In 2011, there were 535,000 applications to ABA accredited law schools (mind: I refer to applications, not applicants). In 2014, there were 355,100 applications, a hefty decline of 33.6% from three years earlier. But, of course, this decline was not evenly distributed among the 200+ ABA-accredited law schools. 40 schools saw their application pool shrink by half or more, while a handful of outliers actually experienced an increase. What follows is a chart showing the number of law schools that experienced particular levels of change in applications, by percentage, between 2011 to 2014, followed by a list of the 65 law school that experienced a decline in applications of 45% or more. [1]
It may be that a particularly steep decline in applications provides a hint as to which law schools are sailing into trouble of an existence-threatening sort. I mean, these are the schools that have clearly lost their consumer appeal, even against the general backdrop of the fading law school mystique. Avowed lemmings no longer apply to these places even as their safeties.
Consider that Hamline experienced the 16th steepest drop in applications (56.8%) among the nation’s ABA accredited schools in the last three years, and soon that school may exist only as a phantom limb of William Mitchell. The finest law school in Grundy, VA experienced the 12th steepest drop (58.0%), and it is on the financial ropes, having shed half of its faculty. Cooley experienced the 4th biggest drop in applications (63.2%), and it closed down one of its four campuses. Here is hoping that the crash in consumer demand foreshadows a wave of faculty downsizing and law school closures.
Long-time posters and lurkers at JD Underground will surely appreciate which school experienced the biggest decline in applications from 2011 to 2014, a staggering 69.2% drop. MCGEORGE DOMINATES! (and you, Scamming Illini, quite definitely dominate the first tier).
% Change in Applications Received, 2011-2014
|
No. of law schools
|
Applications up by over 10%
|
6
|
Applications up by 5.01-10%
|
2
|
Applications up by 0.01-5%
|
2
|
Applications down by 0.01-5%
|
3
|
Applications down by 5.01-10%
|
7
|
Applications down by 10.01-15%
|
7
|
Applications down by 15.01-20%
|
6
|
Applications down by 20.01-25%
|
10
|
Applications down by 25.01-30%
|
18
|
Applications down by 30.01-35%
|
19
|
Applications down by 35.01-40%
|
35
|
Applications down by 40.01-45%
|
23
|
Applications down by 45.01-50%
|
25
|
Applications down by 50.01-55%
|
17
|
Applications down by 55.01-60%
|
15
|
Applications down by 60.01-65%
|
5
|
Applications down by 65.01-69.2%
|
3
|
School
|
Apps, 2011
|
Apps, 2014
|
Decline
|
| McGeorge |
3555
|
1094
|
69.2% |
Univ. of Toledo
|
1440
|
472
|
67.2%
|
Univ. of Illinois
|
4219
|
1462
|
65.3%
|
Thomas Cooley
|
4032
|
1481
|
63.2%
|
Ave Maria
|
1633
|
603
|
63.0%
|
Ohio Northern
|
1228
|
466
|
62.0%
|
Cleveland State
|
1157
|
601
|
61.4%
|
Univ. of Connecticut
|
2751
|
1088
|
60.4%
|
Quinnipiac
|
2035
|
817
|
59.8%
|
St. Thomas (Minn.)
|
1283
|
516
|
59.7%
|
Univ. of Louisville
|
1495
|
608
|
59.3%
|
Appalachian
|
1177
|
494
|
58.0%
|
Widener-Harrisburg
|
1186
|
582
|
58.0%
|
Univ. of D.C.
|
1643
|
696
|
57.6%
|
Mississippi College
|
1717
|
730
|
57.4%
|
Hamline
|
1232
|
530
|
56.8%
|
Univ. of Dayton
|
1751
|
762
|
56.4%
|
Arkansas-Little Rock
|
1529
|
669
|
56.2%
|
Villanova
|
3014
|
1321
|
56.1%
|
Western State
|
1882
|
835
|
56.1%
|
Penn State
|
4820
|
2121
|
55.9%
|
DePaul
|
4743
|
2087
|
55.9%
|
Albany
|
2153
|
959
|
55.4%
|
Oklahoma City
|
1204
|
544
|
54.8%
|
Univ. of Florida
|
3024
|
1369
|
54.7%
|
Univ. of Akron
|
1647
|
751
|
54.4%
|
George Mason
|
5354
|
2443
|
54.3%
|
New York Law Sch.
|
5997
|
2747
|
54.1%
|
Indiana-Indianapolis
|
1640
|
756
|
53.9%
|
St. Louis U.
|
2040
|
941
|
53.8%
|
Univ. of New Hampshire
|
1247
|
576
|
53.8%
|
Williamette
|
1092
|
508
|
53.4%
|
Widener-Delaware
|
2193
|
1021
|
53.4%
|
Seton Hall
|
3439
|
1625
|
52.7%
|
Arkansas-Fayetteville
|
1309
|
624
|
52.3%
|
Univ. of Wisconsin
|
2864
|
1371
|
52.1%
|
Regent
|
1180
|
570
|
51.6%
|
Drake
|
1026
|
496
|
51.6%
|
Sanford
|
1405
|
688
|
51.0%
|
Univ. of Pittsburgh
|
2379
|
1172
|
50.7%
|
LaVerne
|
1182
|
595
|
49.6%
|
Univ. of Tulsa
|
1466
|
741
|
49.4%
|
Florida Coastal
|
5277
|
2666
|
49.4%
|
Univ. of Hawaii
|
1229
|
621
|
49.4%
|
Univ. of Mississippi
|
1656
|
846
|
48.9%
|
Loyola (Chicago)
|
5040
|
2575
|
48.9%
|
Thomas Jefferson
|
2697
|
1381
|
48.7%
|
Lewis & Clark
|
2907
|
1491
|
48.7%
|
Hofstra
|
4566
|
2343
|
48.6%
|
Temple
|
4144
|
2127
|
48.6%
|
Univ. of Cincinnati
|
1572
|
811
|
48.4%
|
Chicago-Kent
|
3719
|
1937
|
47.9%
|
Univ. of Oregon
|
2178
|
1140
|
47.6%
|
Univ. of Tennessee
|
1277
|
669
|
47.6%
|
Pace
|
2735
|
1436
|
47.4%
|
William Mitchell
|
1536
|
807
|
47.4%
|
Catholic
|
3002
|
1583
|
47.2%
|
Northern Illinois
|
1058
|
560
|
47.0%
|
Drexel
|
2464
|
1307
|
46.9%
|
John Marshall (Chi)
|
3783
|
2007
|
46.9%
|
| Western New Engl. |
1170
|
621
|
46.9%
|
Chapman
|
2822
|
1505
|
46.6%
|
UNLV
|
1381
|
754
|
45.4%
|
Loyola Marymount
|
6781
|
3712
|
45.2%
|
West Virginia U.
|
1107
|
451
|
45.1%
|
---------------------------------
[1] Source: The spreadsheets located here:
http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org
