Law Schools

Arizona Law School Preying On Low-Information Prospective Law Students

A word of caution before you go to Arizona Law, or any other law school, make sure you look closely at employment stats.

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sad studentThis is only surprising if you haven’t been paying attention. When Arizona Law announced they were going to accept the GRE in lieu of the LSAT, we knew this is what would happen. Amid declining applications, Arizona made the decision to make it easier to apply to their school. Couched in the language of increasing diversity of their student body, many felt this move to lower admission standards was primarily done to gets butts in seats. That’s how they make their money after all, and if lowering the range of acceptable LSAT scores isn’t doing the job, then accepting the GRE might do the trick.

The problem with that, of course, is that this targets potential students who probably haven’t thought much about going to law school. If you aren’t serious enough about the prospect of law school to take the LSAT, you probably haven’t delved into the employment statistics in a serious way. And that’s just what Arizona is hoping for.

Take a look at this ad that Arizona placed in the Prelaw Advisors National Conference Program held last week:

Notice that last little bullet point? 2.8% unemployment nine months post-graduation? The hell? Where’d that come from? Because, despite referencing U.S. News and World Report, that publication puts the employment rate at graduation at 36.1%, which they define as “the percentage of all 2014 graduates who had a full-time job lasting at least a year for which bar passage was required or a J.D. degree was an advantage.” Okay, that data is a year old, but Law School Transparency has the numbers for the Class of 2015 and they aren’t anywhere near what Arizona is boasting. Just 72.9% of the class are in full-time, long-term jobs, and 9.7% are totally out of work. That is 3 times more than what Arizona’s ad says.

If you’ve researched law school employment data (and you should definitely do that before you take out any loans to attend), just a glance at the number should give you an inkling that something is amiss. But by targeting students that have only taken the GRE, Arizona is trying to get students who are not as well-versed in law school realities. It also perpetuates the unrealistic expectation that going to law school is your ticket to a secure career, which too many recent grads know is a lie.

So a word of caution before you go to Arizona Law, or any other law school: Make sure it is really what you want to do, and that the school you are going to can get you the job you want. A J.D. isn’t some magical degree that will solve all your career worries — you may wind up with a pile full of debt and no $180,000 job waiting for you.

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UPDATE 6/21/16 7:56am: Arizona Law School reached out to Above the Law regarding this article. The 2.8% unemployment rate the advertisement references is a break down of the 9.7% unemployment rate listed in the Law School Transparency number listed above. Arizona’s ad is only referencing the individuals who are unemployed and seeking work at the time of reporting. That’s a fair enough point, but there are also graduates in non-professional jobs, in part-time employment and in short-term jobs that are not captured by the 2.8% number.

The school would also like it to be known that prospective students should research job statistics. YES. Do that, look especially hard at the number of graduates in long-term, full-time jobs. Make sure the time it takes and the money you are spending (or borrowing) make a real difference to the career you want. And you should also probably take the LSAT.

Arizona’s statement:

In response to today’s article about our employment numbers, I’d like to point out the following corrections:

  • The 2.8% number used in this ad is indeed our unemployment number as listed on our Class of 2015 ABA Report, representing the 4 out of 144 graduates who were unemployed and seeking work at the reporting deadline.

  • The ad clearly states that 2.8% refers to the Class of 2015 9 months after graduation, so it is inaccurate to compare it to the Class of 2014 at graduation number. Different class, different timeline.

  • When checking the data completely, you’ll see that 2.8% is actually listed as our unemployment rate on the Law School Transparency data you referenced. (See attached chart or just click on the Non-Employed bar to see the breakdown.)

  • The 9.7% number is an inaccurate comparison in that it is actually our non-employed number (Law School Transparency’s label) and includes the 2.8% who are unemployed PLUS those who are pursuing graduate school, have deferred employment, are unemployed but not seeking work, and those for whom employment status is unknown. Hence the discrepancy.

  • Arizona Law offers detailed employment reporting and statistics on our website and in promotional materials, including this recent news article, which clearly explains our employment and unemployment numbers, including those with full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage: https://law.arizona.edu/record-setting-year-arizona-law-employment.

  • It is completely untrue that Arizona Law is lowering admissions standards or hoping that potential students don’t look carefully at employment outcomes, and you have no evidence to support these claims.

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Earlier: Arizona Law Picked A Fight With A Big Dog
Law Schools Reveal Their Future Plans For The LSAT And GRE
The Future Is ‘Bleak’ For Law Students And Law School Graduates
Vivisection Of A Dying Law School

Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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