28 Aug Law School Applications Down Third Year in a Row

As another school year is about to begin, a major additional drop in law school applications for the class entering now is quite startling. Applications are down 18%, and the number of applicants has dropped 12%, down the third year in a row. Wow. The ABA Journal notes that this benefits students seeking financial aid. It notes that financial aid has gone up in law schools from over $700 million to almost $1 billion since 2007, so that’s good.

But schools are scrambling for sure. Some are cutting the size of their incoming classes, letting professors go, etc. Even some pretty prestigious schools. Dudes and dudettes: time to change some stuff! I still believe law school should be restructured as two years in the classroom and two years in an apprenticeship of some kind. Or offer an option to graduate and take the bar in two years.

And something dramatic has to be done about tuition, as it should in all of higher education. These costs have skyrocketed in the last 30 years significantly beyond any increase in the costs of living. It remains unclear to me why this is so. In my last year of law school there was outrage when tuition went up to $7000. I am not that old gang. Thanks to an online inflation calculator, that $7,000 is worth about $19,000 today. We all know tuition alone at top law schools now is $50,000. Let’s fix this!!