This time, we have to abandon our top 7 Ivy League pattern and instead bring you the list of the top 5 Ivy League colleges for law. It’s not our fault really since Dartmouth College, Brown University and Princeton University don’t offer degrees in law. This means that only Harvard University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Cornell University are eligible for ranking. Respective universities’ law schools have been established far back in 1817, 1824, 1850, 1858 and 1887. That should speak volumes about Ivy League law programs by itself, not to mention that they are among most prestigious law schools in the country and the entire world. There’s also no need saying about the exclusivity of these programs. Apart from being extremely selective when it comes to prospective candidates, Ivy League law schools are among the most expensive in the country. In fact, if you take a look at this list of the 10 most expensive law schools in the US, you’ll notice that all five of Ivy League law schools have made their appearance there.
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Ranking these top 5 Ivy League colleges for law wasn’t that hard. We have taken a peek at QS Top Universities, U.S. News & World Report and Startclass reports about respective global and US law colleges. The former of the three reports gives us an insight on how Ivy League law schools compare against the global law schools, while latter two reports only compare domestic law programs. All three sources have used their methodology to calculate respective school’s position within the law college hierarchy, but differences are generally insignificant in the end. After all, they have all used similar criteria like academic reputation, research relevancy, candidate selectivity, etc. In the end, we have ranked these Ivy League law colleges by calculating the overall positions from all three sources. Hit next to find out which of them earns the top spot.
5. Cornell Law School
Cornell University’s law school ranks 31st, 13th and 14th according to QS, U.S. N&WR and Startclass respectively. Established in 1887, it’s the youngest law school among Ivy League institutions. Although ranking lowest of the five Ivy League colleges for law, Cornell still represents one of the best academic institutions in the world, and so does its law department. The fact that 91.6% of its students manage to pass the Bar examination only proves the previous statement.
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4. University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Law School yields best results when it comes to the percentage of students passing the Bar. A whopping 98.4% of Penn Law students earn their right to become solicitors which means you’d have to be pretty “special” in order to fail here. Of course, you’ll first have to earn your right to get there which is no mean feat. Finally, QS Top Universities rates Penn’s law department 29th in the world, while U.S. News & World Report and Startclass rate it 7th and 6th respectively.
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3. Columbia Law School
Number 3 spot or middle of the pack on this list of top 5 Ivy League colleges for law belongs to Columbia University. Columbia Law School is highly revered for its academic excellence across the globe which is evident from its number 10 spot on QS list of highest ranked world’s law departments. U.S. N&WR rates it fourth while Startclass rats it seventh. Finally, 92.4% of Columbia students manage to pass the Bar.
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2. Yale Law School
Law School at Yale is ranked fourth in the entire world according to QS Top Universities report. U.S. News & World Report rates it first while Startclass puts it on the second spot of their list. The fact that 91.9% of law students at Yale pass the Bar exam also goes in this institution’s favor. After all, Yale Law School has impressive history being established back in 1824.
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1. Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School earns the top spot on our list of top 5 Ivy League colleges for law. Although being ranked second and third respectively by U.S. N&WR and Startclass (lower than Yale), undisputed number one spot on QS Top Universities list gives it enough edge to overtake the Yale. Harvard Law School is the oldest law school among Ivy League colleges, dating back to 1817. Furthermore, 95.3% of Harvard students manage to pass the Bar – second only to Penn Law School.
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