberal, Liberal, Middle of the Road, Somewhat Conservative, Very Conservative."

Northeastern
CUNY
NYU
American
UC-Berkeley

Most Conservative Students: Based on student answers to a survey question concerning the political bent of the student body at large. The survey question was "If there is a prevailing political bent among students at your school, how would you characterize it?" Answer choices were: "Very Liberal, Liberal, Middle of the Road, Somewhat Conservative, Very Conservative."

Ave Maria
Regent
BYU
George Mason
Faulkner

Greatest Resources for Minority Students: Based on school reported data and student surveys. School data: the percent of the student body that is from an underrepresented minority group. Student answers to a survey question on whether all students receive equal treatment by fellow students and the faculty, regardless of ethnicity.

St. Thomas-FL
District of Columbia
Southern
Yale
Illinois-Chicago

Greatest Resources for Women: Based on school reported data and student surveys. School data: the percent of the student body that are women. Student answers to a survey question on whether all students are afforded equal treatment by students and faculty regardless of their gender.

UC-Davis
CUNY
Stanford
Pace
New York Law School

Most Chosen by Older Students: Based on the average age of entry of law school students and student reports of how many years they spent out of college before enrolling in law school.

District of Columbia
CUNY
New Mexico
Hawaii
Maine

Toughest to Get Into: Based on school reported data. Factors include: median LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs of entering 1L students, the percent of applicants accepted, and the percent of accepted applicants who enroll.

Yale
Harvard
Michigan
NYU
Virginia

Unfortunately, the Princeton Review did not release the response rate per school, so it is impossible to determine how the rankings are affected by each school's representation among the respondents.

For prior Princeton Review Law School Rankings, see:

Princeton Review's Best 168 Law Schools (2022) Edition