In preparation for an anticipated flood of college graduates, the Princeton Review published "The Best 168 Law Schools" and "The Best 296 Business Schools" on Tuesday, each with 11 different ranked categories.
Two Brigham Young University graduate programs ranked near the top of those lists.
The Marriott School of Management ranked second for most family friendly business school, while the J. Reuben Clark Law School was third in two law-school categories — most competitive students and most conservative students.
The University of Utah was also profiled in each book as being among the best law schools and business schools, though it was not on any of "Top 10" lists. Additionally, Weber State University was profiled among top business schools.
"All of the rankings in both books are based completely on student survey," Rob Franek, senior vice president and publisher for the Princeton Review, said. "It is the opinion of students at BYU, and the other hundreds of schools."
BYU has been a consistent top-runner among the best law and business colleges in the United States, Franek said, and those graduate schools are amongst the most powerful in the nation.
The BYU business school has made the top five family friendly list for years.
"It's a ranking we're certainly proud of," said Robert Gardner, director of Alumni Relations. "It's not one we are necessarily surprised by. ... It's one we've always ranked well in with our family culture here. We love that ranking and we expect it to continue in that way."
Among the MBA class that will graduate in April, 76 percent are married, up from 64 in the previous class. The percentage of married students in the MBA program is usually somewhere in the mid-to-upper 60-percent range, Gardner said, so this is a high year.
The survey questions for the family friendly category pertain to the happiness of married students, the number of kids students have and the help the school gives to students' spouses and children.
"We have an active MBA spouse association that makes sure spouses are well-networked and well-supported," Gardner said. "Last month they had a family barbecue at a park near campus. They set up regular meetings. ... It's activities like those that really make a difference."
The law school has consistently ranked high on the most-competitive and most-conservative lists, sitting in the top four on each since 2008.
For the most-conservative students category, known in past years as "students lean to the right," surveyed students were asked if there was a prevailing political bent at the school and how they would categorize themselves, Franek said.
The answers students can choose from are: very liberal, liberal, middle of the road, somewhat conservative and very conservative.
"We ask students in 368 law schools and compare school to school," Franek said. "Compared to other schools BYU has consistently been on this list."
For the competitive category, students are asked about the number of hours they study outside class, hours of sleep they get nightly and the number of hours they believe their peers in the school study outside class.
"It is partially about their experience and partially their perception of others," Franek said. "It speaks directly to their academic experience."
On average, 107 students at each law school and 64 students at each business school were surveyed for the lists in the books' 2013 editions. The survey is annual and students can fill it out throughout the school year at princetonreview.com.
TOP FIVE BUSINESS SCHOOLS RANKED MOST FAMILY FRIENDLY
1. Dartmouth
2. BYU
3. Indiana
4. Penn State
5. Pittsburg State (Kansas)
TOP FIVE LAW SCHOOLS WITH THE MOST COMPETITIVE STUDENTS
1. Baylor
2. Whittier College (Calif.)
3. BYU
4. Mercer University (Ga.)
5. Regent University (Va.)
TOP FIVE LAW SCHOOLS WITH THE MOST CONSERVATIVE STUDENTS
1. Ave Maria School of Law (Mich.)
2. Regent University (Va.)
3. BYU
4. George Mason University (Va.)
5. Samford University (Ala.)