Business

Heres how much The 12 Days of Christmas gifts would cost in 2022

The 12 Days of Christmas dont officially start for a little under three weeks, so youve got plenty of time to buy your true love all of the items listed in the popular Christmas carol. Whether youve got the budget, though, is another matter entirely.

Just as inflation has bumped up the cost of food, toys and clothing, its having quite an impact on things like pear trees and pipers piping. PNCs Christmas Price Index notes that the overall price for the 12 gifts in the song is up 10.5% this yearthe third highest increase in the 39-year history of the calculations.

All totaled, youll spend $45,523.27 this year if you pick up each of the 12 items mentioned. If youre a stickler for detail and buy everything in the song (saddling your poor paramour with 12 pear trees and more birds than many aviary sanctuaries), youre looking at a bill of $197,071and high odds that youll either be dumped by New Years Eve or viciously attacked by those 42 jerk geese you thought were a good gift idea.

Its the five gold rings that saw the biggest increase this year. The price of those jumped more than 39% as commodity prices spiked. Turtle doves (more birds!) were close behind, with a 33.3% price increase over last year. Higher fertilizer costs mean youll pay an extra 25.8 % for the partridge in a pear tree (that bird, actually, costs the same as last yearas do the swans a swimming).

Theres definitely a glass ceiling in this song, too, as the Lords-a-Leaping saw their value increase 24.2% (and theyre actually, by dollar value, the most expensive item on this years index, coming in at $13,980). Ladies dancing, though, saw just a 10% jump to $8,308.

And lets not even talk about the injustices for maids-a-milking, who havent seen a pay raise since 2009. The line-item cost for those hard-working women? Just $58.

How much have things changed through the years? Shoppers who bought all 12 items back in 1984 would have paid less than half of todays cost, shelling out just $20,069.58. And the index hit an all-time low in 1995, when it dropped to $17,915.25.

Still think inundating your love with fowl and service people is the way to go? (Does your true love even HAVE a cow, much less eight that need to be milked??) Heres how the gift prices break down:

Gift	2022 price
A partridge + a pear tree	$280.18 (+25.8)
2 turtle doves	$600 (+33.3%)
3 French hens	$318.75 (+25%)
4 calling birds	$599.96 (unch)
5 gold rings	$1,245 (+39.1%)
6 geese	$720 (+9.1%)
7 swans	$13,124.93 (unch)
8 maids-a-milking	$58 (unch)
9 ladies dancing	$8,308.12 (+10%)
10 lords-a-leaping	$13,980 (+24.2%)
11 pipers	$3,021.40 (+2.6%)
12 drummers	$3,266.93 (+2.6%)

Our new weekly Impact Report newsletter will examine how ESG news and trends are shaping the roles and responsibilities of todays executivesand how they can best navigate those challenges. Subscribe here.

'Ripping the bandaid'Solana cofounders talk SBF, FTX, and what comes next

The crypto market is strugglingand thats doubly true for projects associated with now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and disgraced former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Among them is Solana, the upstart blockchain that for a time looked poised to mount a serious challenge to Etheruem.

Bankman-Fried hyped Solana and its ecosystem frequently for years, both personally and through FTX. The bankrupt exchange held $982 million in SOL, according to its balance sheet.

Bankman-Fried even created a decentralized exchange called Serum on Solana.

Though Serum was recently forked to separate from Bankman-Frieds influence and name, and projects within the Solana ecosystem continue to build through the downturn, the price of its token has taken a hit. In the last 30 days, Solanas SOL is down 61%, currently trading at around $1494% below its November 2021 all-time high.

Additionally, developer commits are down about 50% over the last month, and active developers are down a similar amount, Messari senior research analyst Tom Dunleavy points out to Fortune. This is the highest drop-off among major Layer-1s, he said. (According to Gokustats, which tracks developer activity, a commit is the smallest unit of work for developersthis is typically a good proxy for developer productivity.)

But Solana cofounders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal arent focused on SOL price and view recent setbacks as temporary. They see the turmoil as a necessary part of a clearing-out process thats crucial in moving forward.

I think in the long term, its really good, Gokal told Fortune. Weve always heard really negative criticism about FTXs involvement in the ecosystem and that concentration of ownership stake. So, it feels like ripping the bandaid.

He didnt respond

Gokal and Yakovenko found out about the details of the FTX scandalwhich involved Bankman-Fried looting customer funds to prop up his hedge fundat the same time as everyone else, they say. Gokal said he tried to reach out to Bankman-Fried recently, but it didnt lead anywhere.

I think I asked him if he had an update on how Solana would be affected by all this, and he didnt respond, or I think his response was Im not sure, Gokal said.

Otherwise, Gokal and Yakovenko say they havent heard from Bankman-Fried at all.

After the FTX collapse, I was just shocked. It was just really, really weird to reconcile what was happening, Yakovenko said.

FTX worked closely with the Solana team once Bankman-Fried decided to create Serum on Solana, Yakovenko recalled. But as FTX grew larger as a centralized exchange, Bankman-Fried and the team started focusing more on their brand and expansion globally, in the U.S. and stuff in D.C., and there was definitely a shift of focus, Yakovenko explained. This distancing naturally happened as their interest went somewhere else.

Gokal recalls distance forming once NFTs on Solana began launching over the last year.

There were very different approaches that FTX was going to take. They wanted to partner with celebrities and do custodial NFT exchange stuff, Gokal said. Our approach was on-chain, solving problems for creators like royalty splits and allowing anybody to launch their own auctions on-chain.

Looking ahead, Gokal and Yakovenko arent worried about FTX bankruptcy proceedings and potential SOL liquidations.

The amount of stake thats held by FTX in these proceedings has no impact on the security of the network, Yakovenko said. In general, the size of their stake is not significant enough to where its an issue.

Gokal added that any rumors online that Solana is dead are just fud, or the spread of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

These are road bumps that probably are likely to come for any ecosystem at this stage, especially with this phase of the market cycle, Gokal said. But I think [the road bumps are] overall strengthening, and they far outweigh what any concentration of ownership one actor may bring.

Understanding how personal loans work

If you dont have cash readily available to pay for something you needor even something you wanta personal loan can be a smart, low-cost way to finance it.

Personal loans give you a one-time cash lump sum that youll repay in fixed installments. Often, borrowers with decent credit can get a lower interest rate than they would on a credit card.

Even borrowers with weak credit have options for lowering their rates by adding a cosigner to the loan or putting up collateral.

Personal loan definition and how it works

A personal loan is a form of credit that allows you to borrow money that can be used for any purpose, from consolidating high-interest debt to buying a new household appliance to paying emergency medical bills.

You might think of it like a credit card, except that with a personal loan you borrow a fixed amountanywhere from $100 to $100,000and receive it as a lump sum deposited into your bank account or as a check. A credit card, by contrast, is an open line of credit that you can continually borrow from until you hit your limit.

One important advantage personal loans have over credit cards is a structured repayment schedule, says Richard Barrington, a financial analyst at Credit Sesame. This lets you know going in what the cost of the loan will be, and keeps you on track to pay it off over a defined period. Each fixed monthly payment is part principal and part interest. Some loans come with upfront origination fees, which typically range from 1% to 5% of the borrowed amount.

You can apply for a personal loan through a bank, credit union, or online financial technology company (i.e., a neobank). The lender will evaluate your past reliability with using credit and ability to repay a new loan, Barrington says. It does that by pulling your credit score, credit report, and potentially your employment history.

A lender will also check how much of your income goes toward current debt payments, known as your debt-to-income ratio (DTI). If its high, it signals that you may already have too many debt obligations on your plate.

All of these factors determine whether and how much a lender will offer you for a personal loan, and what the annual percentage rate (APR) and repayment terms will be.

Neobanks, which offer banking or lending services through online or mobile platforms and dont have physical branches, may use less rigorous risk assessment models than traditional banks, Barrington says. That means they wont look as deeply into your finances. However, he adds, they could compensate for unknown risks by charging you a higher interest rate.

How quickly you can get a personal loan depends on the individual lender, but many are able to review and approve applications, and disburse funds, within days. Borrowers should think long-term when borrowing, Barrington says. Ultimately, how fast you get the money is less important than how affordable your payments are and what the total cost of the loan will be.

What are the different types of personal loans?

There are two main types of personal loans: those that are secured by collateral and those that arent.

In general, a lender views a borrower as less risky when they are willing to put up collateral, such as a car or a savings account. If a borrower fails to repay the loan, the lender can repossess the collateral to recoup some or all of their loss.

Heres more about the different types of personal loans, and how interest rates are impacted.

Unsecured personal loan: These are loans where you dont have to give the lender any collateral. As a result, interest rates are dependent on credit history, and may be higher when a borrowers credit score is low.
Secured personal loan: A secured loan is less risky for a lender because the loan is backed by a physical asset (mortgages and auto loans are types of secured loans). Because of that, borrowers tend to see lower interest rates.
Cosigner loan: Some lenders let borrowers add a cosignersomeone with a strong credit history who agrees to be responsible for repaying the loan if the borrower stops making payments. Adding a cosigner can bring the interest rate down.
Credit-builder loan: Someone with little or no credit history can have difficulty getting approved for any kind of loan, since the lender doesnt have much to base its risk calculation upon. A credit-builder loan is a type of secured loan where the collateral is usually a cash down payment or a savings account. Barrington says its not the most practical approach, since the borrower is losing access to some cash while also having to pay interest on a loan, but it may be a necessary step for someone trying to establish or rebuild their credit.

What is a personal loan used for?

Personal loans can be used for anything. This can be a blessing or a curse, Barrington says. In contrast, something like a car loan or a mortgage is used to purchase a specific asset that has a long-term value. Typically, the usefulness of that asset will outlive the time it takes to repay the loan.

You can use a personal loan to pay for things with calculable long-term value too, such as making necessary improvements to your house or wiping out credit card debt that has a much higher interest rate than the new personal loan.

If you use a personal loan to consolidate credit card debt, make sure to completely pay off your loan before using your credit cards again, says Kendall Clayborne, a certified financial planner at SoFi. Far too often I see clients use a personal loan to consolidate their credit card debt, only to then start using their credit cards again, ultimately leaving them with twice as much bad debt to pay off, she says.

But you can also use a personal loan to throw a wedding, take your family on vacation, or cover unplanned expenses. The key is to choose a loan with affordable payments, Clayborne says. If the monthly payments are higher than what your budget allows for, you may not be able to keep up with the payments, ultimately hurting your credit score.

Pros and cons of personal loans

Borrowing money always comes at a cost, but some strategies are cheaper than others. In that regard, personal loans often beat out credit cards. Not only are interest rates on personal loans generally lower for creditworthy borrowers, but theyre fixed for the entire repayment term, says Clayborne. Credit card interest rates can fluctuate multiple times a year.

But personal loans have potential downsides. The fixed repayment schedule can backfire if you dont have the cash flow to make a full payment in one month. Credit cards only require a minimum payment to keep your credit in good standing (although interest will still accrue and youll pay more in the long run).

Heres a summary of the pros and cons of personal loans.

Pros:

Predictable monthly payments
Lower average interest rates than credit cards for creditworthy borrowers
Fixed interest rates
Potentially high borrowing limits
Loan repayment ranges from one to seven years
Typically dont require collateral
Funds can be used for anything

Cons:

Monthly payments are not as flexible as a credit card
Interest rates can be high for borrowers with a low credit score or unreliable credit history
May require collateral in order to secure a low interest rate
Missing just one loan payment can damage credit score
Approval may not be as quick as a credit card
May charge fees for early repayment
May charge an origination fee

The takeaway

Personal loans are a strong alternative to credit cards if theres something you want or need to purchase but dont have the cash to pay for right now.

In one sense, personal loans are probably an underused resource, Barrington says. Their comparatively lower interest rates make them a better tool than credit cards for long-term borrowing, he says, since theres no risk of snowballing interest. But like any loan, they need to be repaid. Failing to do so can result in a major hit to your credit score, and in the case of a secured loan, losing a physical asset.

Before applying for a personal loan, check your credit score and download your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus to check for errors. If youre not set on using one particular bank or credit union, try a comparison platform to shop around for personal loan offers from multiple lenders.

Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi says A.I. is turning the TurboTax parent into more than a 'transactional' platform

Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi is quick to explain why hes placed artificial intelligence (A.I.) at the center of his company, the corporate parent of online financial tools like TurboTax, Quickbooks, and Credit Karma. We think A.I. is the largest platform shift since electricity and the internet, and we think its actually more dramatic than that, he told Fortunes Jeremy Kahn at the Fortune Brainstorm A.I. conference in San Francisco on Monday. Its not a side gig, Goodarzi said.

Intuit currently pairs A.I. with customer information already on file to tailor more specific financial advice and products for users. For example, Goodarzi said, Quickbooks can predict a small businesss projected cash flow and then recommend financial advisors that suit the firms performance. If A.I. predicts a strong quarter, Quickbooks might suggest a small business financial advisor that can help with expansion planning. If projections are less rosy, Quickbooks might direct the client to resources for securing additional business loans.

Intuit does this for every one of its roughly 100 million customers, according to chief data officer Ashok Srivastava. Weve got millions of customers and we literally have millions of A.I. models running this operation on a daily basis to do that for people, he said at Brainstorm A.I.

A.I. allows us to shift from what we used to have, which was a transactional platformto a platform thats smart, that is actually doing the work for you, Goodarzi says. He hopes to transform Intuit from a financial toolbox to a sort of personal handyman. Therein lies the big revolution, Goodarzi says: with the proliferation of A.I., its no longer enough to help customers with a task. Instead, companies must complete the task based customers specific, individual needs.

Intuit deploys A.I. across its own business operations in engineering, product design, and even in the workplace tools it uses like Slack. We dont have a group on the side working on A.I. It is core to everything that we design, Goodarzi says. By incorporating A.I. into every nook and cranny of the company, Intuit is giving its employees an up-close look at what the technology can accomplish and how it can serve customers.

Still, A.I. presents a number of ethical and legal quandaries for the company: How is customer data protected? Who has access to it? To safeguard customer data, Intuit uses the same privacy policies for A.I. that it employs for the rest of its business, Goodarzi said.

Newer A.I. products that aim to replicate human reasoning prompt even more nuanced questions: Can machine learning adopt human bias? Who should be accountable if it does? To address these thorny issues, Intuit established an A.I. Governance Committee, of which Srivastava is a member, that evaluates A.I. programs from the earliest stages of their development through to launch. The key element, Srivastava explains, is that Intuit doesnt build its A.I. products and determine their ethics later. Rather, the company is aiming to incorporate ethics into the process from the outset, with the governance committee providing oversight.

Ancestry CEOs advice: dont be reactionary in the downturn, those who prepare will emerge stronger

Deb Liu, former Meta executive and current chief executive officer of Ancestry.com, addressed the gloomy economic climate on stage at Fortunes Most Powerful Women Next Gen conference on Tuesday.

Liu joined Ancestry, the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, in 2021 as its new CEO just three months after investment management firm Blackstone bought the company and took it private for $4.7 billion. She was tasked with growing subscribers, a goal that required reaching out to more clients of color and expanding internationally.

Today, the fledgling CEO faces new stumbling blocks. The company must now confront an increasingly volatile market and an unremitting slowdown in the tech industry, an environment that Liu says is easier to navigate without the extra obligations that come with being public.

I think in uncertain times, its actually better to be a private company because you can invest in the future and not worry quarter to quarter what youre answering for, Liu said on stage.

When it comes to layoffs across the tech industry, Liu believes companies that prepare the best will be the ones that come out stronger on the other side. She added that its important that leaders avoid being reactionary while also preparing for whatever is to come.

Prior to her role at Ancestry, Liu was a vice president at Meta which just faced its own mass layoffs last week. She said its easy to criticize her former employer, but said Meta and its properties such as WhatsApp and Instagram are a vital part of society.

Theres a lot happening in tech right now, theres a lot of scrutiny, Liu said. And thats something thats just going to continue over a period of time.

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you dont miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.

What to know about the differences between subsidized and unsubsidized student loans

The cost of college has skyrocketed over the past several decades. In fact, the average annual tuition bill for a four year public college is now 37 times higher than it was in 1963, according to the Education Data Initiative

Given such statistics, its no surprise that students often require financing to help pay tuition and other college-related expenses. For those who use loans to help cover college costs, its important to understand the different types of financing available. This is especially critical because some of the lending options allow borrowers to leave school with far less accumulated debt.

Subsidized and unsubsidized student loans, offered by the federal government, are two of the most popular forms of financing. The most notable benefit of subsidized loans is that the interest is deferred while the borrower is attending school at least part time. Interest payments on unsubsidized loans however, begin as soon as the funding is awarded.

But these are only a few of the differences between the two types of borrowing.

Subsidized loan vs. unsubsidized loan

Subsidized loans are designed solely for undergraduate students who are able to establish financial need. These loans do not accrue interest as long as the student is attending school at least part-time. In order to be eligible for subsidized loans, student applicants must complete a Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) application, which is used to determine how much aid you may be eligible to receive.

Unsubsidized loans are available to undergraduate students, as well as graduate students. Similar to the subsidized loans, applicants must complete the FAFSA to be eligible. However, unsubsidized loan awards are not based on financial need.

Schools determine how much aid students receive for unsubsidized loans. These decisions are based on the cost of attendance and other financial aid received, says Meagan McGuire, Student Loan Planner, the largest student loan consulting company in the nation.

Heres a deeper look at the two different loan types and their pros and cons to keep in mind.

What is a subsidized loan?

Subsidized loans, which are also referred to as Direct Subsidized Loans and Stafford Loans, are awarded to undergraduate students based on financial need. To qualify, borrowers must complete a free FAFSA application online. They account for about 18.6% of federal student debt.

There are many positive features associated with subsidized student loans, but the most significant is that while a student is in school at least half-time, the loan does not accrue interest. In addition to the interest tab being picked up by the U.S. Department of Education during school, it will also be paid for the first six months after you complete school. This is known as the grace period, according to the U.S. Department of Education website.

That is the largest benefit of a subsidized loan becauseyoull have less to pay back later, says Jeff White, financial advisor with Saving for College, an online informational resource focused on saving and paying for college.

Yet another benefit associated with these loans is that the interest rate is often lower than unsubsidized loans. Its also worth noting that if youre having trouble repaying the loan after school, there are programs available that allow for deferment, longer-term forbearance, or income-based repayment.

How subsidized loans work

Heres a closer look at how to obtain a subsidized loan and how they work once awarded.

Complete a FAFSA. In order to be eligible for a subsidized student loan you must first complete a FAFSA application online. This application is used by the U.S. Department of Education to gauge how much financial aid you qualify for, if any at all.
Award of aid eligibility notification. Once the application review process has been completed, you will be notified regarding your financial aid award.
Interest paid by the U.S. Department of Education. As long as youre enrolled in school at least half-time, the interest on the loan will be paid by the government and for six months after you leave school, which is known as the grace period.
Begin making payments. After six months, you must begin repaying your loans or apply for a deferment, forbearance, or income-driven repayment, if need be.

Pros and cons of subsidized loans

While there are many benefits to subsidized loans, there are also a few drawbacks to consider.

Pro: Deferred interest. As long as the borrower is in school at least half-time, the interest on these loans is paid by the U.S. Department of Education.
Pro: Grace period after graduation. The government will also continue to pay the interest subsidized loans for the first six months after borrowers leave school. This is known as the grace period.
Pro: Deferment availability. If youre having trouble making payments, you can temporarily defer or postpone repayment of these loans or apply for income-driven repayment.
Pro: Lower interest rates. The interest rate associated with subsidized loans is lower than that of unsubsidized loans. It is currently 4.99%, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Cons: Lower lending limits. For a first-year, dependent undergraduate student the borrowing limit is $3,500 in subsidized loans. For a second-year undergraduate student, the borrowing limit is $4,500; for third- and fourth-year students, the limit is $5,500.
Con: Must establish financial need. Subsidized loans are only awarded to those who can clearly document financial need.
Con: Only open to undergraduate students. Graduate students are not eligible for subsidized student loans.

What is an unsubsidized loan?

The U.S. Department of Education also provides unsubsidized loans. These are sometimes referred to as Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Stafford Loans and are loans available to both undergraduate and graduate students to cover the cost of college. Because the awards are not based on financial need, more applicants tend to qualify for unsubsidized loans.

The interest on these loans begins accruing immediately after the funds are made available. Instead of the interest being paid for you, youll be in charge of the interest from the moment the loan dollars hit your account or are sent to your school, says White. You wont necessarily have to make payments right away while youre still attending school, but the interest will continue to accumulate.

How unsubsidized loans work

Similar to subsidized loans, qualifying for an unsubsidized loan requires completing a FAFSA application. Though these loans are not awarded based on financial need. Here are some of the facts about how these loans work:

Once you complete the FAFSA, the school that you plan to attend will generally include any unsubsidized loan awards in your financial aid package if you have a funding gap or shortfall.
As with subsidized loans, you will not need to make payments while attending school at least half-time. In addition, you will have a six-month grace period once you complete school before you must begin repayment.
However, interest on unsubsidized loans does begin accruing immediately, even during the nonpayment period. You have the option to begin repaying interest during school.

Pros and cons of unsubsidized loans

Similar to subsidized loans, there are pros and cons to unsubsidized borrowing. Heres a look at some of the considerations:

Pro: Accessible to more students. Because it is not necessary to demonstrate financial need, unsubsidized loans are open to more borrowers.
Pro: Larger borrowing amounts available. For undergraduate students, the borrowing limit is $34,500, while for graduate students it is $20,500 per academic year.
Con: Interest begins accruing immediately. This means you will have a larger amount of student loan debt once you complete schooling.
Con: Higher interest rates than unsubsidized loans. The current interest rate on these loans is 6.54%

How to choose between subsidized and unsubsidized loans

Ultimately, subsidized loans are better for those with financial need, but they are also a wise choice simply to minimize the total amount of student debt you end up with after completing school. However, those who have larger borrowing needs than subsidized loans allow may find it necessary to supplement with unsubsidized loans.

Unsubsidized loans accrue interest from the day they are disbursed to the school and during all other periods regardless of loan status, says Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA), a 501(c)(3) that offers advice and resources for students. For those reasons, subsidized loans are often less expensive over the long run for student loan borrowers, as they at least don't have to contend with the interest that accrued while they are in school.

'Profoundly flawed': Yale and Harvard law schools dump U.S. News school rankings that many grad students obsess over

Yale Law School and Harvard Law School are pulling out of the US News & World Report law school rankings they say are flawed.

Yale, which has taken the top spot in the rankings every year, determined the criteria were profoundly flawed, Dean Heather Gerken said Wednesday. The school will no longer participate in listings that disincentivize programs that support public interest careers, champion need-based aid, and welcome working-class students into the profession, she said.

The rankings devalue programs that encourage low-paying public interest jobs and reward schools that give scholarships for high LSAT scores rather than focusing on a students financial needs, Gerken said. And while Yale awards many more public interest fellowships per student than any of its peers, she said, US News appears to discount these invaluable opportunities to such an extent that these graduates are effectively classified as unemployed.

That backward approach discourages law schools throughout the country from supporting students who dream of a service career, Gerken said in a post on the schools website. The rankings also discourage graduates from pursuing advanced degrees, she said.

US News & World Report LP said Yales decision wont change its goals for the rankings, which are a prestigious measure for the nations best law schools.

The US News Best Law Schools rankings are for students seeking the best decision for their law education, said Eric Gertler, executive chairman and chief executive officer.

We will continue to fulfill our journalistic mission of ensuring that students can rely on the best and most accurate information in making that decision, Gertler said in a statement. As part of our mission, we must continue to ensure that law schools are held accountable for the education they will provide to these students and that mission does not change with this recent announcement.

Harvard joined Yale in announcing it will withdraw from the rankings.

It has become impossible to reconcile our principles and commitments with the methodology and incentives the US News rankings reflect, Dean John F. Manning said in a statement on the Harvard Law School website. This decision was not made lightly and only after considerable deliberation over the past several months.

The debt metric adopted by US News two years ago risks confusing more than it informs because a school may lower debt at graduation through generous financial aid, but it may also achieve the same effect by admitting more students who have the resources to avoid borrowing, Manning said. The school also said the methodology focuses too much on students test scores and college grades and undermines Harvards effort support public interest careers for their graduates.

Concerned

At Stanford law school, currently ranked No. 2, we have long been concerned about the US News law school rankings methodology, spokeswoman Stephanie Ashe said. The school will be giving careful thought to Yales objections, Ashe said.

University of Chicago Law School, ranked No. 3 by US News, and Columbia Law School, No. 4, declined to comment.

Yale isnt the first to criticize the US News rankings. Earlier in the year, a member of Columbias undergraduate faculty, Professor Michael Thaddeus, questioned the accuracy of data submitted by the university to US News. The school later admitted the data had been inaccurate, and Columbia dropped from No. 2 to No. 18 in the rankings.

The law deans have been having these conversations with US News and things have not changed, Gerken said in an interview. That is exactly why this is the moment to take a step back. Its also a moment when institutions across the country are reflecting on the role of higher education in the world and what our values are.

Gerken said that she does not know whether or not US News will include Yale in the next ranking, but that it would not have an enormous amount of our data.

Ted Ruger, dean of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, said he applauds Yale Law for its leadership in raising key questions for all law schools by withdrawing from the US News & World Report rankings. While useful in some ways, the rankings dont provide a clear or complete perspective into institutional priorities for educating future lawyers. We are evaluating this issue and assessing a process for our own decision-making.