via
Getty)
Thanks
to
our
fractured
political
landscape,
thousands
upon
thousands
of
college
graduates
have
been
inspired
to
go
to
law
school. Per
recent
LSAC
data,
applications
have
surged
since
last
year,
the
highest
year-over-year
increase
since
2002,
with
more
than
76,000
applicants
vying
for
admission
to
law
school.
According
to
a
new
Kaplan
survey,
we
shouldn’t
expect
this
“application
boom”
to
slow
down
anytime
soon.
Kaplan
asked
law
school
admissions
officers
whether
they
thought
the
current
law
school
admissions
cycle
would
be
as
competitive
as
that
of
last
year’s,
and
a
combined
90%
said
they
expected
the
2025-2026
application
cycle
to
be
at
least
as
competitive
as
that
of
the
year
prior.
Of
that
90%,
13%
said
it
would
be
“much
more
competitive,”
35%
said
it
would
be
“somewhat
more
competitive,”
and
42%
said
the
level
of
competitiveness
would
remain
“about
the
same.”
The
nation’s
political
climate
is
thought
to
be
the
reason
behind
the
rapid
escalation
in
law
school
applications,
with
49%
saying
it
was
a
“major
driver
of
the
increase,”
38%
saying
that
it
“moderately
drove
the
increase,”
and
7%
saying
it
was
“the
main
factor”
behind
the
increase.
Only
5%
said
the
U.S.
political
climate
was
a
“slight
factor
or
non-factor,”
with
1%
saying
they
“weren’t
sure.”
One
of
Kaplan’s
survey
respondents
had
this
to
say
about
the
issue:
“The
current
political
and
economic
climate
has
made
law
school
increasingly
attractive
for
a
wide
range
of
applicants.
Legal
issues,
particularly
in
areas
like
constitutional
law,
civil
rights,
and
the
role
of
the
courts,
are
at
the
forefront
of
national
conversation,
prompting
many
to
see
a
law
degree
as
a
way
to
engage
meaningfully
with
pressing
societal
questions.”
“At
Kaplan,
over
the
past
year,
we’ve
seen
a
massive
increase
in
the
number
of
students
preparing
for
the
LSAT,
a
strong
indication
that
the
number
of
law
school
applicants
will
remain
at
historically
high
levels,
making
it
imperative
for
prospective
students
to
put
together
the
strongest
application
possible.
And
given
the
intensity
of
today’s
political
climate,
we
believe
politics
will
continue
to
exert
a
strong
influence
on
applicant
trends,”
Krystin
Major,
director
of
LSAT
programs
at
Kaplan,
said
in
a
statement.
“While
we
understand
that
passions
are
high,
we
remind
prospective
law
students
that
the
primary
reason
to
pursue
a
J.D.
should
be
to
practice
law—and
not
just
for
the
next
four
years,
but
for
the
next
40.
We
encourage
every
potential
applicant
to
be
introspective
and
make
that
decision
with
purpose.
A
career
in
law
can
be
both
rewarding
and
fulfilling,
but
it
requires
thinking
not
only
about
the
present
moment,
but
about
the
long
road
ahead.”
Speaking
of
the
“long
road
ahead,”
one
admissions
officer
told
Kaplan
that
the
2025-2026
application
cycle’s
“increased
competitiveness
is
a
double-edged
sword
as
it
should
increase
the
talent
level
for
the
legal
community
at
the
expense
of
excluding
many
candidates
who
would
have
been
excellent
contributors
to
the
field.”
Another
survey
respondent
seemed
concerned
about
the
optics
if
law
schools
decide
to
admit
larger
class
sizes
due
to
the
wealth
of
applicants,
saying,
“I
think
the
profession
suffers
if
law
schools
get
greedy
and
bring
in
significantly
larger
classes
than
the
market
can
feasibly
support
down
the
road,
as
we
saw
in
2009-2011,
but
that
may
not
have
recurred
to
the
same
degree
this
past
year.”
Whatever
the
case
may
be,
elections
have
consequences
and
our
political
system
has
attracted
many
worthy
applicants
to
the
legal
field.
We’ll
soon
be
able
to
see
just
how
many
future
lawyers
were
inspired
to
apply
to
law
school
when
LSAC
releases
its
latest
data.
Kaplan
Survey:
Another
Fierce
Law
School
Admissions
Cycle
Looms
Large,
Driven
by
Politics
[Kaplan]
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
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