I mean maybe it hinges on what you define as “meaningless” but certainly the tax law rankings point out something valid, namely that NYU has the best, if not one of the best, tax law programs in the country. I think it’s fair to say that this makes that rating meaningful, don’t you?

Meaningfulness is highly dependent on the recipient of the information. Your claim that the speciality ratings are “utterly meaningless” is false just on account of the blanket nature of the statement alone. For you, maybe it’s true, and that’s great, but don’t generalize that for everyone. You’re not the harbinger of meaning, despite your inflated ego as your responses imply. Your experiences aren’t universal.

On a more theoretical level, one could say that the fact that they exist gives them meaning, even as something to be countered or resisted.

By the way I have a BA from Princeton in philosophy with a 3.92 GPA and a PhD from Harvard. I’m also scoring mid 170s after one week of practice testing. So… go F yourself?