A recent Kaplan survey found that a vast majority of law school admissions officers worry about the impact of last year’s Supreme Court affirmative action ban. In the survey, which included 85 law schools, admissions officers from 74 schools expressed concern. Forty-six of those schools’ administrators reported that they were “very concerned.”
When asked about the impact of the ban on their own school, admissions officers were slightly more optimistic. Fifty of the schools expressed concern, with just 18 saying they were “very concerned.”
The survey found that diversity is valued “almost universally” at law schools by both students and administrators.
Amit Schlesinger, Executive Director of Legal and Government Programs at Kaplan, summarized the findings, while also alluding to the news that the applicant pool has increased in diversity this year.
"In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, Kaplan’s survey reveals that law schools are grappling with concerns about maintaining diverse student bodies, which is something many of them have long prioritized. However, the silver lining lies in the promising trend of an increasingly diverse applicant pool, which presents an opportunity to mitigate any challenges they may face in achieving a representative student body. It’s also important to note that while law schools can no longer explicitly use race as a factor, we know that some law schools have broadened their personal statement criteria, which may give admissions officers a deeper understanding of prospective students’ backgrounds, while also remaining within the bounds of the Court’s ruling,” Schlesinger said.