Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Fewer applications mean smaller classes, more experiential learning at CT law schools

  • by Grace Merritt
  • October 25, 2013
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The recession has not been kind to law schools. The triple threat of rapidly rising tuition, crippling student debt and shrinking prospects of landing a high-paying job right away have resulted in a 30-year national low in law school applications.

Connecticut’s law schools have not been immune to this dramatic shift and have responded by shrinking the class size and focusing more on career preparation.

“Interest has been down and is still down in attending law school,” said Ellen Rutt, associate dean for enrollment management at the UConn School of Law.

Nationally, the number of law school applicants dropped by 17 percent this year, following a 13.5 percent drop in 2012. And it looks like a 12.3 percent drop is coming this year, though final figures are not in yet, said Wendy Margolis, spokeswoman for the Law School Admission Council.

At the height of law schools’ popularity in 2004, there were 100,600 applicants nationally. This year there were 59,426, she said.

After years of rapidly rising tuition costs and a contraction in the number of $160,000-a-year jobs for first-year associates, law schools have come under increasing scrutiny. Bloggers have chronicled graduates unable to find jobs and staggering under massive debt, and the media has questioned practices designed to puff up law school rankings.

To increase transparency, the American Bar Association now requires law schools to publish detailed statistics on their website for prospective students, including what percent of students get jobs using their law degrees nine months after graduating.

Rutt, who has been out recruiting for UConn’s law school, said she still gets resistance from college seniors, but has started to see more interest from first-year students.

Connecticut’s three law schools – Quinnipiac, UConn and Yale – have responded to the downturn variously. Both UConn and Quinnipiac have dropped their class size to accommodate the shift. Quinnipiac, which had a huge drop in applications this year, reduced its class size from 127 to 84 in order to maintain the school’s selectivity, said Ed Wilkes, associate vice president and dean of law admissions at Quinnipiac.

“Quality is most important thing,” Wilkes said.

UConn has put more of a focus on getting students career-ready. This year, UConn adopted a new requirement for students to complete a clinic or externship in order to graduate.

“It’s an intensive, carefully supervised, real lawyering experience before graduating from law school,” said Paul Chill, recently appointed as the school’s first associate dean for clinical and experiential education. He said only 15 or 16 law schools in the country have such a requirement.

“That’s a wonderful requirement,” Rutt said. “I think that it helps to present even greater opportunities to students. I also think it might help them find a practice area they didn’t even know anything about.”

Quinnipiac and Yale say they have put a focus on experiential and clinical learning for years.

Yale spokeswoman Jan Conroy said Yale has not made any major changes in response to the national dip in applications.

“We’re a very small school and, off the top of my head, I don’t recall any significant changes,” Conroy said. “It doesn’t really affect our enrollment. We only fill about 200 slots a year. We never have to scramble to fill slots here.”

Wilkes suggested that despite the turmoil facing most law schools, the changes have brought about more transparency, smaller classes and more of a focus on practical experience.

“Maybe this is a correction that was needed in the law school admissions world,” he said.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grace Merritt

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Democrats want CT to spend $180 million more on municipal aid. What does that mean for your town?
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

Legislative Democrats recommend that the state spend $180 million or 7.4% more more in municipal aid next fiscal year.

Legislature presents its own budget plan, and the stage is set for debate
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Democrats on the Appropriations Committee and Gov. Ned Lamont are headed for a showdown over the next two-year state budget.

CT Democrats to propose beefed-up spending plan
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The Appropriations Committee will propose a two-year state spending plan Wednesday that bolsters municipal aid, higher education and social services.

One step Connecticut can take to address our maternal mortality crisis
by Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD

Uncertainty. Fear. Worry. These are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that run through the minds of almost every expecting parent. And for many expecting Black parents, those feelings can be more acute. That’s because for far too many, having a child is a life and death struggle.

Connecticut lawmakers on aid in dying: two decades of delay, deferral, obstruction
by Paul Bluestein, MD

Very soon, members of the Connecticut House and Senate will be voting on HB6425, - the Medical Aid in Dying bill. More than 20 years ago, Oregon implemented its Death with Dignity Act. Since then, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Washington DC, Hawaii and most recently New Mexico have passed legislation authorizing medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. But not Connecticut.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion One step Connecticut can take to address our maternal mortality crisis
by Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD

Uncertainty. Fear. Worry. These are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that run through the minds of almost every expecting parent. And for many expecting Black parents, those feelings can be more acute. That’s because for far too many, having a child is a life and death struggle.

Opinion Connecticut lawmakers on aid in dying: two decades of delay, deferral, obstruction
by Paul Bluestein, MD

Very soon, members of the Connecticut House and Senate will be voting on HB6425, - the Medical Aid in Dying bill. More than 20 years ago, Oregon implemented its Death with Dignity Act. Since then, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Washington DC, Hawaii and most recently New Mexico have passed legislation authorizing medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. But not Connecticut.

Opinion The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition
by Georgia Goldburn

When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to […]

Opinion A progressive income tax to re-align Connecticut’s moral compass
by Ezra Kaprov

Redistribution of wealth and property is a fundamental and missing pillar of the hope for multi-racial democracy in the United States.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s […]

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is […]

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO