Explaining the Cornell Law School Boom

I noted last week that applications to Cornell Law School were up 44 percent; the Sun reported yesterday that applications are now up a record 52 percent (although the teaser on page 1 said "44 percent"...).

Why the incredible increase? After talking yesterday with a couple of Cornell law students, it seems like the increase is being driven by three factors.

First is the national increase in people going to law school. LSAT test-taking is up around 20 percent, and that probably means that applications are increasing at most schools. The Times had an article a while ago which speculated that people spent the first year of the Great Recession stunned, or looking for work, and are spending the second year of the recession looking for graduate programs. National trends certainly play a role in Cornell's numbers.

Second is Cornell's position in the law school rankings (13th-ish). As more people apply to law schools, Cornell's position makes it appealing to two groups of applicants. People who think they can get in to the top 10 schools may also apply to Cornell, since they figure there are so many people applying this year that they should apply to a few less competitive schools as well. At the same time, Cornell's position outside of the top 10 means that weaker applicants may still think they have a chance to gain admission to Cornell. Cornell's position enables it to benefit both from an increase in top admissions candidates, as well as an increase in weaker admissions candidates.

These two factors alone shouldn't completely explain Cornell's dramatic increase in applicants. This is where a third factor comes in.

Imagine that you've lost your job during the recession and plan to attend law school. If you're looking at strong law schools in the northeast, Cornell may be more appealing than the NYC schools. Your savings will last you a lot longer in Ithaca than in Manhattan, and you're not sacrificing too much by going to Cornell instead of Columbia or NYU. Rent, food, and everything else is a lot cheaper upstate.