The spotlight was on Harvard and Yale Law Schools' decision to withdraw from the U.S. News and World Ranking Report. Joe discussed how these prestigious institutions believe the rankings are deeply flawed and unreliable, no longer reflecting the core commitments of the legal profession. Notably, Yale Law School, which had consistently held the top spot, decided to opt-out of the system.
Joe highlighted the ongoing debate surrounding college ranking systems, emphasizing that they often fail to gauge the true quality of education or a school's suitability for individual students. The podcast stressed the importance of focusing on the right fit for students instead of fixating on rankings. Joe encouraged listeners to approach the college search with caution, conduct thorough research, and consider factors like academics, social aspects, and finances to make informed decisions about higher education. By recognizing the flaws in the ranking system and prioritizing personalized fit, students can choose colleges that align better with their unique needs and aspirations.
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Welcome back. One or to touch on an article that got sent our direction from the Huffington Post. Speaking about Harvard and Yale Law schools withdrawing from the new U.S. news ranking system. And they basically were saying that it's a pretty flawed system. I thought it was a little interesting. We actually did a podcast episode a little bit more in depth about the ranking system and why we don't believe in it.
00;01;13;02 - 00;01;34;03
Speaker 2
So to see Harvard and Yale having most of a or at least their law schools have a similar opinion was pretty interesting. I wanted to talk about it a little bit. An article states that Harvard and Yale officials said Wednesday that they would withdraw their law schools from the U.S. News and World Ranking Report. Rankings are a seismic shift in the college ranking systems.
00;01;34;06 - 00;02;02;19
Speaker 2
On separate statements, leaders from the two programs said they believe that the rankings, which are used by students to select schools by the colleges to entice applicants were unreliable and profoundly flawed. It was pretty interesting because, you know, we've talked about rankings and how it you know, we've talked about fame versus fit and how rankings don't necessarily line up with schools that are a good fit for for most students.
00;02;02;21 - 00;02;37;26
Speaker 2
I think really what Yale and and basically Yale, they're Harber Harvard Law schools are really looking at is saying that they're reaching a point where it really undermines what a college should be doing and teaching the kids. It doesn't actually represent a positive, but, you know, feedback. And when you hear, you know, the dean of Yale Law School say that something is profoundly flawed, I would take notice of that.
00;02;37;28 - 00;03;06;17
Speaker 2
You know, the professor Dean lost Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken said in a statement Wednesday, We reached a point where the ranking process is undermining the core commitments of the legal profession. As a result. As a result, we will no longer participate. And then Harvard Law School Dean John Manning said it has been become impossible to reconcile our principles and commitments with the methodology and incentives in the U.S. News rankings reflect.
00;03;06;20 - 00;03;30;29
Speaker 2
So again, you have two pretty well-known, you know, prestigious law programs in the country that are now saying, you know, these this system's flawed and it's something that we've kind of said. So it's nice to your other people. Maybe they saw the podcast and this is where the announcement came. But I think it's, you know, some of the things that they talk about is that it doesn't always line up.
00;03;31;05 - 00;03;57;02
Speaker 2
You know, someone else ranking a score doesn't necessarily make it a good school or not. You know, having a ranking of one or two doesn't make it better, especially for a specific student, than a school that ranks nine or ten. And they get into different things about, you know, it doesn't reflect schools that have need based aid. It doesn't reflect the ideals of the education in the way that certain classes are taught and the style of education.
00;03;57;05 - 00;04;20;06
Speaker 2
And just so you know, I mean, Yale has been number one. Yale Law School has been number one on this list for a long time. So for them to drop out is is very newsworthy. My biggest takeaway from from understanding this and hearing this is that, you know, the college game has really changed so much and there's so much marketing that goes involved and so many kids use something.
00;04;20;06 - 00;04;44;09
Speaker 2
And I honestly I hear more parents that talk about why I want to go to a school that's top ranked and it's top ranked by who you know, and how are they ranking those like. It's not always at face value that just because a school or someone ranks very high does not mean that it's the best school for your child and you know, in understanding this, I think you have to take information that's given to you with a grain of salt.
00;04;44;09 - 00;05;08;07
Speaker 2
You have to really do the research. You have to take the time to find schools that are a fit, you know, from the academic side, from the social side and the financial side. And a lot of times those are misunderstood, you know, all three of those areas. So you have to take the time to realize that what someone else's opinion or how someone else ranks a school does not necessarily mean that it's the best school for your child.
00;05;08;10 - 00;05;23;22
Speaker 2
You know, if it just so happens that the best bid school and your number one choice has to be ranked very high on someone's list, so be it. But don't have that be the determining factor, especially when you're seeing some schools that are at the top of the list saying that this system is flawed. Hope you enjoyed this time.
00;05;23;22 - 00;05;30;28
Speaker 2
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00;05;31;02 - 00;05;53;29
Speaker 1
We want to help. Send your questions to info at college Knowledge dot net. These can be about college finances, careers and anything else. You have questions on. Thanks for listening to the College Knowledge podcast with your host, Dave Kozak and Joe Kearns. We hope you enjoyed this week's exploration of higher education sponsored by the College Planning Network and Paradigm Financial Group.
00;05;54;02 - 00;05;56;02
Speaker 1
That's all for this episode. See you next time.