Pitt Law Experiences Best Year in Enrollment, Increases Diversity by 7%

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law (Pitt Law), located in the dynamic academic hub of the city, is one of the top law schools in the country, with a bar passage rate of over 91% among first-time takers — 22% higher than Pennsylvania’s overall average. As with other institutions of higher education, law schools nationwide have been faced with significant declines in enrollment. In fact, in 2019, overall law school enrollment was down 23.5%.* To help combat these declines, Pitt Law was seeking a solution that would help the institution increase enrollment while attracting a more competitive and diverse student population.

Fortunately, the university had experience leveraging the Othot platform.

Making an Argument for Advanced Analytics

“There were other parts of the university using the Othot platform and having success,” shared Charmaine McCall, Assistant Dean of Admissions at the law school. “Our dean was very interested in analytics and familiar with the positive results other Pitt programs were having, and she suggested we take a look at the solution. I’m glad we did.”

Using the platform, Pitt Law:

• Analyzed data by diversity
• Targeted more competitive candidates
• Expanded its prospect base
• Focused on increasing LSAT scores

Throughout the process, the admissions team worked closely with Othot’s Partner Success team to gain deeper insights about the students they were recruiting and those who applied. “Our strategic partnership manager offered consistent support and expertise,” added Meme Jeffries, Director of Financial Aid. “With his help, we started using Othot to make more informed decisions.”

The results were impressive. Othot’s predictive analytics allowed the admissions team to:

• Increase diversity by 7% for the incoming class
• Improve LSAT scores, reaching their goal of 160, on average
• Experience the best admissions year yet in terms of scores, GPA, and gender-based demographics

The school’s partnership with Othot helped Pitt Law achieve its goals, and there were additional benefits as well.

Evidence Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

For the small admissions team, there were other unanticipated benefits of using the platform, including an improved use of resources and a more targeted and prioritized outreach program.

“Using the platform, we were better able to target where we traveled and why we traveled there,” noted McCall. "Before we had the data, our traveling was not yielding results like we thought it would. Now we’re seeing better results and are using our budget more effectively. Similarly, we ran multiple queries to identify the ‘best-fit’ students to call during our recruitment phone campaign, reducing a list of 500 potential students to a handful of likely prospects and making better use of our volunteers.”

Using Othot’s platform, Pitt Law’s dedicated admissions team was able to create clear strategies to improve financial aid distribution.

“Othot gave us suggestions on how to structure our scholarship guidelines, including target spend and ranges for each student. That’s been helpful because I’m doing this on my own,” noted Jeffries. “We now have the data to back up and validate the decisions we’re making.”

Adds McCall, “This has been a worthwhile investment for the law school. Our dean is interested in the numbers and with Othot’s platform, we’re able to provide her with the insights she needs.”

A Winning Verdict

How will Pitt Law be using the data moving forward? The school is eager to use Othot’s advanced analytics to reach ambitious new goals, including an average LSAT score of 161 and a 4% increase in diversity. With Othot these goals are attainable.

“This is one of the best admissions years that we have seen — might even be the best — when you look at all the statistics,” noted McCall. “We’re excited to keep using Othot as we continue to attract top candidates and ensure Pitt’s standing among the best law schools.”

* www.data.lawschooltransparency.com

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