Mason law school faces declining application rate

Applications to the George Mason University School of Law have been declining over the past decade (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

With law school application rates declining nationwide, George Mason University School of Law has not been exempt for the 2013–2014 academic year.

Mason’s law school has seen a steady decline in applications since 2009, but the drop this year appears unusually large. According to a recent Fairfax Times report the school could be facing as large as a 50 percent drop in applications from 2012 to 2013.

Dean Daniel Polsby of the Mason School of Law attributed the problem to the economy.

“When the price of legal education gets too high, demand for it will decline,” Polsby wrote in an email.

According to data published by the Law School Admissions Council, nationwide applications for law schools have been falling at a steady pace since 2004, apart from a small spike in 2010. In 2004, a total of 100,600 people applied to law school, while preliminary data for 2012 showed the number at 68,000.

The rate of decline has increased in the past three years, but the overall trend suggests other factors may be at work besides the weak economy, including strong competition.

The school faces a steeper decline in applications than the national average, and competitor schools, like William & Mary, have seen an increase in applications.

Polsby said that despite the decline in applicants, the law school’s “yield” has increased, meaning that a higher percentage of admitted students are attending the school. And no matter the cause, he seemed confident in the school’s future.

“Some law schools may not survive this wring-out,” he said, “but George Mason definitely will.”

Another possible reason for Mason’s fall in applications is the annual U.S. News and World Report ranking of law schools. George Mason was ranked 41; several area competitors scored higher, including William and Mary at 34, George Washington University at 21, and Georgetown University at 14.

Connect2Mason earlier reported that Mason’s law school recently hired Judge Douglas Ginsburg, a highly respected jurist. This added prestige could serve to keep the school competitive with its neighbors and increase its esteem.