Colorado Law School Enrollment: A Deep Data Dive

By
Matt Suoja
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An image of a large brown building with a tower sticking up above. In the foreground a pond and grass can be seen.
Both the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the University of Colorado Law School recently gave insight into their enrollment for the last decade and changes they are making to the recruitment process. / Law Week file.

In recent years, there have been changes to how many people are enrolling in law school, who they are and the recruitment process.

In 2020, juris doctorate enrollment sat at 114,520 for the fall term in the U.S. for schools accredited by the American Bar Association and by 2022, it had trickled up to 116,723. There are about 1.3 million lawyers in the U.S., rising about 7% over the past decade. 


Overall, enrollment at Colorado law schools has stayed strong. Recently, Law Week Colorado caught up with both law schools to find out how their data stacks up.

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law new enrollment sat at 281 for first-year students in the fall of 2022, which was up from 254 in 2021 and the second highest it’s been since 2013. The University of Denver Sturm College of Law expects a class of around 275 in 2023.

Iain Davis, the assistant dean of admissions and student financial management at the school, said a big reason for the increase in 2022 is COVID-19. He said the first year of COVID hit at the end of the school’s early admission cycle, so some people in that cycle who graduated from undergrad planned to go out in the workforce, but didn’t because of the pandemic.

University of Denver Sturm College of Law first-year students J.D. degree data only (data according to fall semester enrollment) At the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2022 for first-year students during the fall, 2,115 applied to the school, 281 were matriculated, 236 had full-time enrollment, 45 were part-time, LSAT scores for the 75th percentile were 162 while the median was 160 and the 25th percentile was 156. For 2022 first-year students, GPA was 3.75 for the 75th percentile, 3.60 for the median and 3.27 for the 25th percentile, while the median age of a student was 25 and 30% of the class was diverse with 54% of the class being from out of the state, and 104 were male, 173 were female and four were non-binary. For the 2021 class of first-year students in the fall, 2,717 applied, 254 were matriculated, 212 were full-time and 42 were part-time. Their LSAT score for the 75th percentile was 162 while the median score was 160 and the 25th percentile was 157. The 75th percentile GPA was 3.77 while the median was 3.63 and the 25th percentile was 3.36. Median age was 24 while the class was 20% diverse, there was 49% out-of-state enrollment, 86 were male, 165 were female and three were non-binary. For the 2020 class of first-year students in the fall, 2,136 applied, 261 were matriculated, 228 had full-time enrollment, 33 had part-time enrollment, the 75th percentile LSAT was 161, the median LSAT was 159 and the 25th percentile was 155. The 75th percentile GPA was 3.74, the median was 3.55 and the 25th percentile was 3.20. The median age was 24, the class was 26% diverse and there was 48% out-of-state enrollment. There were 103 male students and 158 female. For the 2019 class of first-year students in the fall, 2,332 applied, 274 were matriculated, 239 had full-time enrollment, 35 had part-time enrollment, the 75th percentile LSAT was 161, while 159 was the median and 155 was the 25th percentile LSAT. The 75th percentile GPA was 3.67, the median was 3.49 and the 25th percentile was 3.18. The median age was 25 while the class was 18% diverse and there was 56% out-of-state enrollment. There were 132 male and 140 female students. For the 2018 class of first-year students in the fall, there were 2,565 applications, 247 matriculated, 211 who had full-time enrollment and 36 that were part-time. The 75th percentile LSAT was 160, while the median was 158 and the 25th percentile was 154. The 75th percentile GPA was 3.63, the median was 3.45 and the 25th percentile was 3.18. The median age was 25 while 21% of the field was diverse and 45% of the students were from out of state. There were 108 male and 139 female students. For the 2017 class of first-year students in the fall, 2,383 applied, 250 were matriculated, 214 had full-time enrollment and 36 were part-time. The 75th percentile LSAT was 159, while the median was 157 and the 25th percentile was 151. The 75th percentile GPA was 3.63 while the median was 3.46 and the 25th percentile was 3.13. The median age was 24, the class was 23% diverse and 44% were from out-of-state. 106 students were male and 144 were female. For the 2016 class of first-year students in the fall, 2,174 applied, 249 were matriculated, 213 were full-time and 36 were part-time. The 75th percentile LSAT was 158, the median was 157 and the 25th percentile was 152. The 75th percentile GPA was 3.60, the median was 3.39 and the 25th percentile was 3.11. The median age was 25, 22% were diverse, 44% were from out-of-state, 119 were male and 130 were female. For the 2015 class of first-year students in the fall, 2,508 applied, 252 were matriculated, 221 had full-time enrollment and 31 were part-time. The 75th percentile LSAT was 158, the median was 157 and the 25th percentile was 154. The 75th percentile GPA was 3.62, the median was 3.43 and the 25th percentile was 3.14. The median age was 24, 21% of the class was diverse, 51% were from out of state, 131 were male and 121 were female. For the 2014 class of first-year students in the fall, 1,600 applied, 260 were matriculated, 225 had full-time enrollment and 35 had part-time enrollment. The 75th percentile LSAT was 159, the median was 156 and the 25th percentile was 151. The 75th percentile GPA was 3.62, the median was 3.40 and the 25th percentile was 3.11. The median age was 24, the class was 21% diverse, 48% were from out-of-state and there were 119 male and 141 female students. For the 2013 class of first-year students in the fall, 1,765 applied, 289 were matriculated, 247 had full-time enrollment and 42 had part-time enrollment. The 75th percentile LSAT was 160, the median was 158 and the 25th percentile was 152. The 75th percentile GPA was 3.65, the median was 3.43 and the 25th percentile was 3.20. The median age was 24, 15% of the class was diverse, 44% were from out-of-state, 149 were male and 140 were female.
The University of Denver Sturm College of Law recently released data to Law Week Colorado concerning enrollment. / Chart created by Chalyn Tallman for Law Week Colorado.

“We’d already made all of our offers for the most part for that year,” Davis said. “So there were a lot of people in the applicant pool late that didn’t get to go to law school. So they put themselves into the next cycle early on, but then we got into the thick of COVID the second year, so we had people almost spill over into the next application cycle for two cycles.”

Diversity of students has also been growing at the school as 2022 was the most diverse first-year class in the last 10 years with 30% of students being racially/ethnically diverse. Davis noted this is a national phenomenon. Almost every year in the last 10, more women have also been first-year students at the school, which is also a national trend.

“Across the board, we’re trying to diversify the legal profession,” Davis said.

Over recent years, recruiting efforts have changed at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Traditionally, recruiters would go to recruitment fairs and smaller visits to individual universities. With COVID restrictions in place, they weren’t able to travel.

“As a function of necessity, we had to do things differently, and what I’m finding personally is I’m making more individual contact with applicants now then I ever had done before … mostly through Zoom,” Davis continued. “There are those who are applying to six or seven law schools across the country. For a lot of people, it’s just not reasonable to be able to get on a plane and pay for plane trips.”

Davis added after a Zoom call that goes well, the student is more likely to travel to Denver to check out the school.  

University of Colorado Law School

The University of Colorado Law School had one of its smallest first-year enrollments in about a decade with 165 first-year students for 2021-22 (its 2022-23 numbers haven’t been published yet). 

Alan Schieve, the director of admissions at the school, said it generally brings in between 160 to 180 students, and last year the school was very intentional about staying around 160 to keep within a range of total JD enrollment at the school.

University of Colorado Law School First-Year Students J.D. Degree Data Only At the University of Colorado Law School for first-year students for 2010-2011, which is the class of 2014, there were 3,178 applications, 163 matriculated, a median LSAT of 164 and a median GPA of 3.635. The class was 25.20% diverse, 46% were from Colorado, 48% were female, the average age was 25 with an age range of 21-53 and 99 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students in 2011-12, which is the class of 2015, there were 2,802 applications, 152 were matriculated, the median LSAT was 164 and the median GPA was 3.65. 18% were diverse, 45% were from Colorado, 45% were female, the average age was 25 with an age range of 21-46 and 86 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students in 2012-13, which is the class of 2016, the were 2,320 applications, 184 matriculated, a median LSAT of 162, a median GPA of 3.58, 24% were diverse, 34% were from Colorado, 44% were female, the average age was 25 and 114 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students in 2013-14, which is the class of 2017, there were 2,180 applications, 168 matriculated, a 161 median LSAT, a median GPA of 3.615, 18% who were diverse, 41% that were from Colorado, 46% that were female, the average age was 25 with an age range between 21-56 and 105 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students in 2014-15, which is the class of 2018, there were 2,383 applications, 205 matriculated, a median LSAT of 161, a median GPA of 3.6, 17% were diverse, 30% were from Colorado, 47% were female, the average age was 25 with a range between 21-59 and 138 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students in 2015-16, which is the class of 2019, there were 3,299 applications, 170 matriculated, 162 was the median LSAT, 3.69 was the median GPA, 23% were diverse, 39% were from Colorado, 56% were female, the average age was 25 with a range between 21-40 and 107 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students in 2016-17, which was the class of 2020, there were 3,077 applications, 190 matriculated, a median LSAT of 161, a median GPA of 3.65, 29% were diverse, 30% were from Colorado, 51% were female, the average age was 25 with a range between 21-38 and 125 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students for 2017-18, which is the class of 2021, there were 3,588 applications, 172 matriculated, the median LSAT was 162 and the median GPA was 3.71, 28% were diverse, 39% were from Colorado, 53% were female, the average age was 25 with a range between 20-49 and 107 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students in 2018-19, which is the class of 2022, there were 3,190 applications, 179 matriculated, a 163 median LSAT, a 3.61 median GPA, 33% were diverse, 38% of the class was from Colorado, 55% were female, the average age was 25 with a range between 20-40 and 111 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students for 2019-20, which is the class of 2023, there were 2,792 applications, 185 matriculated, a 163 median LSAT, a 3.65 median GPA, 36% were diverse, 28% were from Colorado, 49% were female, the average age was 25 with a range between 21-41 and 116 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students in 2020-21, which is the class of 2024, there were 3,749 applications, 172 matriculated, a median LSAT of 164, a median GPA of 3.61, 32% were diverse, 31% were from Colorado, 55% were female, the average age was 25 with a range between 21-38 and 113 undergraduate schools were represented. For first-year students for 2021-22, which is the class of 2025, there were 3,231 applications, 165 matriculated, a median LSAT of 164, a median GPA of 3.72, 33% were diverse, 38% were from Colorado, 56% were female, the average age was 25 with an age range between 21-60 and 115 undergraduate schools were represented.
The University of Colorado Law School recently released enrollment data to Law Week Colorado. / Chart created by Chalyn Tallman for Law Week Colorado.

The 2021-22 first-year class was also one of its most diverse in more than a decade, sitting at 33% diversity concerning race and ethnicity.

“We wanted to be as representative of the people of America as possible,” Schieve said. “We’re making efforts to attract [and] recruit … diverse students.”

The 2021-22 first-year students were 56% women, which is tied for the highest percentage at the school in more than a decade. Most of the first-year classes at the University of Colorado Law School recently are majority women, which Schieve said happened organically.

The pandemic also affected the University of Colorado Law School enrollment process which saw a dip in applications for the 2019-20 first-year class. 

“It definitely impacted us not attending recruitment events,” Schieve said, noting the school did more virtual events during the pandemic, but are going to more in-person recruitment events now.

The University of Colorado Law School even created a virtual tour video after the school saw a huge increase in requests for that. The University of Denver Sturm College of Law did something similar. Schieve added there will still be virtual events going forward, but expects more to be in-person than virtual.

According to the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel 2022 report, there are 28,292 attorneys with active licenses in the state which is an increase from the 28,060 attorneys recorded in the OARC.

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