A recent Kaplan survey found that the economic recession has influenced the number of students applying to law school, said Jeff Thomas, Kaplan director of Pre-Law Programs.
Kaplan surveyed 1,400 students after they took the February LSAT, Thomas said. 40 percent of the students said the economy influenced their decision to apply either “a great deal” or “somewhat,” Thomas said.
Increases in law school applications during economic downturns have occurred in the past, Thomas said.
“During market downturns, nearly all of graduate programs, including law schools, often see a rise in the number of applications submitted,” he said, “because many students and young professionals will often see law school and graduate schools as a safe haven to ride out the challenging job market and make themselves more marketable and employable on the back end.”
Most recently, law schools saw a 17 percent spike in applications in 2001, Thomas said. This year, the Law School saw an increase in applications of more than 20 percent, compared to a nationwide increase of 5.5 percent, Law School Dean of Admissions Jason Trujillo said.
“I think the economy certainly has an effect,” he added, noting, though, that the rise in applications cannot be entirely attributed to the economy. An increase in national exposure, particularly through an increase in the number of Law School graduates clerking for Supreme Court justices, also likely affected the rise, Trujillo said. It is tough to determine the exact cause of the increase because the University does not ask for a reason on the application, he added.
University Pre-Law Adviser Eileen Oswald agreed, saying it is unclear whether the recession has influenced University students interested in the legal profession.
Oswald said the number of University students applying to law school has remained steady during the past few years. She has discussed the economy with students she advises, she said, but none of them have cited the economy as a reason for applying to law school.
Instead, the recession is causing some students to reconsider whether they want to apply to law school, as they take the cost of graduate school and future job opportunities into account, Oswald said.
“I don’t think it’s preventing them from applying,” she said, “but they have thought about it.”
Students whose applications are currently being reviewed made their decisions last fall, before the economic downturn, Oswald said, so she may see the impact of the recession more in the future. For right now, though, the overall survey results are not reflected at the University, she said.
“I get very few students that say that they want to [go into law] because there’s going to be a lot of money to be had,” Oswald said. “Most of them are doing it because they want to be a public servant.”
Second-year College student Tony Reyes said he is not certain he wants to go to law school but is considering it because of the economy.
“The job market’s going to be really competitive, so I guess the higher education, the higher degree you get, the better it makes you look when you’re trying to get that job,” he said. “Whether it’s business or law, that looks better when you’re trying to get a job.”
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