Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Law School Applicants From Top Colleges Increased 1% In 2016 (But Down 48% Since 2010)
Keith Lee, Top University Students Avoiding Law School 2017 Edition:
Back in 2013, I was the first person to notice students graduating from the top universities in the country were avoiding law school in droves. ... For the first time since 2010, the total number of graduates from the nation’s top universities increased instead of continuing to decline. From 1,916 to 1,939, a 1.20% increase.
It’s only a slight 1% increase, but it’s first signs that the “best & the brightest” are looking at law school a bit more favorably. I doubt there will be a return to the grand heyday of top university students seeking law school as post-graduate option, but there no longer completely abandoning ship either.
Interestingly, 62% fewer Stanford graduates applied to law school in 2016 compared to 2010.
Update: Above the Law, College Grads Are Considering Law School Again — God Help Us All
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2017/03/law-school-applicants-from-top-colleges-increase-1-in-2016-but-down-48-since-2010.html
Well this is still the early stage of the law school crash. The smart money is leaving. Has left. But that's sadly only a small portion of the law school target demographic. The real crash is some ways off.
Knowledge of the crisis still hasn't crossed over into the mainstream culture. I encounter more and more people that are aware of what a wasteland the legal job market is, but roughly 90% of the people I encounter still think of law as a prestigious and lucrative profession. So most people still think that taking on a quarter million in non-dischargeable debt is a decent bet to make. Especially people on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder who don't have any friends or relatives who can tell them shitlaw horror stories.
Once a significant percentage of the population catches on to what is happening, there will be a sort of bank run, in the sense that everyone will avoid law school like a leper and even with unlimited federal loan guarantees no one will sign up. I think the warning sign of this approaching will be a sudden drop in bar passage rates as the worst candidates rush in to take advantage of the "opportunity" of law school. This will be followed by the bank run.
Posted by: Jim W | Mar 1, 2017 9:01:22 AM