Despite a nationwide decrease in the number of law school applicants, Dartmouth experienced a 5 percent increase in the number of seniors who applied to law school for the 2005 academic year. Across the country, law school applications declined by 4.6 percent, the first loss in applications since the 1997-98 academic year.
According to the Law School Admission Council, 95,800 applicants sought admission to law school for the 2004-5 admission cycle. At Dartmouth, the number of law school applicants rose from 299 to 317 for the 2004-5 admissions cycle. These numbers represent first-year law school students who matriculated into law school in the fall of 2005. Data for the current class of applicants will not be unavailable until January of 2006.
The national downturn in law school applicants may be linked to the strong job market, said Karen Whittet, assistant director of Career Services.
"The job market is good, so many people may be pursuing work prior to law school," she said. "In the late '90s, when the economy was turning [for the worse], more people were applying because of the worsening job market."
Another possible cause of the decrease may be the growing cost of undergraduate education, which leaves many graduates saddled with debt.
"It is difficult for us to explain the national decrease because we aren't seeing it here," Whittet said.
Despite the drop in applicants, the law school applicant pool has become more competitive in recent years.
"I don't think the decrease in applications has made it easier to get into law school; I don't think law school will become any less competitive," Whittet said.
In 2005, the number of applicants to Columbia University decreased from 8,355 to 8,020. New York University School of Law received 7,872 applicants, down from 8,220. Only 7,127 students applied to Harvard Law School, down from 7,386 the previous year. Stanford received 4,863 applications; the year before they had 5,040.
While the number of law school applicants inched downward last year, the number of applicants to medical school has been rising since 2002. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 37,364 students applied to medical school in 2005, a 4.6 percent increase in applicants from the previous year. The nationwide increase is mirrored at Dartmouth: according to Career Services, 169 students applied to medical school in 2005, up from 129 the previous year.
A review of the number of medical school applicants over the past decade reveals the cyclical nature of these admission cycles. In 1996 the number of applicants reached a relative maximum, with 46,965 applicants. The number then decreased until 2002, when it reached a relative minimum of 33,625 applicants. Since then, the numbers have resumed an upward trend.
Tracking business school applications is more difficult. While the LSAC compiles the number of annual applications to law school and the AAMC tracks medical school applications, business schools have no corresponding national admissions tracker, said Ursula Olender, the associate director of Career Services.
