Expanded Law School
Gets Unexpected Growth

The halls of Carolina's newly expanded law school are a bit more crowded than expected this year, with the number of first-year students increasing by more than 30 percent, from 237 in 1999 to 320 in 2000.

With online applications available last year for many law schools, including UNC, prospective students applied to more schools across the country. UNC expected the number of applications to increase and the yield rate—the percentage of students who accepted—to decrease, since students were applying to more schools.

"It's something of a guessing game," said Dean Gene Nichol. "The law school makes offers of admission realizing that every offer is not accepted."

Nichol said the school received more applications last year and also made more offers of admission, expecting the yield rate to decrease.

Instead, the yield rate was higher than expected, with most of the increase coming from out-of-state students—a group that usually represents 25 percent of the class but this year comprises 35 percent.

Nichol said he is not sure why more students accepted than were expected, but he noted that UNC's School of Law is a well-recognized, desirable choice for many applicants. "Carolina is an attractive place and has an appealing law school," he said. "This is good news and bad news."

The bad news for the law school is having to restructure class sizes and instructors to accommodate the larger group. The school has hired more legal writing instructors, shifted faculty and expanded the number of students allowed to take certain classes. More adjustments will come as the larger class advances through law school.

Students are becoming accustomed to having a few more future lawyers around, and other than slightly crowded hallways and lack of locker space, they are adjusting.

"It's just more people around, but everyone's getting used to it," second-year student and summer orientation counselor Laura Dickey said. "The administration is adapting and getting things adjusted and seems to be working things out. Fortunately, the new addition was completed last year."