Because of our fractured political panorama, 1000’s upon 1000’s of faculty graduates have been impressed to go to legislation faculty. Per current LSAC information, applications have surged since final 12 months, the very best year-over-year improve since 2002, with greater than 76,000 candidates vying for admission to legislation faculty. In keeping with a new Kaplan survey, we shouldn’t count on this “software growth” to decelerate anytime quickly.
Kaplan requested legislation faculty admissions officers whether or not they thought the present legislation faculty admissions cycle could be as aggressive as that of final 12 months’s, and a mixed 90% stated they anticipated the 2025-2026 software cycle to be no less than as aggressive as that of the 12 months prior. Of that 90%, 13% stated it will be “way more aggressive,” 35% stated it will be “considerably extra aggressive,” and 42% stated the extent of competitiveness would stay “about the identical.”
The nation’s political local weather is considered the explanation behind the fast escalation in legislation faculty purposes, with 49% saying it was a “main driver of the rise,” 38% saying that it “reasonably drove the rise,” and seven% saying it was “the principle issue” behind the rise. Solely 5% stated the U.S. political local weather was a “slight issue or non-factor,” with 1% saying they “weren’t certain.” Considered one of Kaplan’s survey respondents had this to say in regards to the situation:
“The present political and financial local weather has made legislation faculty more and more enticing for a variety of candidates. Authorized points, notably in areas like constitutional legislation, civil rights, and the position of the courts, are on the forefront of nationwide dialog, prompting many to see a legislation diploma as a solution to interact meaningfully with urgent societal questions.”
“At Kaplan, over the previous 12 months, we’ve seen an enormous improve within the variety of college students making ready for the LSAT, a robust indication that the variety of legislation faculty candidates will stay at traditionally excessive ranges, making it crucial for potential college students to place collectively the strongest software doable. And given the depth of right this moment’s political local weather, we consider politics will proceed to exert a robust affect on applicant developments,” Krystin Main, director of LSAT applications at Kaplan, stated in an announcement.
“Whereas we perceive that passions are excessive, we remind potential legislation college students that the first purpose to pursue a J.D. ought to be to observe legislation—and never only for the subsequent 4 years, however for the subsequent 40. We encourage each potential applicant to be introspective and make that call with function. A profession in legislation might be each rewarding and fulfilling, however it requires pondering not solely in regards to the current second, however in regards to the lengthy street forward.”
Talking of the “lengthy street forward,” one admissions officer advised Kaplan that the 2025-2026 software cycle’s “elevated competitiveness is a double-edged sword because it ought to improve the expertise degree for the authorized group on the expense of excluding many candidates who would have been glorious contributors to the sphere.”
One other survey respondent appeared involved in regards to the optics if legislation faculties resolve to confess bigger class sizes as a result of wealth of candidates, saying, “I feel the career suffers if legislation faculties get grasping and herald considerably bigger lessons than the market can feasibly assist down the street, as we noticed in 2009-2011, however that won’t have recurred to the identical diploma this previous 12 months.”
Regardless of the case could also be, elections have penalties and our political system has attracted many worthy candidates to the authorized area. We’ll quickly be capable to see simply what number of future legal professionals have been impressed to use to legislation faculty when LSAC releases its newest information.
Kaplan Survey: Another Fierce Law School Admissions Cycle Looms Large, Driven by Politics [Kaplan]
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Legislation, the place she’s labored since 2011. She’d love to listen to from you, so please be at liberty to email her with any suggestions, questions, feedback, or critiques. You possibly can comply with her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or join together with her on LinkedIn.
