Graduate Education: The Recession Free Profession

As the economy pitches into a recession, applications to business school, according to the WSJ, seem to be climbing.  With the assorted layoffs and bankruptcies, apparently some in the financial industry are deciding that this is a good time to go back to school.  As the Journal noted:

• With financial markets in turmoil, the economy slowing down and Wall Street undergoing a profound structural change, many people are deciding that now is a good time to head back to school. Some would-be students are the victim of layoffs roiling the financial industry. Others think their jobs could disappear soon. Even some applicants whose jobs are currently stable are deciding that it makes sense to go for a graduate degree now -- since promotions and new opportunities could be hard to find in the next few years.

Since its early in the application cycle, any discussion of an increase in numbers is, at this point, anecdotal and speculative.  But the logic is compelling.  During times of economic hardship, graduate school represents an nice refuge.

So how about law schools?  My admissions people at the Sturm College of Law tell me there is no clear sign yet that numbers will be up.  That being said, there is still time.  The number of students taking the LSAT test in December will likely provide a good hint as to whether, in an otherwise difficult economy, the professional schools should expect a banner year. 

Comments

[Greg]

My understanding is that usually in down times the applications for graduate school, including law school, go up. The only one that stays the same is medical school, mainly because the amount of time that it takes for someone to become a doctors, whereas the others are at most 3 years, and usually two. Just the right amount of time to ride out a recession.

[Amy]

Actually, it depends on what you mean by "graduate school" getting a PhD on average is 5-7 years depending on your dissertation. That's as risky a time investment as medical school and may not be as profitable.