School of Law again recognized by Princeton Review

For the fifth consecutive year, the Princeton Review's annual survey of law schools has lauded the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

Princeton Review's 2010 publication of The Best 172 Law Schools includes rankings based on student surveys and on institutional data it obtained from the schools. The New York-based educational services company surveyed 18,000 law school students, asking them to rate their schools on several topics and report about their experiences at them.

The recently announced rankings can be found here.

The School of Law ranks No. 4 in the nation for "Best Quality of Life" among students, according to the Princeton Review. In the survey's 2006 and 2007 editions, St. Thomas was ranked No. 1 in the Best Quality of Life category, and finished second in the 2008 and 2009 editions.

"UST Law is not the traditional competitive law school environment. We believe that everyone can, and should, succeed.  Instead of fighting each other to the top we assist and support each other so that we can all make it there," said Zaylore Stout, the Student Government Association president.

The "Best Quality of Life" category of Princeton Review's annual survey is based on "student assessment of: whether there is a strong sense of community at the school, how aesthetically pleasing the law school is, the location of the law school, the quality of the social life, classroom facilities and the library staff."

The two-page profile of the St. Thomas School of Law in The Best 172 Law Schools describes the community atmosphere at St. Thomas as "fantastic." 

The Princeton Review does not rank the law schools in the book on a single hierarchical list from 1 to 172, or name one law school best overall.  Instead, the book has 11 ranking lists of the top 10 law schools in various categories.  Ten lists are based on The Princeton Review's surveys of 18,000 students attending the 172 law schools profiled in the book.  (Only schools that permitted The Princeton Review to survey their students were eligible for consideration for these lists.)

Conducted during the 2008-09, 2007-08, and 2006-07 academic years, the student surveys were primarily completed online.   One list, “Toughest to Get Into,” is based solely on institutional data.  (All schools in the book were eligible for consideration for this list.)