<p>Taxguy/Jonri- sorry to jump in late but you’re confusing correlation with causation. Law schools put so much emphasis on the LSAT score because they believe (and I’m assuming they’ve got reams of data to prove it) that high LSAT scores correlate with strong law school performance. THAT’s why the law school rankings are so heavily dependent on LSAT scores-- not that the scores are in and of themselves meaningful, and that the law deans are all ranking whoresl-- but that by any measure of “quality output”, i.e. bar passing rates, employment and salary, track record getting graduates into clerkships, etc LSAT’s are predictive.</p>
<p>It would be nice if high undergrad GPA was predictive of strong law school performance- but there are loads of third tier law schools filled with high GPA students who have trouble passing the bar.</p>
<p>Of course we can argue that Harvard and Chicago have high bar passage rates for other reasons besides LSAT scores- but I think it’s naive to separate the law school rankings from any real world “performance metrics” vis a vis the graduates.</p>
<p>I have no axe to grind on Syracuse- but back in the dark ages (1970’s) when I was applying to college, Syracuse was where the B students with affluent parents got to apply. In my little corner of New England with a reasonably diverse and huge public HS, Rutgers, Binghamton, U Mass, were all seen as stronger academically and much cheaper for out of state students.</p>
<p>I know many Syracuse grads of all ages- they all seem to have done well for themselves over the years-- but I don’t think any guidance counselor then or now looks at a student seeking a high level of intellectual engagement and says “oh, you’ll find your peeps at Syracuse”. It can go up 10 notches in the rankings- I don’t think that’s going to change.</p>