January 20, 2004

Law School Applications Soaring

Applications for admission to the University of Connecticut School of Law continue to surpass previous years' record-breaking totals.

With an application deadline of March 1, the school has already received 1,400 applications for next fall's 220-person first-year class. This represents an 11 percent increase in applicants compared with the same time last year, says Karen Demeola, assistant dean for admissions and student finance at the law school.

The number topped 1,000 just before the holidays, more than twice the number of applications the school had received by the same time three years ago. And the pace is expected to increase.

"January is always the hottest month for applications," Demeola says. "I expect we will top 1,000 applicants this month alone, which will put us well above last January's 650."

There were a total of 3,532 applicants to the law school last year. Demeola predicts that number will exceed 4,000 this year. Admissions officials attribute UConn's appeal to the high quality education it offers, its public-school price tag, and No. 40 ranking in the most recent U.S. News & World Report listing of the nation's top law schools.