The State Of Legal Salaries

Happy graduateFive Reasons Why You Should Apply To Law School This Year

 
Here’s a thought: Becoming a lawyer has never been more obvious.
Those are the words of Bloomberg Businessweek writer, Natalie Kitroeff. Forget about the sketchy job market, mountains of potential debt, and that pesky bar exam. Kitroeff even has some charts and research to back up her claims.
First, law schools need bodies. The reasoning is the number of applicants is decreasing at a much faster rate than matriculants. The law schools have kept classes stable despite not having as many applicants to choose from. This is the gift and curse (depending which side you’re on) of a revenue model built around tuition dollars. Law schools need tuition dollars to stay afloat, which means they’ll take almost as many students even if they have less to choose from.
Next, the law school admissions test (LSAT) is less competitive that it was. Specifically, there are about 40 percent fewer people taking it than five years ago and the average score for people enrolling in law school has dropped from 158 to 156. The scoring is based on a 120 to 180 point scale.
Third, a good applicant has a good chance to get in. The proof? The brain drain. In 2010, about 12,000 people applied to law school with a 165 or higher LSAT score. This past year, the number was about 6,600 people. The top schools will be competing for the best.
Building off that point, Kitroeff says the good applicants who will benefit are the ones who score in the 155 to 165 range. According to Kitroeff, those are the students who will get serious looks from good regional schools that might not have gotten those looks in 2010. About 25 percent more students with scores of 150 or less will attend law school than in 2010. That’s making the applicants in the 155 to 165 range look like quite a catch.
Finally, the job market isn’t that bad. Out of this year’s graduates, 93 percent who held summer associate jobs received job offers. Firms are reporting to the National Association for Law Placement an increase in hires from 2013 to 2014. Of course you never know what will happen in three years. But, at least some trends are pointing to law school not being the worst idea in the world.
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
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