Fifteen of the 31 schools polled by the Midwest Alliance for Law School Admissions said their applications were down by 28 percent or more. Only one school has experienced an application volume within 5 percent of last year's total to date. The poll was confidential and did not report the admissions numbers for individual law schools.
Merritt said employment data provided by the nonprofit group Law School Transparency may have underscored that most law schools place graduates in jobs locally, encouraging prospective students to apply where they ultimately want to practice. Regions with major legal hubs may be more attractive now, she said.
The dearth of applications has become a touchy subject for admissions officers, Zearfoss said. "You almost don't want to ask other admissions deans about their numbers," she said. "It's delicate." In fact, a number of law school deans did not respond or declined to discuss their application figures.
LIMITED OPTIONS
Law schools basically have two options at this point, Organ said. They can reach deeper into their applicant pools and take students with lower academic credentials, risking their U.S. News and World Report ranking; or accept smaller classes by continuing to insist on higher LSAT scores and undergraduate grade-point averages — both of which are weighted heavily in the magazine's law school rankings.
Most schools will probably decide upon a combination of approaches, according to a survey of incoming class sizes and the academic credentials of this year's crop of students at U.S. News' top 100 schools, as reported on their websites. (The survey was conducted by officials at a law school who requested not to be identified, citing sensitivities about tracking competitor schools). About two-thirds of those schools are bringing in smaller classes this fall, and approximately half reported lower median LSAT scores.
The situation means admissions officials can't rely on traditional formulas for hitting their enrollment goals, Organ said. "It's a really fluid marketplace. The people you used to admit with a 162 LSAT score may not be there, because they got into a school 10 spots above you in the U.S. News rankings. The top schools may be down a little on their profiles, but they're still taking the top chunk of the applicant pool, and there are fewer people left for everyone else down the chain."
Michigan State University College of Law expects about 2,750 applications this year, down by 28 percent from last year, said assistant dean for admissions and financial aid Charles Roboski. The school plans to reduce its incoming class by as much as 10 percent, and will accept a larger percentage of applicants this year to hit its goal of 280 new students.
"I believe that we'll see more activity in the summer months as schools go to their wait lists, with the ripple effect that this has, and as schools make decisions regarding their classes," Roboski said.
Law schools face an even more pressing problem than merely filling their classes, said Washington University in St. Louis Law School professor Brian Tamanaha. He is the author of Failing Law Schools, a scathing critique of legal education in this country.
"The class of 2010 was really the peak enrollment year, and that class graduates this spring," Tamanaha said. "Although we had smaller entering classes in 2011 and 2012, having that larger class helped fill out enrollment. When that large class is replaced by a much smaller new class this fall, the cumulative effect will be quite significant."
Schools will need to make up for those lost tuition payments. Several have already cut staff, and faculty could be next. "Now we're going to see some program cuts," Tamanaha said. "Our situation will change quite dramatically."
Karen Sloan can be contacted at ksloan@alm.com.
This article originally appeared in The National Law Journal under the headline “Law schools faces steep fall-off in applicants.”
Subscribe to The National Law Journal
-
Julia
Turnitin helps eradicating the worries of plagiarism in the coursework and e-books while pursuing the higher studies, but Plag Tracker comes free of cost which makes it extremely popular among the students.
-
Rdowens
We've had a glut of lawyers for years now. It is natural especially given the economy and the price of law schools that enrollment should drop. Similar declines are being seen at other types of academic institutions as well.
-
Justice4U
Circumstances are often outside of the control of the law student as with any other person. Particular pressures by a society facing uncertain financial security bring with them a host of developing situations that may in particular influence those studying law. Laws and politics drive this nation. Suddenly some talented law students with exceptional forte in legal writing are brought to the attention of certain agencies or political parties because their drafts may substantially influence or impact political outcomes. During years of sound fiscal reserves, perhaps these individuals 'blend into the wall' more than during years of pecuniary drought. Law students are often more passionate than their licensed, practicing peers and may offer a competitive threat to those already established in firms and earning profits. These firms may be gathering performance information on law school graduate candidates, for that reason. Sometimes acts are carried out that may interfere with the law student's enrollment, Internet access, cash flow, or other methods of intentional disruption may occur. Further, some Americans express frankly that they do not wish to see women, in particular, become attorneys. Sad, but these are some realities of unfairness that often coincide with a law education in the United States. These are things usually not discussed in law circles and certainly not drawn out on the political scene, but often kept in confidence of the particular firm or agency conducting the research. This author and article missed these possible reasons of absence, which may have also affected the enrollment or retaining of law students in their degree programs.
-
Schills
There is plenty of work out there, just not at the price lawyers want to charge. Salaries at Big, Mid and SmallLaw all need to be cut. This includes partner salaries.
-
Darren McKinney, American Tort Reform Association, Washington, D.C.
I'll type slowly for you, Mr. Coe. The more lawyers that flood the field, the greater the likeliehood that many of them will be left with few employment options beyond hanging out solo shingles and ginning up often meritless and even fraudulent claims of slip-and-fall, medical liability, asbestos, disability access and so on. All of which serve to undermine economic growth and job creation. Is that simple enough for you to understand, sir?
Comments are not moderated. To report offensive comments, click here.
Reader Comments
View all reader comments »