Which Law School Had An Enrollment Boom?

The University of Colorado-Boulder School of Law

Which Law School Had An Enrollment Boom?

 
You know how everyone talks about what a horrible idea it is to go to law school now? You won’t get a job. You’ll go six-figures into debt. A law degree isn’t the sure-fire track to white collar careers that it used to be. Indeed, people are listening. Since a peak of more than 88,000 in 2010, enrollment amounts have been in a state of constant free-fall to 54,130 for 2015’s entering class. But don’t tell any of that to the University of Colorado Law School, where enrollment numbers jumped 22% from 168 to 205 from 2014’s entering class to this year’s class.
While many schools have seen enrollment plunge, others have remained consistent. But very few have actually seen enrollment boosts—especially not to the tune of 22%. And Colorado Law administrators don’t have an exact answer for why.
“We’ve been really working hard at communicating our value proposition and why Colorado Law is a special place to be,” Dean Philip Weiser told the Boulder Daily Camera. “We are getting that story out there. That story picks up on the fact that we are really helping our students on the job front.”
Administrators also chalked it up to Boulder’s desirable location. Nestled at the foot of the Rockies, Boulder enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine a year while enjoying easy access to the natural playground mountains create. What’s more, it’s proximity to the blossoming Denver metro — and being the state’s flagship law school — plays a role in the ability if its graduates to secure jobs.
The school is also reporting about 200 more applicants this year compared to last (2,180 to 2,383) and a higher yield during the same time (15% to 19%). What’s more, this did not come at the expense of academic prowess. The median LSAT (161) remained the same compared to last year’s entering class and the median undergraduate GPA declined a paltry .02 (from 3.62 to 3.6). Interestingly, the amount of out-of-state students jumped from 59% to 70%.
“It’s just a really supportive environment and then not only is it supportive on the inside but then you go outside and there’s mountains right there, so it’s just a good place to be around — healthy body, healthy mind,” incoming 1L, Heidi Yim told the Daily Camera.
Yim also said while law school is competitive in nature, the students at Colorado Law aren’t out to “stab each other in the back.” Weiser believes Colorado’s culture of an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset—courtesy of the diverse experiences of faculty—is a very attractive to applicants.
“We have a very entrepreneurial student population, alumni population, who have done all sorts of interesting things,” Weiser said. “There are lots of opportunities for smart people who are creative, who know how to communicative, know how to analyze. I remain excited about what our students are going to be able to do and the careers they’re going to be able to have.”
Source: Boulder Daily Camera
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