Thank you for the helpful information. I am just beginning my search. I am sure that you and I are very different in our thinking. I don't know your experience, but I choose a school for much more than rankings. I will apply to schools that all around meet my needs and I could stand to be at for the length of time I will be there. I spent my law school years in an area I absolutely hated. I will never do that again. I understand that it is a broad range of schools and you will probably be surprised at the other schools I end up applying to. My interest is sex and gender.
University of Wisconsin - Madison - This is my alma mater. I still consider this my home. This is a dream - I would love to go there. My friends and family are there. I understand it is big and selective. I went there. I got my B.A. in Sociology there. I am familiar with the program, the professors, and the prestige. I have family that currently goes there.
UMass - Amherst - I want access to all of the professors teaching at the schools they are affiliated with - essentially the consortium. It is also a place I would not mind living for that period of time.
UC-Santa Barbara - This is great for my program. I also am friends with a current full Professor there, who I have spoken with several times. She suggested that program to me. I believe her. I am also heavily involved in non-profit work and they look for that. In their application process, I can address my non-profit dream. It is a plus all the way around - not to mention the beautiful campus.
UCONN - I know it is a smaller program, but I like the school. I like the location and I like how glbt friendly they are.
Brandeis - It is a small program that has my focus and access to the Boston consortium. I have always gone to large universities, so this may be a pleasant change.
I understand that you are trying to be helpful and I might check those out. I have been through this process in narrowing down and applying to law schools. In that process, I learned a lot about what I need and want. I hope to avoid mistakes that I made in that process. My way of looking at schools is, my guess, very different from yours.
I may add University of Washington and Brown too. Oh and any school where Audrey Sprenger is at -- I took several of her classes at Madison. She is amazing.