[TheAngryClam]

It's gotten worse.

Applications have shot up by nearly 50% in the last three years, and all those extra students have to go somewhere- the very, very top schools don't see much difference, as they're picking the same kind of people anyway, but the mid-top level schools (say, #10-#25 or so) are seeing a surge in the average LSAT and GPA of admitted students.

[CatoRenasci]

Sigh. Law schools are generally profit centers, even for universities - the additional facilities required (except for the law library) are really pretty minimal, students pay full boat, a good chunk of the faculty can be cheap adjuncts who do it for the prestige, and the alumni tend to be wealthy and often generous. As long as those facts continue to obtain, law schools will be a growth inducstry.

I suspect you're right about the ramping up of the applicant pool, at least on paper. I know I hear about it in my UCLA Law Alumni publications. I wonder, though, if these top paper candidates are really better. There is far too much bright grindism and too little real education and knowledge among the newly minted lawyers and MBAs I see.