Why College Rankings 'Will Never Die'

I'm certainly place some value on the results of USNWR rankings, but I think you can stop patting yourselves on the back. I'm reminded of a quote from one of my favorite movies:

"They don't have a choice! Bob Rumson is the only one doing the talking! People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand."

WE HAVE NO CHOICE! There is nothing comparable out there, its not that you guys do such a great job. I'm a few years out of college and am in the process of starting the process to apply for law schools in 2010. Your rankings answer some questions that are important to me, like:

(1) What do professionals/judges think of a particular law school?

(2) What is the 'quality' of the student body? As much as this can be expressed by a number, I'm happy with LSAT/UGPA as a measure of student 'quality.'

What kind of information would I appreciate?

(1) What percentage of a school's 1Ls and 2Ls land summer positions at an AM Law 200 firm? Law school is expensive and some of these position pay $3,500 per week! After swallowing a $150k loan check I wouldn't mind paying down my debt making $30k a summer. Do I need to go to Northwestern or can I go to the less pricey UIUC and still get have a shot of getting one of these positions?

(2) Where do graduates end up? 90% of grads are employed. Big whup. What are they doing? Are they at a top tier law firm, clerking for a Federal Court, or working for the government or a non-profit?

(3) You create all these perverse incentives for schools to rig their median LSAT scores. Go to the law school numbers website. U of Minnesota accepts an abnormal number of 167s. Same with Wash U. and that mysterious number 167. Then there's giving schools credit for rejecting students. Who cares what the acceptance rate is? How is that in any way related to the quality of my education? Sure, it tells me which school has 'sex appeal,' but it doesn't seem to correlate to anything I care about. How about creating some incentives to make students' lives less miserable. Weight the AVERAGE debt load of the graduating class.

Eileen Ulick of HI 6:01PM April 10, 2009