Since the great recession, law schools hemorrhaged applicants. In 2015, it continued.
Law schools in general saw applications decline by 2.2 percent, and top universities dropped 4.7 percent, according to Slate.
“Since 2010, applications from these schools are down more than 48 percent, versus about 38 percent overall,” Jordan Weissmann writes.
When the economy slowed, law school graduates found themselves scrambling for a job. Graduates typically amass heavy debt loads, then pay it off with high salaries. The recession wrecked that plan for many graduates.
“Work dried up for many large firms, and what few clients were still hiring lawyers had more bargaining power. They demanded rate discounts (lawyers bill by the hour), and special—or alternative—fees. They also pushed back on the training of newbie lawyers on their dime,” Bloomberg’s Dimitra Kessenides wrote.
Employment rates for law school graduates only started to improve last year, up to 86.7 percent now. That’s not a bad rate, but for many students who chose between law school and another option, the risk of high student debt didn’t seem appealing. The recession appears to have weeded out students who wanted an education in law, but didn’t want to become lawyers.
Application drops don’t always match enrollment rates, but the trend of one implies the other. At Gonzaga University, for instance, law applications fell 36 percent between 2011 and 2014, and enrollment fell by 28 percent. That’s led to buyout offers for tenured faculty.
What’s remarkable is how in tune those students – or potential students – have responded to market demand. Bearing, and understanding, the cost of a law degree and the likelihood of finding a job, they’ve voted with their feet. Potential undergraduate students have driven enrollments into a three-year decline, at least for for-profit and two-year colleges.
Were it not for a societal expectation that the first step to a good job is a bachelor’s degree – any bachelor’s degree – the trend might be more pronounced.
