If Applications Continue to Decline Forum

[ajax]

If law school applications continue to decline, we can continue to expect further significant decreases in law school median entry stats.

Take a look at the following:

http://lsac.org/LSACResources/Data/LSAC ... ummary.asp

http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/index. ... THigh/2003

In 2003 there were 98,300 total law school applications. The 25% and 75% LSAT for Cornell during that cycle were 163/166. In 2011 there were 78,900 total applications, and the Cornell 25% and 75% LSAT were 166/169. 2012 saw even fewer applications!

Can anyone say bubble burst?

Happy 2012-2013 cycle, it looks to be a good one for those of us applying.

[airplay355]

Am I retarded? Your data seem to suggest that as the number of applicants decreases, median's increase.

2003: 98,300 163/166
2011: 78,900 166/169
???2012: 70,000 169/172???

Am I missing something?

[geary86]

Am I retarded? Your data seem to suggest that as the number of applicants decreases, median's increase.

2003: 98,300 163/166
2011: 78,900 166/169
???2012: 70,000 169/172???

Am I missing something?

no. it is because 163 LSAT from 2003(percentile 90) is different from 163 from 2012(percentile 88).
Either people got smarter or prep companies got better or whatever the reason is,
apparently more people are scoring higher than before.

[timbs4339]

People also may be maxing retakes more.

[geary86]

People also may be maxing retakes more.

yeah.. and I forgot to mention that the 2003 LSAT numbers are average scores
while the 2011 LSAT numbers are highest scores...

[HarlandBassett]

what year did they switch from avg to highest?

[bowser]

what year did they switch from avg to highest?

2006. But the increase in higher scores has been incremental since then, not all of a sudden, probably as more people figured out retaking would only help them.

[hichvichwoh]

Pretty sure it's going to come down to when/if schools start reducing their class sizes. If they don't do it at all, then mathematically it's impossible for the medians to not decline.

[geary86]

Yay!
Cornell's new medians are 167(-1) and 3.68(+0.05)!

[KevinP]

I just wish the decline would keep new schools from opening...

For example:
Concordia:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... 0728131826

"University officials began contemplating opening a law school in Boise, which is about a seven-hour drive from Portland, in 2007. They pointed to an unmet demand for legal education in the city— the closest full-service law school was The University of Idaho College of Law in Moscow, about 300 miles away."

"Annual tuition is $28,500 — well below the average $39,184 for private law schools, according to the ABA."

[HarlandBassett]

Concordia is a for-profit entity.

"Concordia College and University is widely considered to be a diploma mill."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordia_ ... University

Concordia is doing exactly what is profiled in this Frontline episode http://video.pbs.org/video/1485280975 in that it is buying small failing religious schools and turning them around into for-profit entities