According to a Kaplan Test Prep 2015 survey, UNM was among the “largest sources of applicants in the entire country in 2014,” and the number of applicants to the law school is expected to increase this academic year.
According to Kaplan Test Prep’s released 2015 survey of law school admissions officers, the vast majority of law schools predict they are going to see something they haven’t seen in years: “an increase in applications.”
“That points to possibly the most competitive law school admission cycle in years,” according to the survey.
The survey alleges 88 percent of law schools are confident that they will see a spike in applications for the 2015-16 cycle. Kaplan Test Prep is a provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses, according to the organization’s website.
The UNM School of Law had 719 applications for the Fall 2015 entering class, according to UNM School of Law officials. The school had 636 applications for the Fall 2014 entering class. The number of applications increased by about 13 percent this past year.
“It is a little early in the application cycle to predict how law schools will fair this year around the country,” said Jeffery Dubinski-Neessen, assistant dean for admissions and financial aid. ”Our application deadline isn’t until March 1.”
According to the Law School Admissions Council, the Mountain Region (of which UNM is a part) was the only region in the country to see an increase in applications last year, so law schools could be in for another good year, he said.
“This past year the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid made sure to focus its recruitment efforts on New Mexico and the surrounding Southwest region,” he said. “We also improved our communications and outreach to prospective applicants in order to share the strengths of our great school.”
The UNM School of Law is a dynamic institution with a supportive student body and expert faculty members who are invested in the success of their students, he said.
“We offer students a great education at a great value. We have one of the highest employment rates in the country and offer very affordable tuition, which recently earned the school National Jurist’s ranking of sixth-best value law school in the country,” Dubinski-Neessen said.
In addition to being New Mexico’s law school, it enjoys the fact of being a small school with a population of roughly 345, he said.
“Students get a lot of individualized attention from faculty and staff,” he said. “We also have an incredibly strong connection with the State’s Bench and Bar Association, which provide innumerable mentorship and professional development opportunities for our students.”
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Many of the law school students are New Mexicans, and they want to study in their home state and serve their communities, Dubinski-Neessen said.
“Our school helps them do just that,” he said. “There is a need for great lawyers to help communities around New Mexico, and our students and alumni are serving this need and the people of this state.”
Tamara Williams, communications and marketing manager at the UNM Law School, said one of the things that make the school attractive is the small size of classes and the individual support students get from faculty.
“We’re known for having a really congenial environment here,” she said.
Sayyed Shah is the assistant news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at assistant-news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @mianfawadshah
