What importance can we give to the school ranking?

Greetings:

I am going to quote a passage from www.LLMRoadMap.com, which is the website for my new book (mentioned below).

"About 6,000 international students enter LL.M. programs in the U.S. each year. And, no school can admit or enroll all 6,000 incoming students each year. How should you choose which school is "best" for you? International students consider many factors when selecting from the over 100 U.S. law schools that have these LL.M. programs.

"A recent National Jurist article identifies factors to consider. How to Choose the Best U.S. Law School for Foreign Lawyers appears in the November 2011 issue of The National Jurist: The Magazine for Law Students. (http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/nationaljurist1111/#/34)

"Many students think that ranking and reputation of an LL.M. program are important, or that the ranking or reputation of the law school are important. Some think that the ranking or reputation of the law school's parent university is most important. The National Jurist article cautions that there are many factors to consider other than ranking and reputation.

"The article is actaully an excerpt from my new book, L.M. Roadmap: An International Student’s Guide to U.S. Law School Programs. (Wolters Kluwer, 2011) (624 pages). The book's companion website is www.LLMRoadMap.com, which reproduces some of the information from the book, and will add more content soon. The book can be acquired here: (http://www.amazon.com/LL-M-Roadmap-Internnational-Students-Programs/dp/1454802391/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317264632&sr=8-1)"

I hope the above has been helpful in addressing the issue of ranking, reputation & reality when it comes to choosing an LL.M. program in the U.S. In short, there are many very important criteria to consider about a school, and each applicant / students has different needs, just as each school / LL.M. program has different qualities. I hope that you are able to find a school that will likely meet your reasonable expectations. (Chapter 7 o LL.M. Roadmap lists 218 criteria that prospective students might wish to consider when choosing the "best" U.S. school and LL.M. program for them.)

Good luck!

(www.LLMRoadMap.com) (Twitter @LLMRoadMap)