Slight increase in 1Ls for 2016, new ABA data shows
Total enrollment for ABA-accredited law schools decreased by 2.6 percent in the past year, but for first-year classes, there was an increase of 0.1 percent, according to Standard 509 Information Reports data released Thursday.
The reports are required for accredited law schools, and can be found on a ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar website, or the schools’ individual sites. Information in the reports include tuition costs, students’ average GPA and LSAT scores, and bar passage rates from 2013, 2014 and 2015, The information is verified by the legal ed section and the Law School Admission Council.
According to a statement (PDF) the section released Thursday, the accredited schools had a total of 110,951 law students in Fall 2016, and 37,107 were first-year students. Comparatively, total enrollment for Fall 2015 was 113,900, and there were 37,071 first-year law students.
Also, out of the 204 ABA-accredited law schools, 94 reported smaller 1L classes this year, while 110 indicated that their first-year classes had no size change or were larger than last year.
