Was law school easier to get into back in the day? Forum

[Dr. Strangelove]

I know someone who got into Columbia Law with a 3.52/170 five years ago.
Is this still possible or was law school just way easier to get into back in the day?

[qualster]

I know someone who got into Columbia Law with a 3.52/170 five years ago.
Is this still possible or was law school just way easier to get into back in the day?

Looking at LSN graphs, I would say that it was easier to get into many schools just a few years ago. More schools are sporting a 164+ median now and more are shooting for that. Retakes and an increase in applicants have probably led to higher medians. I guess one could argue that the ability to retake with impunity (since only a few average) has contributed to higher medians, but since anyone can retake, it may not be objectively harder now.

[KennyG]

Looking at LSN graphs, it looks like there is only one non-URM that was able to get in with those numbers in the last 7 cycles. So, no I don't think that someone getting in with those numbers five years ago signifies that it is tougher now. It was an anomaly then.

[wadeny]

I don't really see five years ago as being "back in the day," but it does seem that GPA/LSAT medians have risen steadily over the past few years. If I had to guess, one of the biggest differences from only a few years ago has to be the emergence of additional resources (such as TLS) available to applicants.

In addition, LSAT preparation has become a big business (from tutors to test prep companies like Powerscore, Kaplan, etc). FWIW, I know some people who applied nearly a decade ago and they hardly studied for the LSAT - just a couple practice tests and that was it. Now, more applicants study for months with dozens of practice tests. Then, if they miss their "target" score by even 2-3 points, they decide to retake with virtually no penalty since most schools don't average scores any longer.

[lakerfanimal]

This site is cool for looking at whether it was "easier"-

http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/21

Median LSAT scores for Columbia have definitely gone up, but not much change in GPA

[narkizopoint]

It might have been easier to get into LS back in the day (not 5 years ago back in the day) but it was much more difficult to get a BA/BS back in the day.

[MURPH]

Top GPA's were harder to come by as well. Grade inflation at my alma mater is 0.2 over the last 10 years. That is about average for a state school. It is worse at top schools.

[patently_oblivious]

Law school was indeed easier to get into, but the inflation adjusted salaries were also MUCH lower.