Applications down at law schools

NEW YORK, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The number of people applying to U.S. law schools dropped by almost 10 percent this year, with smaller applicant polls even at top schools like Harvard.

Some possible reasons for the decline include an improving economy -- which makes the work world more attractive compared to school -- and the large amounts of undergraduate debt students have taken on, making them less likely to continue in school.

David E. Kelley, creator of the TV series "Boston Legal," suggested another reason why admissions numbers might be cyclical.

"The more lawyers there are, the more people are out there to encourage others not to go to law school," Kelley told the New York Times.

The numbers appear to bear out the theory that at least some applicants use law school as a haven when the economy sours.

The biggest hike in applicants came just after the dot-com implosion, with a record 100,600 applying in 2003-2004 -- which dropped to 95,800 the following year. So far in the current cycle, schools have received 60,397 applications, a drop of almost 6,000 from the same point in 2004-2005.