The University Law School saw a significant increase in admission applications this year, as the school received 20 percent more applications this year compared to last year, said Jason Wu Trujillo, senior assistant dean for admissions and financial aid.
Trujillo said the school received 7,870 applications this year, compared to 6,548 applications last year.
The increase in applications came almost entirely from out-of-state students, Trujillo said.
“I think that the Law School is becoming much more national,” he added. “We’re much more competitive.”
Although the current economic recession could have something to do with the increase of students pursuing legal careers, Law School Dean Paul Mahoney said the Law School’s increase in applications “has been larger than most law schools’.”
Trujillo noted that he believes the school’s attempt to increase electronic outreach also could have contributed to the rise in applications.
“I think Virginia is just rising to the top of the food chain of various national law schools,” Trujillo said. “We’re becoming very competitive and everyone is starting to realize it.”
Mahoney said he largely attributes the application increase to “the incredible success that our graduates have in the job market.”
Future graduates also may be able to claim they attended a more selective school than previous graduates. Although the number of applications increased, Trujillo said the Law School accepted 150 less students this year compared to last year. Because the school overenrolled 21 students last year, it wanted to be more careful this year.
In spite of the school’s increased selectivity, Trujillo expressed some anxiety about the number of students who attended the Law School’s first Admitted Student Day this year. He noted that 270 people showed up — at least 100 more students than in previous years.
Although the Law School gave fewer offers than last year, it has seen an increase in admissions deposits, Trujillo said. Compared to last year, there is a 20 percent increase in the number of students who have accepted their offers. Thus, although the admission deposit deadline is not until April 30, there already are enough students putting down deposits early to cease offering admissions.
“The class is full,” Trujillo said. “Deposits are coming in at such a great speed that we’re done for now.”
Though the University’s undergraduate schools no longer offer early admissions, the Law School still admits a small fraction of students early.
“Once again, applying early is always an advantage,” he said, “and it seems to be true this year more than any other year.”
Update: corrected the numbers of applications.
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