Law School Applications Set to Hit 15-Year Low

Law school is falling out of favor with Americans, new data show. The decline has spurred programs to use strange survival tactics

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By Natalie Kitroeff

March 19, 2015 at 3:38 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Law schools keep getting less attractive to young professionals, with schools receiving 6.7 percent fewer applications this year than they did in 2014, according to numbers released by the Law School Admission Council on Wednesday, March 19. The number of individuals applying has also fallen, by 4.7 percent. If the pace continues as it did last year, the number of people who applied to law school for the Fall 2015 semester will hit its lowest level in 15 years. (At this point last year, LSAC had accounted for 79 percent of applicants.)

The LSAC cautions that it's too early to start worrying, especially since the numbers have shown signs of improving. "Because the rate of decline [in applications] is slowing, it's very difficult to say how its going to compare to last year," says Wendy Margolis, an LSAC spokeswoman. In 2014, there were 3,700 fewer applicants than in 2013, which was good news: Schools had seen applicants drop at least 8,000 in the three previous years.