Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Thursday, March 28, 2024

UF undergraduates applying to law schools made up the largest pool of applicants in the country last year. But not all of those applicants decided to apply to the UF Levin College of Law.

“Overall, our applications were down last year and the same as most of the law schools (in the country),” said George Dawson, Levin College of Law interim dean.

A survey released by Kaplan Test Prep showed that law school admissions officers are optimistic about increasing applicants despite low statistics.

“I think that, probably, law schools as a whole nationally have significantly decreased, and a lot of the seats have been eliminated because there are not enough applicants,” Dawson said.

Jeff Thomas, executive director of pre-law programs for Kaplan Test Prep, said the number of applications to law school is closely related to the economy.

“When the economy is not doing so well, the number of students who go to law school tends to increase,” Thomas said.

For the past five years, applications have declined, forcing law schools to either take fewer students or students who are less qualified to fill seats, he said.

UF’s law school has decreased its graduating class size, Dawson said, and fewer students took the LSAT in September. Dawson said it is possible for the number of applicants to increase in the coming years, but he doesn’t expect it to happen this year.

The large number of UF undergraduates applying to law schools accounts for the university’s overall size and strong undergraduate programs, Thomas said.

“There are many colleges in the country that don’t have pre-law classes,” he said.

UF offers pre-law academic advising and provides a list of courses and majors to prepare students for law school.

“Just because the number of applicants has decreased, that does not mean that it is necessarily easier to get into law school,” Thomas said.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox

[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 10/30/2014]

Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Independent Florida Alligator and Campus Communications, Inc.