美国法学院入学竞争加剧

美国法学院入学竞争加剧

http://www.gter.net 2003-04-28 09:30:29 可法网作者:Mary K Pratt

Law schools see boom in incoming-student numbers

Recent Boston College graduate Melissa Calvo isn't taking much time off
before heading back to the classroom: She'll enter Harvard Law School this
fall.

Calvo, 21, who graduated with a bachelor's in French on May 20, has had
her
eye on law school for two years now.

Although she's not sure what type of law shell pursue once she earns her
juris doctor degree, she's confident she won't have trouble landing a job.
She's not concerned about today's reported layoffs at big firms and static
starting salaries.

"The major firms are going to keep recruiting regardless of the economy,"
she said. Calvo's optimism seems to be the norm. Like many other graduate
programs, law schools are experiencing a boom in applications.

Applicants believe the sour economy, with its limited advancement
opportunities, presents the perfect chance to pursue advanced degrees.

The bump in applications won't mean more lawyers in three years, however.
Area colleges arent increasing the size of their first-year classes to
accommodate the demand. As a result, admissions officers are more
selective
in choosing the next batch of law students, leaving some aspiring
counselors locked out of their top choices for schools.

The Law School Admissions Council indicates that applications for next
year
are up nationwide about 24 percent.

"One can speculate what the reasons for that are," said Carl Monk,
executive director for the Association of American Law Schools in
Washington, D.C. "It's certainly true that, in the past, when the economy
has not been as strong, applications have generally gone up. And
sometimes,
when the economy is quite strong, applications go down."

The numbers at Northeastern University School of Law are particularly
telling. The school experienced its highest application jump in six years,
receiving 2,817 applications for fall 2002 enrollment vs. 1,947
applications for fall 2001 enrollment - a 45 percent increase.

M.J., Knoll, assistant dean and director of admissions, attributes the
jump
to two factors: "There was a demographic downturn in the '90s of students
graduating from high school into college and then college into law
school. ... Now there's more students graduating from college."

The other factor was the economy, he said.

"With a hot economy, people weren't willing to forgo making huge salaries
to go back to school," he said. "Now a lot of companies aren't hiring
young
college grads right now. That combination has created this group of people
who thought they might as well keep going."

Other area law schools are also seeing leaps in their application numbers,
although not quite as dramatic as Northeastern's numbers.

Boston University, for example, received 7,300 applications this year
2,000
more applications than last year's numbers. Harvard Law School received
7,000 applicants for fall enrollment, up from 6,000 a year ago and 5,600
two years ago.

Like many other law schools, Suffolk University, which had a 30 percent
increase in applications over last year, isn't increasing its class size.

"If anything, we're trying to downsize it a little bit. We want to make
sure we stay competitive," said Gail Ellis, dean of admissions at Suffolk
University Law School. The school expects to enroll about 350 day students
and 170 evening students.

That means there are some people who would have gotten in several years
ago, when application numbers were down, who probably won't be accepted
today, Ellis added.

Boston University School of Law reports a similar trend. Joan Horgan,
director of admissions and financial aid, said the school will admit about
1,000 students from its 7,300 applicants to get a class size of about 265.
She expects the median LSAT scores to rise as a result of the increased
competition.

"I anticipate that the quality of the incoming class in terms of their
life
experience, their community service and their grades from their
undergraduate work will also be enhanced this year, so we're obviously
very
excited about that," she said.

Even with most students taking on tens of thousands of dollars in debt to
finance law school, admissions officials said students don't seem
discouraged by the current economy and its impact on firms.

That's not to suggest, however, that the economy hasn't affected law
students. The economy, and current events as a whole, seem to influence
which careers students want to pursue, with some schools reporting an
increased interest in specialties, notably intellectual property, that are
particularly hot even in this down economy.

"I do think people respond to what's going on in the world," said Joyce
Curll, Harvard Law School's assistant dean for admissions and financial
aid. "There is an increased interest in biotech and IP. ... There's also
an
increase in public service. That's due in part to post-Sept. 11, because
people want to make their careers meaningful."

But not everyone sees law students being swayed by today's events.

"My sense is that people are going to pursue (careers) according to their
interests," Horgan said. And, she said, even those worrying about today's
slow economy are optimistic that three years is enough time for a
turnaround.

"The legal job market is softening with the rest of the economy," Horgan
said. "But people are hopeful that the legal job market will pick up."

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