As this admissions cycle wraps up and we look towards the next one, is it a good time to be thinking about applying to law school?
I always tell applicants that the right time to apply is when they are ready. The majority of law school applicants take at least one professional development year between college and law school before applying. If you are not sure about law school, then take the time to figure things out. You can work as a paralegal in a law firm or network with other lawyers.
However, there are certain factors on the horizon that indicate to me, anyway, that yes, this is a very good time potentially to apply to law school.
Law school applicant numbers have dropped
There were fewer applicants to law school this year, making it potentially a slightly less competitive application cycle. The LSAC (Law School Admissions Council) volume summaries indicate that applicants were down by 2.4% this cycle, as we near the end of the cycle.
During the pandemic years, law school applications and numbers of applicants soared. Now, they have dropped. In fact, as compared to two years ago, applicants are down 14% according to LSAC data. If this trend presumably continues into the coming application cycle, it could mean a less competitive time to apply than during the pandemic years.
The job market has stabilized and salaries have risen
First-year associate salaries at law firms have increased sharply since 2021, according to the National Association of Law Placement’s May 2023 press release. Their associate salary survey report indicates that salaries were up. In fact, the overall first-year median associate salary was up about $35,000 from 2021, when the salary survey was last administered. So, while the legal job market may have fluctuated during the pandemic, it is currently not only stable, according to the report, but salaries are increasing in many law firms.
The combination of applicants being down, and salaries being up means … if everything remains stable this fall, this could indeed be a very good time to be thinking about applying to law school.
