The 2021 edition of the popular college guide cites student accolades about Elon Law’s highly experiential 2.5-year curriculum, its professors, and the resources available from the library and the Office of Academic Success.
Elon University School of Law has been recognized for the sixth consecutive year in an influential college guide that showcases the best law schools in the nation.
The Princeton Review listed Elon Law in its 2021 guidebook of “The Best 164 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.
“Every one of the 164 law schools we chose for our 2021 Best Law Schools project offers outstanding academics,” said Rob Franek, editor in chief of The Princeton Review. “We report law school ranking lists in 14 categories—instead of a mega-list, solely based on academics—for one reason: to help applicants identify the law school best for them.
“Our lists name schools that are stand-outs on matters law school applicants have told us are important to them—from career prospects to campus culture distinctions.”
The Princeton Review’s Best Law Schools rankings for 2021 are based on data from the company’s surveys of 14,000 students attending 164 law schools and of administrators at the schools. Student surveys were conducted during the 2019-2020, 2018–19, and 2017–18 academic years. On average, 85 students at each law school were surveyed. The surveys of administrators at the schools were conducted in 2019-2020.
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.
Student Reflections as Reported by The Princeton Review
- “I love the [shorter] program, and so does my wallet,” remarks one student. Additionally, “the residency program is a tremendous asset to this school.” Students are able to influence placements based upon special interests in specific areas of the law.
- Students reported that professors “are what make this school shine” and are “approachable and interested in teaching.” They’re also “very helpful in crafting the legal learning process” and “take time to listen to the students and want them to have a successful law career.”
- Elon Law’s librarians were praised in the 2021 guide. Students said the “library is big with many areas to study, along with a common area that allows for studying as well” librarians “are the best [in] the business” because they “are passionate, patient, and precipitant in academic success.”
- The law school’s 9-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio gives the chance “to participate in numerous extracurriculars that you would not be able to … at a larger school,” one student said. Classroom facilities “are new and multifunctional.”
- Everyone is friendly and more than willing to talk, one student reported. Students are “able to enjoy going to grab a drink with each other,” which the Princeton Review praised because, in the words of another student, “the law school is small, [so] you will know everyone in your class and in other classes.”
And 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 law school was ranked #7 in the most recent edition.
“The Princeton Review survey confirms that Elon Law students value their Elon Law education and its emphasis on experiential learning and numerous opportunities for learning beyond the classroom through residencies, clinics, moot court and mock trial experiences,” said Alan Woodlief, senior associate dean for admissions, administration and finance, and an associate professor at Elon Law. “We are pleased that students find Elon to be a supportive and inclusive community, with an engaged and talented faculty and staff committed to helping them succeed in law school and throughout their careers.”