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Law admissions down, competition rises
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by Carl Jaeger
Friday, November 30, 2007
Although the number of law school applicants has declined
across the country, a study conducted this summer revealed admissions have
nonetheless become more competitive.
Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions surveyed 190 law schools
across America — including the University of Wisconsin — focusing on
competitiveness and evaluations of applicants.
The survey, according to Kaplan assistant director for
pre-law programs Glen Stohr, was meant to provide an additional resource for law
school applicants.
"What we’re always interested in doing is having the most up-to-date
information, and the most accurate information … for people to come to us
because we’re a great place for anybody to get information on how to apply
[and] what the trends are," Stohr said.
Stohr said despite half of the surveyed schools reporting a
decline in applicants, 79 percent of those schools said the decline has not
made their law school any less competitive.
UW has always been "one of the top feeder schools" into law
schools, Stohr said, as during the 2005-06 academic year, UW had the seventh-highest
number of law school applicants, with 738.
The top feeder school was the University of California-Los
Angeles, followed by the University of Florida and the University of Texas.
Stohr also said the survey found 44 percent of colleges said
the biggest law school "application killer" is unimpressive writing skills.
Although the writing section of the LSATs is not scored, 75
percent of schools said they take the section, as well as the applicant's
personal statement, into consideration when admitting students.
"When you prepare for the LSAT, you want to make sure you’re
preparing in a way that not only improves your LSAT score, but also gives you
the chance to practice and improve the writing section, too," Stohr said.
Stohr also said he believed the new comparative reading
section of the LSATs that was added in June did not play a role in the decrease
of applicants.
"I think it has much more to do with large-scale factors in
terms of the economy and what kind of jobs are available for people who are
graduating right now," Stohr said.
UW senior Dan Exler, who recently completed the law school
admissions process, said the process was "stressful," and wished it was more
intimate.
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