More people were going to law school in the past year than ever before, and many of them are saying that it is because of financial insecurity. For this reason, applicants to law school increased at UChicago, so upperclassmen can expect more competition.
The Latest Trend
The Associate Dean for Admissions at UChicago stated that applications to law school are up 20% across the nation, and that is comparable to the numbers she is seeing for UChicago.
Anne Perry, Associate Dean for Admissions, stated that more people return to school during times of economic insecurity. They often choose graduate school or law school so that they will be in a better position to take the jobs that will be offered when the economy begins to improve.
Analysts Weigh in on the Trend
According to analysts, the increased number of law school applicants is due to several things. They include the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the unfriendly political climate and racial unrest. Future law student, Brian Uhler, stated that he is going to law school because of the increase in unemployment that COVID-19 caused. He disagrees with the reasons that the analysts above gave for the increase in law school applications.
According to Uhler, the death of Justice Ginsburg, Donald Trump’s policies that were expected to upset the job market and racial injustice played a rather insignificant role in the increase in law school applications.
The Pandemic’s Contribution to the Trend
Law schools are choosing applicants based on the pandemic. They used to hold training sessions around the country, but now, everything has to be held online. Doing Zoom events made them realize that they can reach more people than they could with live events. They may be the reason that even more people are applying to law school.
Now that more people are applying to law school, the field is much more competitive. Brian Uhler knew that he wanted to be a lawyer since he was 13 years old, but he sees that earning a high score on the Law School Admission Test may not be enough to get him in. Even high scorers are being placed on waiting lists or denied entry when they ordinarily would have been accepted with open arms.
The Conclusion
The Office of Career Advancement stated that law school applicants are enjoying great success with their applications to law school. The Career Advancement Team stated that 97% of law school applicants have been accepted at the top-20 law schools that they applied to attend.
Anne Perry has advice for the future law school applicants of America. If they are concerned about how hard it will be for them to be accepted at law school, Ms. Perry suggests that they start the application process early. They must focus on letting the law school know why they are the best choices for admission rather than how many other people are also applying. In the end, if they aren’t accepted, it’s not the end of the world. The law school will still be there next year.
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