Law Schools Predicting Increase in Applications for 2015-2016 Cycle

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Summary: A new survey from Kaplan shows renewed optimism in the law school education sector based on responses from admissions officials. 

  

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The Kaplan 2014 survey of law school admissions officers has provided guarded optimism for the legal education community, according to a release from Kaplan found at BusinessWire.

Close to half of the admissions officers (46 percent) that took part in the survey showed confidence in their law school that an increase in applications will occur in the 2015-2016 application cycle.

This number is an increase from the 34 percent in 2013 who said that the 2014-2015 application cycle would see an increase.

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Optimism seems to be growing due to the fact that the percentage of law schools reporting the cutback in the number of seats for the entering class has dropped below 50 percent, at 47 percent his year. Kaplan began monitoring this stat in 2012.

Robert Schwartz, dean of admissions at UCLA School of Law, said, “I expect we will see fewer applications to the nation’s law schools for the fall 2015 entering class. Here at UCLA though, we believe that curricular innovations, like our new clinical course on the lawyer-client relationship for first-year students and our plan to double our already extensive upper division clinical course offerings, will attract a robust pool of applicants.”

“Our survey finds that law schools continue to adapt to a challenging environment and are a little more optimistic than they were a year ago, but it’d be premature to celebrate. The tough job market for attorneys remains the primary cause for the continuing decline in law school applications. Until there’s a significant improvement in the employment outlook, it’s hard to imagine seeing a spike in law school applications and enrollment,” said Jeff Thomas, executive director of pre-law programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “That said, it’s important to note that contrary to what many pre-law students think, a drop in applications doesn’t mean easier admission into law school. Most competitive law schools won’t lower their standards and will continue to remain hard to get into. Competitive schools generally prefer to enroll fewer students over enrolling an increased number of less-qualified students.”

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Image credit: Kaplan