Indiana Law Schools Buck First-Year Enrollment Dip

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First-year enrollment in J.D. programs in Indiana law schools rose 3.2% in 2019 over 2018 while the overall J.D. enrollment across the US slipped 0.27%, according to data released by the American Bar Association.

Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and Notre Dame Law School collectively enrolled a first-year class of 639 students in 2019, up from the 619 enrolled in 2018. Valparaiso Law School did not provide any data since it is no longer accepting new students and is planning to close after the 2020 spring semester concludes.

Nationally, the 1L class ticked down from 38,390 in 2018 to 38,285 in 2019. Total enrollment at all ABA-approved law schools across the country rose 1.2% to 112,882. In Indiana, total enrollment hit 1,898, a 0.5% increase from 2018.

The ABA is viewing the enrollment figures as a sign that the number of students at law schools is leveling out. Comparatively, from 2010 to 2015, the number of new law students dropped 29 percent.

Indiana’s enrollment profiles of the 2019 first-year class, according to the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, are as follows:

IU Maurer

  1. Completed applications: 1,790
  2. Offers of admission: 679
  3. Number of enrollees: 169
  4. Median LSAT: 162
  5. Median undergraduate grade point average: 3.79
  6. Number of women: 97
  7. Number of men: 72
  8. Minorities: 28
  9. IU McKinney
  10. Completed applications: 923
  11. Offers of admission: 575
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  13. Number of enrollees: 256 (196 full-time, 60 part-time)
  14. Median LSAT: 154
  15. Median undergraduate GPA: 3.50
  16. Number of women: 122
  17. Number of men: 140
  18. Minorities: 48
  19. Notre Dame
  20. Completed applications: 2,753
  21. Offers of admission: 662
  22. Number of enrollees: 214
  23. Median LSAT: 165
  24. Median undergraduate GPA: 3.74
  25. Number of women: 109
  26. Number of men: 105
  27. Minorities: 59
  28. The 1L class data is reported under the Standard 509 of the Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools. The spreadsheets, explanatory information and the ABA’s database of Standard 509 reports are available at www.abarequireddisclosures.org.

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