Markets in Everything: U Miami Paying Accepted Law Students $5K to Defer Admission One Year
At a time when law-school graduates are facing greater debt and fewer job opportunities, the University of Miami School of Law has offered to pay accepted students to stay away—at least for a year. The school's unusual offer, which followed an unexpectedly high number of acceptances for this fall's entering class, comes during a period of soul searching in legal education about just how many lawyers the nation needs and whether educators have an obligation to paint a realistic picture of students' prospects for landing jobs that would justify taking out loans of $70,000 or more.
At the University of Miami, a higher-than-expected yield prompted Dean Patricia D. White to send accepted students an e-mail message last month offering $5,000 scholarships if they deferred their admission for a year and completed at least 120 hours of public service by next June. Doing so would also improve their chances of winning the school's three-year, $75,000 public-interest scholarship, she said.
At least 10 new law schools are on the drawing board around the country, in addition to the 200 already accredited by the American Bar Association. At the same time, the demand for legal services has dropped during the economic recession, prompting hundreds of firms to lay off lawyers, cut salaries, and delay the start dates of new associates. As law schools continue to churn out graduates, the resulting bottleneck could make the competition for jobs even more fierce.
~"Law Schools Mull Whether They Are Churning Out Too Many Lawyers" in today's Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription may be required)
MP: Maybe with fewer restrictions on new medical schools, we could have the same "problem" with "too many doctors"? One way we might know that we have a doctor surplus is when they start advertising that they will make housecalls again, like in the old days?
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Related point: prestigious law firms are now paying newly hired associates as much as $100,000+ to defer BEGINNING WORK.
MP: "Maybe with fewer restrictions on new medical schools, we could have the same "problem" with "too many doctors"? One way we might know that we have a doctor surplus is when they start advertising that they will make housecalls again, like in the old days?"
Housecalls are incredibly inefficient, because the physician spends half his time packing up his gear and driving to the next patient. Also, the examination environment is suboptimal (no sterile exam surfaces, poor lighting, no way to trash contaminated supplies and bandages, etc.)
However, mobile clinics could be practical with medical vans making scheduled visits to a series of neighborhoods (just like bloodmobiles and mammography vans). But, it would take lots of new doctors to reach the point where mobile clinics would occur. With a fifty-percent increase in doctors and an even distribution of patients, most doctors still would work more than 40 hours per week to handle their patient loads.
(Please note that the federal government still believes we have too many physicians, especially among the specialties. The feds believe patient demand is elastic, and that if there were more physicians, patients would seek more care. But, patient demand is only elastic to a point; after that the damand curve flattens. Increasing physician numbers a little would not lower charges; increasing physician numbers a lot would.)
OK, they give some students $5000 to defer for a year. But, what happens if tuition goes up $3000 per year?
No deferral example:
2009: $30,000
2010: $33,000
2011: $36,000
sum: $99,000
Deferral example:
2009: -$5,000
2010: $33,000
2011: $36,000
2012: $39,000
sum: $103,000
Plus, you lose a year of opportunity cost working as a lawyer (which you cannot do now during your year of deferral).
I look on this as a logic and intelligence test, if you take the deferral you may be too dumb to be a good lawyer (unless you have other motives for deferring school).
"
Dr. T said...
MP: "Maybe with fewer restrictions on new medical schools, we could have the same "problem" with "too many doctors"? One way we might know that we have a doctor surplus is when they start advertising that they will make house-calls
"
What an aesthetic anesthetic! Wouldn't you just love to see your plumber make a house call! Excuse me for one moment, but I will need to interrupt this blurb just long enough to hit the Basin Street Home Improvement Store for a new faucet, and a new basin wrench. Then I'll need to dial up WWW.macromedia.this.shows.you.how.to.use.basin.wrench.org
My word, man, did you know that there is no Ford in your future. There is a kit that you will need to build when UPS delivers it. You will be so proud of your recently assembled consumer programed heart diagnosis and treatment unit with software updates every 6 months.
After final software update there will be a cut-rate price offer for you to build unit for consumer programed autopsy combination cremation self-contained, self cleaning, and brightly colored user-friendly appliance.
And it will sing requiem.
Wachet auf, ruft uns die stimme
hey, we still have doctors that make housecalls.
they are probably less efficient, that's why these visits cost more.
Restricting the number of medical doctors is plain dumb.
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