Law School Applicant Volume Dropped Significantly from the Historic Spike in 2021

The number of law school applicants dropped significantly in 2022, -11.7 percent, from the historic spike seen in 2021. The decline may seem striking, but taking a longer-term view shows that this year’s applicant pool may just be a return to the mean after a dramatic surge in 2021 rather than a concerning decline. When this year’s applicant numbers are compared to 2020, there is just a -0.5 percent decline, and the number of applications actually increased by 13 percent, demonstrating a continuing trend of prospective law students applying to more schools. 

The largest decline in 2022 occurred among applicants who identify as White/Caucasian (-13.9 percent). There were also significant declines in applicant groups who are historically underrepresented in law, and which the legal community is actively working to attract. There was a 10.1 percent drop in Black or African-American applicants, as well as declines from applicants identifying as Puerto Rican (-8.0 percent) and Hispanic/Latino (-5.7 percent). Other groups including Canadian Aboriginal/Indigenous (-13.7 percent), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (-13.1 percent), American Indian or Alaska Native (-11.0 percent) also had large declines, although the smaller applicant numbers in these groups create more variability in the change. Asian applicants also saw a decline (-4.8 percent).

This year’s data also shows that the largest applicant decline stemmed predominantly from the top end of the LSAT score distribution. The largest decline came from applicants scoring between 170 and 174 (-14.4 percent), followed by those scoring between 160 and 164 (-14.3 percent) and then those scoring in the highest range between 175 and 180 (-14.0 percent). 

LSAT scores are down overall from 2021, but it is worthy of note that applicants’ score distribution for this year compares favorably to applicants in previous years (2018, 2019, and 2020). The number of applicants scoring in the top three brackets, 165-169, 170-174, and 175-180 are all higher, while the number of applicants submitting lower LSAT scores (below 149) has declined. 

ABA to Vote on Recommendation that Would Allow Law Schools to Drop Admissions Test Requirement

Later this month, the American Bar Association will vote on a recommendation by its Strategic Review Committee to eliminate the requirement that all law schools must include standardized testing as a component of admissions. Should the recommendation be accepted, it would not take effect until next year (at the earliest) and would allow individual law schools the option to remove or retain current testing requirements. The current standard states that all law schools “shall require” applicants to submit scores from a “valid and reliable admission test,” which in November of 2021 was expanded to include the GRE, in addition to the LSAT. 

The revision language notes that, “While a law school may still choose to use one or more admissions tests as part of sound admission practices or policies, the revisions require a law school to identify all tests that it accepts in its admissions policies so that applicants to the law school know which admissions tests are accepted.” It goes on to describe that accepting the recommendation “eliminates some of the challenges inherent in determining which tests are in fact valid and reliable for law school admission,” although law schools that continue to use an admissions test would need to show that the test is in line with “sound admissions practices and procedures.” The Strategic Review Committee’s language also notes that, as of early 2022, the Council is the only remaining “accreditor among law, medical, dental, pharmacy, business, and architecture school accreditors that required an admissions test in its Standards.” This suggests that the change in language may not greatly impact the current practice of requesting test scores from applicants, particularly among highly-competitive programs. 

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC), which oversees the LSAT and is independent from the ABA, said in a statement, “Studies show test-optional policies often work against minoritized individuals, so we hope the ABA will consider these issues very carefully. We believe the LSAT will continue to be a vital tool for schools and applicants for years to come, as it is the most accurate predictor of law school success and a powerful tool for diversity when used properly as one factor in a holistic admission process.”

It will be necessary to follow news from the ABA over the next couple of weeks to see how the Council will proceed. Bill Adams, Managing Director of the ABA Accreditation and Legal Education, said in a statement that “Issues concerning admissions policies have been of concern to the Council for several years.” He went on to explain that the Council will discuss the recommendation on May 20, and determine if a vote is in order or if further circulation and comment will be required.

Law School Admissions Council to Pilot Program that Replaces Standardized Testing Requirement with Defined Undergraduate Curriculum

The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) recently announced that it is developing a pilot program, which will offer an alternative pathway to law school—one that does not require standardized testing. Rather, it will gauge student readiness using a defined undergraduate curriculum meant to prepare students for the rigors of law school. 

During the pilot, LSAC will partner with undergraduate institutions to define and implement a curriculum that students will complete before graduation to earn eligibility to apply to law school without LSAT or GRE scores. The underlying idea is that the curriculum will prepare students for the same skills that the LSAT covers. Currently, Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, Northeastern University, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore have committed to participate and are helping to develop the program. There is also an 11-member advisory committee including law school deans from University of Michigan, Northwestern, Howard, Suffolk University, and UC Berkeley.

LSAC representatives do not see the program as one that will eventually overtake standardized testing as the primary path to law school, but they are hopeful that it will create a viable alternative that could increase access to legal education. Kaitlynn Griffith, LSAC Vice President of Product Development and Business Intelligence, describes the pilot as a way to broaden the pipeline for law school. “One of our founding principles on this was to look at diversity, equity and inclusion and ask, ‘How can we be opening more doors into the legal profession?’” 

Once the pilot is in place, which will likely include having the initial group of participating students take the LSAT to validate their performance and readiness, the LSAC will have a continued role to play in convincing both the American Bar Association and law schools to accept the new applicant pathway. Griffith notes she is hopeful that, after a successful pilot period, the program will expand to include more undergraduate universities.

Law School Applicant Volume Drops After Last Year’s Historic Spike

According to Law School Admission Council (LSAC) data released over the weekend, law school applicant volume for the 2021/2022 admissions cycle has decreased by 9.8 percent from last year and by 9 percent from two years ago. The data compared both applicants and applications as of February 26, 2022 to the same time period for the two preceding application periods. The number of applications submitted also decreased by 8 percent compared to last year; however, they have increased by a staggering 22 percent compared to the same time period two years ago. This suggests that while the number of applications has dropped compared to last year's historic surge (although by a smaller percentage than the decrease in applicants), prospective students continue to submit applications to more schools than they did in previous years. 

As of February 26th, the number of submitted applications to private schools has seen a more significant decrease (-9.3 percent) than for public schools (-5.3 percent) compared to last year. Of the 199 ABA approved law schools, 106 schools reported a decreased application volume compared to last year, 84 reported increased volume, and nine schools report no change. 

The number of applications has also decreased across all ethnicities. The smallest decrease has been among those identifying as Asian (-3 percent) and Hispanic/Latino (-3.1 percent). The largest decreases has been among Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (-14.8 percent), Canadian Aboriginal/Indigenous (-12.1 percent), and Caucasian/White (-12 percent) applicants. 

The numbers are not yet final, with many schools’ final submission dates occurring in early March, however the LSAC report notes that, at this point last year, 73 percent of the preliminary final applicant count had been received. This suggests that these patterns are likely to hold through the remainder of the application cycle.