Jobs and tuition, then, become an issue of quality admits. The fall 2010 entering class actually increased to a new high of 49,700, even as the job market was falling. Schools must now choose between admitting smaller entering classes (and sacrificing revenue) or dealing with a decline in the quality of their students — or both. If the applicant pool declines by an average of 11 percent over the next four years, law schools will be accepting virtually every applicant for the class of August 2015 or miss their enrollment targets. Plunging student credentials create a spiral of decline as a school's reputation suffers, job prospects worsen, bar passage rates fall and more students transfer. Each dean hopes that other schools will drop faster in the U.S. News rankings.