Although the University School of Law received its highest number of applications this year, jobs for law students are drying up across the country.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that law students are competing for half as many openings at big firms as they were last year.

The University just ushered in its most highly credentialed class in the school’s 150-year history, and the increase in applicants might be attributable to the recession.

“I think the economy contributed, but did not account for it,” Director of Law Admissions Paul Rollins said. “[The University School of Law] is an excellent law school and a good value.”

Rollins said there is a need for high value legal education during an economic recession, noting the School of Law received more than 3,000 applications for the class of 2012. Slightly more than one-quarter of those applicants were admitted into the school.

Those 241 newly enrolled students have a median undergraduate GPA of 3.7 and a median LSAT score of 164 – 180 constitutes a perfect score. More than half of the class scored at or about the 90th percentile of LSAT takers nationwide.

“It’s a class that’s very diverse,” Director of Law Admissions Paul Rollins said. “We expect them to perform well and contribute to the legal profession in the state of Georgia, the region and the nation.”

The School of Law’s academic profile is similar to the other four law schools in the state – Emory University School of Law, Georgia State University College of Law, John Marshall Law School and Mercer University School of Law.

After gaining an undergraduate degree from Spelman College, Sherida Jones of Jackson, Miss., decided to come to Athens to study law largely because of the available contacts.

“Ultimately, I want to practice in Atlanta, and UGA has a good base for the network there,” she said.

The 2012 law class is constructed of students from 27 states and 90 colleges and universities. More than one-third of the total class – 81 students – did their undergraduate studies at the University.

“There’s a myth out there that if you go to Georgia for an undergraduate degree, we won’t recruit you,” said Greg Roseboro, director of diversity programs for the law school. “That’s a total myth.”

As admittance through the doors of Hirsch Hall gets more and more difficult, Assistant Director of Admissions Ramsey Bridges offered some simple advice to those students who feel law school may be in their future.

“Work hard. Make sure you get good grades. Prepare for the LSAT. And establish good relations with professors now to get letters of recommendation,” she said.

The highly talented class may soon discover gaining admission was the easy part. First-year students follow a difficult schedule, which typically consists of 17 credit hours in the fall semester and 14 in the spring.

“They have classes from about 9:30 [a.m.] to 4:30 [p.m.], Monday through Friday,” Bridges said, noting that time frame doesn’t include the vast amount of reading required.

To at least one first-year student, the busy schedule hasn’t come as a surprise.

“I think the workload has been really demanding, to say the least,” Jones said. “And I expected that, actually.”