Top Ranked Law Schools

Our top 5 law schools have some of the highest bar exam pass rates, starting salaries, employment rates after graduation, and overall student satisfaction rates in the country. If their notable alumni are any indication, these are definitely schools to strive for.

5University of Virginia

Rounding off our list is a school with one of the highest student satisfaction rates. Though not as well-known as other schools in our Top 5, University of Virginia is full of intelligent but easy-going students. Its graduates can be found in all sectors, especially in federal and local clerkships. It is also the only public university on our list and the lowest in cost of any of our top 5 schools.

4Columbia University

Alma mater of current president, Barack Obama, Columbia is a school with a reputation in placing its graduates in the nation's top corporate law firms. Located in uptown Manhattan, Columbia has one of the highest starting salaries ($160,000) and employment rates (97.7%). With a very ethnically diverse student body-over 30% of its students being minorities-this is a school with lots to offer, in and out of the classroom.

3Stanford University

Besides its excellent location in sunny California, Stanford University has a long standing history of progressive curriculums and high student satisfaction rates. With 12 different concentrations and a focus on law relating to technology and the environment, Stanford prepares students for a rapidly changing global environment. It has a student to faculty ratio second only to Yale, and an after-graduation employment rate of 96.7%. This is a school with both academic excellence and high social consciousness.

2University of Chicago

University of Chicago consistently ranked in the top five of many of our categories. With a Bar Exam pass rate of 93%, this is a school that really focuses on preparing its students for jobs after graduation. It has the highest employment rate-99.1%-and an average starting salary of $160,000. Most importantly, in the Midlevel Associates Survey done byThe American Lawyer, UChicago graduates gave their school a 4.15/5 on how well they felt their school prepared them for firm life.

1Yale University

Yale University has consistently ranked #1 among U.S. law schools - and for good reason. Yale places an emphasis on government service, boasting prominent alumni such as past presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr. and George Bush Jr. It has one of the highest after-graduation employment rates-95%-and the lowest student to faculty ratio-around 7:1. With current professor Harold Hongju Koh, a prominent legal advisor to the Department of State, Yale is a university that lives up to its name.

Lawyers and doctors are two of the professions with the highest average salaries. This is partly due to the amount of time that must be put into these professions. Check out our top medical schools list for our detailed analysis of the leading institutions that train doctors.