Students applying to law school after graduation may face fewer
competitors as law schools nationwide have seen a decline in
applicants over the past year.
According to the Law School Admissions Council, the total number
of law school applicants in the nation decreased by 4.6 percent
between 2004 and 2005, the first time in seven years law schools
did not see an increase in applicants.
The UCLA School of Law has seen a similar decline. The numbers
went from 7,260 applicants in 2004 to 6,319 in 2005 ““ a
decrease of about 13 percent.
Private schools also saw decreases in applicants. The law school
at the University of Pennsylvania has reportedly seen a 12 percent
drop in its number of applicants in the past year, while the
Stanford University law program experienced a decline from 5,004
applicants in 2004 to 4,863 in 2005.
The trend extends to other law schools in the University of
California system as well.
The UC Office of the President published a set of findings
online that states that the total number of applicants for law
schools in the UC system decreased in 2005, breaking away from a
pattern of increase since 1997.
Michael Schill, dean of the UCLA School of Law, believes that
this year’s application pool has declined due to a steady
increase in the strength of the nation’s economy.
“From an economic standpoint, many prospective law school
applicants may decide to hold off on applying for a few years in
favor of getting more promising and immediate jobs that the
stronger economy offers them,” Schill said.
With a decrease in the number of applicants, the proportion of
those admitted has increased. UCLA experienced a 5 percent increase
in its law school admittance rate last year.
Steven Marietti, director of the Pre-Law Program at Kaplan,
which helps prepare prospective law students for the LSAT
examination, believes that with a smaller number of applicants,
those who plan to apply to law programs across the nation in the
upcoming year have a better chance of being admitted to the schools
of their choice.
“With less competition, the odds are in favor of students
planning to apply for admission for the fall of 2007. We believe
that this is a great opportunity for those interested in pursuing a
career in law,” Marietti said.
According to data compiled by the LSAC, law schools saw a great
boom in the number of applicants in 1991, at the height of the
nation’s economic recession.
The subsequent improvement in the economy caused the number of
applicants to steadily decrease until 1998, when the nation once
again went into a recession and the number of applicants increased.
The fall of 2002 also saw an unprecedented increase of 17.6 percent
in law school applications across the nation.
“There was an increase in the number of applicants and
more students expressing an interest in pursuing a career in
international law directly following the terrorist attacks of Sept.
11,” said Derek Meeker, the dean of admissions and financial
aid at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.
“There have always been peaks and troughs in this cyclical
trend, so it isn’t a worrisome issue,” he said.
“There is a self-selection process happening. Fewer people
may be applying because they perceive the application process to be
too competitive,” Meeker added.
Financial issues may also be a factor in the decline in law
school applications.
“Law schools are less of a bargain these days,”
Schill said. “While the UCLA law school tuition fees are
about $13,000 less than a private school, such as USC, they have
basically doubled in the past five years.”
There has also been speculation that the declining number of law
school applicants may also be attributed to the rising number of
applications in other professional programs, such as medical and
business schools. But Schill said he didn’t think that was
the case.
“The kind of student who plans to apply to medical school
is typically of a different pool than one who applies to law
school,” Schill said.
“There are different prerequisite requirements for the two
focuses, and while there are some pre-law students with a strong
background in science and mathematics, students generally decide on
their major path well in advance before applying to a professional
school.”