LSAC Data and Predicting Number of Applicants for Fall 2014, part 6

Following up on my recent posts on LSAC data on LSAT administrations and applications for fall 2014, I wanted to call attention to these statements from the LSAC:  "As of 1/31/14, there are 209,007 fall 2014 applications submitted by 29,638 applicants. Applicants are down 14.5% and applications are down 14.6% from 2013.  Last year at this time, we had 58% of the preliminary final applicant count."  If this year's applicants follow last year's pattern, we'll have approximately 51,110 total applicants for the class entering in fall 2014.  Dan Filler has some historical data on the first year enrollment from 1964 to 2012 here.  I link to some more comprehensive data (going back to the 1940s) here.  

Comments

[Former Law Review Editor]

The drop is accelerating. That's unreal. Conceivably, there could be fewer than 50,000 applicants this year.

[steep but steady]

Big picture it may or may not be accelerating. Just as likely that the percentage drop in applicant for this cycle will continue at the same steep but steady rate.

If so, it's a problem for law school administrators.