The current law school admission cycle has experienced an 18% increase in registrations for the LSAT, signaling heightened competition among schools for top talent and a growing interest among young individuals in legal careers. According to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), which oversees the LSAT, each test administration from August through November has reported increases in either test-takers or registrants compared to 2023.
In August, the number of examinees rose by 35%, followed by a 7% increase in September. The recently concluded October exam saw a 12% increase in registrants, while November registrations jumped by 29%. Overall, this surge amounts to nearly 22,000 more LSAT registrants compared to the same time last year.
Susan Krinsky, interim president of the LSAC, indicated that a rise in LSAT takers typically translates into more law school applicants. However, as most law schools have only recently opened their applications, early data on the number of applicants will not be available until later this month.
The reasons behind the increased interest in the LSAT remain unclear. Krinsky noted that factors such as the upcoming elections, recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, and the campaign of presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, who emphasizes her prosecutorial background, could be influencing this trend. “Law school may seem to people to be a way to approach what they are seeing going on in the world — and it is a way to approach it and to understand it and to have an effect,” she stated. “One way to change things is to get involved.”
The national pool of law school applicants saw an 8% growth in 2017, a rise attributed by some legal experts to the election of Donald Trump. This year’s increase in LSAT takers comes as the U.S. legal sector begins to recover, with job growth resuming after a four-month downturn. Law schools recently completed a strong application cycle, with nationwide applications up 6% from the previous year.
The significant spike in August LSAT takers was anticipated, as it was the first exam to exclude the “logic games” section, which had been a challenging component of the test since 1982. Krinsky noted that exam scores remained steady between July and August, showing no significant increase following the removal of the logic games.
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