Plenty of law schools have rolled out programs designed to shave a year off the traditional path to a J.D. But on Friday, the University of Dayton School of Law became just the second school to offer a way to slice two years off the typical seven year undergrad-J.D. combo. Dayton, like other schools offering shorter tracks, is eager to attract stronger candidates as the overall applicant pool remains shallow. While many schools have 3+3 programs or accelerated two-year J.D. programs, so far only Dayton and Vermont Law School offer a way to become a lawyer in five years total.

“This is definitely for the best students,” said Paul Schlottman, Dayton's director of strategic initiatives, who helped launch the 3+2 program. “These are for people who are very academically and otherwise gifted.”

The way it works is that students complete three years of courses in a partner undergraduate institution, and then transfer to Dayton, where their first year of law school counts towards their fourth year of undergraduate studies. In law school, students take courses—the same ones as traditional law students—in the summer, fall and spring semesters, which allows them to graduate in two years instead of three. However, if a law student at some point decides life is too hectic, she can always slow down and do the normal three-year J.D. program.

Students in the 3+2 program stand to save tens of thousands of dollars.

Since their first year of law school counts double towards both of degrees, they don't pay tuition or living expenses for their last year of undergraduate college. They pay the same law school tuition as traditional students—nearly $100,200 at Dayton—but they graduate early and save on a year of living expenses—estimated at $17,500, according to Dayton's 2016 disclosure report to the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

“You also have the ability to start earning income and start your career sooner,” said Schlottman.

The 3+2 program is not for everyone. The undergraduate institutions are highly selective, Schlotttman said, using rigorous criteria agreed upon by Dayton. When a student applies for the 3+2 program during undergrad, Dayton only grants provisional acceptance to the law school. To lock it in, the student must take the LSAT in her third year and score at least one point higher than the Dayton median score.

“The goal is to raise those LSAT scores by using this program. We are attracting the high flying students,” Schlottman said.

If a student doesn't make the LSAT cut, he can simply stay put and complete his undergraduate degree, maybe trying again for law school in later years.

So far, Dayton has entered agreements with four undergraduate institutions to participate in the program: the University of Dayton department of communication; the University of St. Francis in Ft. Wayne in Indiana; Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio; and Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati.

Schlottman said he expects to see “dozens” of students coming from those schools, and more in the future, as Dayton forges agreements with more undergraduate institutions.

While Vermont Law School was the first to offer a 3+2 program, it's less expansive than Dayton's effort. Vermont has partnered only with the University of Vermont to admit students to its program. Eligibility is limited to students from majors within the university's colleges of agriculture and life sciences, arts and sciences and environment and natural resources.

The idea of the accelerated J.D. program began popping up between 2011 to 2013 as law schools experienced stiff competition to recruit students, and aspiring lawyers scrutinized the high cost of a law degree. Law schools saw accelerated programs as a recruiting tool to snag high-achieving students who already, even as teenagers, wanted to become lawyers.

At least 44 other law schools spread all over the United States already offer 3+3 programs, and at least 20 schools provide an accelerated two-year J.D. program, according to a list on Wikipedia.

Freelance reporter Angela Morris is on Twitter: @AMorrisReports.