The 2020 edition of “The Best 167 Law Schools" featured student praise for Elon Law’s faculty, its 2.5-year curriculum, and its highly experiential approach to legal education with a residency-in-practice program that is “a tremendous asset to this school.”
Elon University School of Law has been recognized by an influential college guide for the fifth consecutive year as one of the best law schools in the nation, with students lauding faculty that “take time to listen to the students and want them to have a successful law career” and a highly experiential accelerated program that saves time and money.
The Princeton Review listed Elon Law in its 2020 guidebook of “The Best 167 Law Schools,” a determination based on institutional and student surveys of academic rigor, student bodies, and campus life, with additional questions about student career plans.
“We recommend every one of the law schools we selected for our 2020 list as an excellent choice for a student aspiring to earn a JD,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. “What makes our ‘Best Law Schools’ designations unique is that we also take into account the opinions of students attending the schools about their campus and classroom experiences.”
The student surveys for this edition were conducted during the 2018–19, 2017–18, and 2016–17 academic years.
Elon Law in downtown Greensboro is the preeminent school for engaged and experiential learning in law. With a focus on learning by doing, it integrates traditional classroom instruction with course-connected, full-time residencies-in-practice in a logically sequenced program of transformational professional preparation.
Elon Law’s approach is accomplished in 2.5 years, which provides distinctive value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their legal careers. Since the adoption of its accelerated program, student loan debt at graduation has been cut by nearly a third.
Among the student quotes showcased in Elon Law’s 2020 online profile:
- The shortened curriculum also offers hands-on experience in the field. And students are “big fans for multiple reasons”: “I love the [shorter] program, and so does my wallet,” says one. Additionally, “the residency program is a tremendous asset to this school.”
- Professors “are what make this school shine,” are “approachable and interested in teaching” and are “very helpful in crafting the legal learning process.” They “take time to listen to the students and want them to have a successful law career,” so they “are always ready to lend a helping hand (in school and personal situations).”
- Elon Law’s 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio provides a chance “to participate in numerous extracurriculars that you would not be able to … at a larger school.”
- Librarians “are the best [in] the business” because they “are passionate, patient, and precipitant in academic success.” And “individuals who work in [the Office of Academic Success] are truly devoted to helping the students,” and the “responsive administration” is “constantly … seeking insight on improvement”
- Elon Law “has an amazing sense of community—for the most part,” but the proactive and recently-formed Community Inclusion Committee “is working to fix the few problems that do exist” with “faculty [who] strongly support our open discussions about the issues that marginalized communities in our school face.”
Elon Law again made The Princeton Review’s top 10 list of “Most Competitive Students,” a category that reflects the level of student commitment to studying outside the classroom, and the degree of ambition and competitiveness students report among their peers.
“The Princeton Review survey echoes many of the comments we regularly hear from students who chose Elon Law because of its emphasis on experiential learning, its shorter program and excellent value,” said Alan Woodlief, senior associate dean for admissions, administration and finance, and an associate professor at Elon Law. “Students also appreciate our small class sizes, the many opportunities to get involved in student organizations, and our supportive and inclusive community.
“We are pleased to see students recognize our staff and faculty for their excellent teaching and devotion to student success in law school and in their later careers.”