Top 7 Underrated Law Schools in the U.S.

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Summary: BYU was named the most underrated university by a new study to be published in the Alabama Law Review. 

Law schools rely heavily on rankings to attract students, but some law schools offer tons of value but seem to fly under the radar. So what are the nation’s most underrated law schools? University of Kentucky law professor Brian Frye and doctorate student Christopher Ryan Jr. of Vanderbilt University have studied the question and will release their complete work in the Alabama Law Review.

  

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The researchers found that Brigham Young University (BYU) is the most underrated law school, followed by Pepperdine and the University of Nebraska, respectively. The list published in ABA Journal is below:

7 most underrated law schools:

1) Brigham Young 

2) Pepperdine 

3) University of Nebraska 

4) College of William & Mary 

5) Northeastern 

6) Southern Methodist University 

7) George Mason

The study ranked law schools based on undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores. They then compared the schools to the U.S. News & World Report Best Law Schools ranking, and they noted the schools with the biggest point difference.

For instance, BYU placed 20th on the study’s list, but it was only ranked 46th with U.S. News. According to BYU, “[The study’s] premise is simple: Judge the quality of law schools based on where the most qualified students go. These candidates have the most at stake and gather a huge amount of information, so you can gauge school quality based on their choices.”

This is not the first time that BYU has been recognized as a Best Law school. SoFi, a loan company, compiled a list of Best Law Schools based on salary-to-debt ratios. For 2017, it listed BYU as number one in value because Brigham Young University’s graduates start with an average salary of $108,916 and only $65,000 in debt.

When it comes to the best schools based on grades and LSAT scores, the researchers found the top seven listed were the top seven schools on U.S. News’ list.

The Top 7 Law Schools

1) Yale

2) Harvard

3) Stanford

4) University of Chicago

5) New York University

6) University of Pennsylvania

7) Columbia 

Yale Law School, which is known for its graduates who take clerkships or go into academia, was named number one on the list. It is also U.S. News’ top Law School of 2017.

Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Chicago were next. These schools were ranked third, second, and fourth, respectively on U.S. News’ Best Law Schools list for this year.

• Related: 2017 US News Best Law Schools List Released
• Related: Business Insider’s Best Law Schools List

What do you think of the most underrated law schools? Let us know in the comments below.