Law school applications up at UW-Madison, down at Marquette for
entering class of 2009
March 30, 2009 - Every season has its traditions, and an economic
downturn is no exception. When jobs are not readily available, interest
in law school picks up.
Between 1991 and 1998, as the economy improved, the number of people
applying to law school fell steadily nationally from 99,327 to 71,726,
according to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). When the dot-com
boom ended, the numbers for the entering class of 2001 rose to almost
79,000.
This current slump is no exception. The ABA Journal reported the number of law school
applications has jumped this year 2 percent nationally, with even larger
increases at well-known schools.
Applications for the entering class of 2009 are up 5 ½ percent
over last year at University of Wisconsin Law School, according to
Michael Hall, assistant dean for admissions and financial aid. According
to the school’s data, the number of applicants for the class
of 2006 -- 3,037 -- dipped to 2,633 for the class of 2007, but rose to
2,797 for the class of 2008.
Hall acknowledged the conventional wisdom that a weakening economy
leads to a boost in law school enrollments, but he had wondered if this
recession might be different given that the collapse began in the credit
sector, complicating the means to pay for school. So far, he said, that
has not proven to be a deterrent. “Applicants seem to be
concluding that additional education is a positive, and a professional
degree is worth the investment,” Hall said.
Applications for this fall might have actually been greater if news
of the bad economy had occurred earlier, Hall said. Signs of financial
distress did not appear until the fall of last year -- very late in the
admissions process -- when time is needed to prepare for the Law School
Admission Test (LSAT) as well as assembling a compelling
application, Hall said. Accordingly, he said there could be a wave of
applications forthcoming.
Evidence suggests that law schools may see a wave of interest carry
forward. LSAC admissions data show a 1.6 percent increase from the
140,000 LSAT exams administered in the fall of 2007 to 142,000
in the fall of 2008. This number appears responsive to economic
conditions. Between 2004 and 2006, when the economy was relatively
healthy, the numbers of LSATs administered shrank.
Applications to Marquette University Law School present a unique
situation. Sean Reilly, an assistant dean for admissions at Marquette,
said that applications to date are down about 6 percent versus this time
a year ago. However, Reilly noted that the number of applications to
Marquette in 2008 represented an extraordinary increase of 21 percent
over 2007. According to the school’s admissions data, Maquette received 2,222
applications for the class entering in 2008.
Reilly said applications this year are running approximately 20
percent ahead of the numbers received by this time in 2007.
“It is difficult to provide a specific reason that we can point
to in order to explain why 2009 applications to date have dropped about
6 percent versus 2008, just as it is difficult to provide a specific
reason that we can point to in order to explain why applications rose
about 21 percent in 2008 versus 2007,” Reilly said in an
email. “While it is true that applications are down this year
versus last, this year is still likely to be the law school’s
second-highest application volume year in, as far as I have been able to
determine, the law school’s history (last year being, as far as I
have been able to determine, the largest application volume year in the
law school’s history).”
By Alex De
Grand, Legal Writer, State Bar of Wisconsin
